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
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A middle-aged actor - and sometimes sleuth - in a classic Christmas pantomime!
One star under fire…
Two not-to-be-messed-with women…
And THE CINDERELLA KILLER!
‘Tis the season to be jolly for Charles Paris, who has a minor part in the Empire Theatre Eastbourne’s Christmas production of Cinderella. But Charles’ festive cheer is soon under threat when he discovers that the star turn, US actor Kenny Polizzi, knows nothing about the art of the traditional British pantomime - he’s just happy to have fled to England.
What is Kenny running from? The unexpected appearance of not only his obsessed stalker, Gloria van der Groot, but also his estranged wife leaves Kenny rattled - and when Charles finds Kenny dead under Eastbourne Pier, he’s drawn into the star’s complicated personal life. Determined to find the killer and prove his own innocence, is Charles in danger of a metaphorical custard pie in his face - or something much worse?
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:
A marvelous mix of theater, stagecraft, jostling egos, and killer wit
Booklist Starred Review
Masterful… The backstage scenes crackle with authenticity and wit
Publishers Weekly
The intrigue happens on and off the stage
Library Journal
Highly recommended to anybody who has not experienced the charm of this series
Tim, 5* Amazon review
A great read which had me laughing out loud in places - this book and others in the series are a perfect holiday read
Paul, 5* Amazon review
Another great Charles Paris tale. The theatre life is so real in these stories. I absolutely love them
Nell, 5* Amazon review
Loved it! Light, entertaining , good characters , fun
Jane 5* Goodreads review
Simon Brett is an entertaining mystery writer, not relying solely on the whodunnit aspect but bringing a whiff of modern Britain in dialect and attitudes, some of which are downright hilarious
Sarah, 5* Goodreads 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…