Book Description

Meet Charles Paris: a washed-up actor with a taste for wine, women . . . and solving crimes! A binge-worthy cozy mystery series from the original king of British cozy crime, internationally best-selling, award-winning author Simon Brett, OBE. For fans of Richard Osman - but with added bite! "Like a little malice in your mysteries? Some cynicism in your cosies? Simon Brett is happy to oblige" THE NEW YORK TIMES "Few crime writers are as enchantingly gifted" THE SUNDAY TIMES "One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Perfect entertainment" THE GUARDIAN "A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans" P.D. JAMES "Murder most enjoyable" COLIN DEXTER _______________________ A middle-aged actor - and sometimes sleuth - in his most important role to date! A director who suddenly becomes sick . . . A crazed poisoner on the loose! With a mission to make the cast SICKEN AND SO DIE Charles Paris has reached the pinnacle of his acting career, playing Sir Toby Belch in a festival production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He's also moved back in with his estranged wife, Frances. Things are looking remarkably up - until the play's director is hospitalized with abdominal pains after ingesting a mushroom tartlet, and his replacement, the somewhat avant-garde Alexandru Radulescu, is intent on taking the play - including Charles' pivotal role - in a rather controversial new direction. When a second cast member supposedly succumbs to food poisoning, Charles' suspicions grow. Is a serial poisoner targeting the group? And if so, can Charles catch the culprit before he becomes the next victim? Fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club, Anthony Horowitz, Alexander McCall Smith, M.C. Beaton and Faith Martin will love this hilarious cozy traditional mystery series featuring one of the funniest antiheroes in crime fiction. Written over a fifty-year-period, it perfectly captures life and contemporary attitudes in 1970s London - and beyond! READERS ADORE CHARLES PARIS: "Classic Charles Paris, with the interminably struggling actor again giving us Brett's wry and entertaining view of the theatre" Publishers Weekly "Brett gives us a lively and candid view of the theater world with all its pettiness, massive egos, and posturing" Library Journal "Another winning entry . . . quick-witted Paris is in rollicking good form in this thoroughly delightful romp. A must for actor wannabes, mystery buffs, and Shakespeare fans" Booklist "Simon Brett's series of novels featuring down at heel actor Charles Paris have all been entertaining, and I think that this might be the best one of all" Eyejaybee, 5* Goodreads review "Neatly and wryly written. Some fabulous jokes, wonderful character inventions, a firm plot and a grand read" 5* Amazon review "An enjoyable read" Mrs L, 5* Amazon review "The Charles Paris series is a delight" Paulinderwick, 5* Amazon review THE CHARLES PARIS MYSTERIES, IN ORDER: 1. Cast in Order of Disappearance 2. So Much Blood 3. Star Trap 4. An Amateur Corpse 5. A Comedian Dies 6. The Dead Side of the Mike 7. Situation Tragedy 8. Murder Unprompted 9. Murder in the Title 10. Not Dead, Only Resting 11. Dead Giveaway 12. What Bloody Man is That 13. A Series of Murders 14. Corporate Bodies 15. A Reconstructed Corpse 16. Sicken and So Die 17. Dead Room Farce 18. A Decent Interval 19. The Cinderella Killer 20. A Deadly Habit 15. A Reconstructed Corpse 16. Sicken and So Die 17. Dead Room Farce 18. A Decent Interval 19. The Cinderella Killer 20. A Deadly Habit