Simon Brett has 51 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 38 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 197 ratings. The most-rated is Father Paolo Baldi Mysteries.
The Corpse on the Court
Summary
Jude's life has been turned upside-down thanks her new man, Piers Targett, who's keen to get her involved in his hobby – or obsession – of Real Tennis. But when one of Piers' friends dies on the court in suspicious circumstances, Jude finds herself caught up in the police investigation. Meanwhile, Jude's neighbour Carole is trying to identify the human remains known locally as the “Lady in the Lake”. As the two investigations become intertwined, Carole and Jude's efforts to find the truth look set to lead to more murders.
©2012 Simon Brett (P)2013 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Killer in the Choir
Summary
Although she hadn’t known Leonard Mallett very well, nor liked him particularly, Carole Seddon feels duty bound to attend her fellow committee member’s funeral. As she suspected, the hymns, readings, and sermon are all very predictable - not unlike Leonard himself. What she couldn’t have predicted was that the deceased’s daughter would use the occasion to publicly accuse her stepmother of murder. Did Heather Mallett really kill her husband, as many Fethering residents believe? Deciding to get to the heart of the matter, Carole’s neighbor, Jude, joins the new community choir - and discovers that amidst the clashing egos and petty resentments lurk some decidedly false notes.
©2019 2019 by Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 2019 by Dreamscape Media, LLC
Murder in the Museum
Summary
The Elizabethan house of Bracketts is about to be turned into a museum. It had once been the home of the celebrated poet Esmund Chadleigh and is to become a shrine to his life and poetry - but the transition is far from smooth. Carole Seddon had been reluctant to join the Bracketts Board, and now she realises that she should have listened to her instinct. The simmering tension between the board members is about to boil over. A human skeleton is discovered in the kitchen garden, and before too long there is a second body, not yet cold. Murder is no longer just a dreadful possibility but a certainty.
©2003 Simon Brett (P)2004 Isis Publishing Ltd
Charles Paris: A Reconstructed Corpse
Summary
Bill Nighy returns as Charles Paris: unsuccessful actor, bad husband, and dipsomaniac. Desperately in need of work, having been kicked out of his marital home, Charles jumps at playing a missing property developer in a crime-reconstruction program. But the missing person case soon turns to murder when severed body parts begin to appear.
Television ratings soar as the public tune in to discover every gory detail of the case. The raging egos and jealous maneuverings of the producers, presenters, and the police provide a long list of suspects for Charles as he pieces together a macabre jigsaw puzzle of murder.
Bill Nighy, Suzanne Burden, and Jon Glover are among the star cast in this enjoyable mystery, dramatised by Jeremy Front.
Written by Jeremy Front, based on the novel by Simon Brett.
©2012 AudioGO Ltd (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd
A Decent Interval
Summary
After a long period of "resting", life is looking up for Charles Paris, who has been cast in a new production of Hamlet. But rehearsals are fraught. Ophelia is played by Katrina Selsey, who won the role through a television talent show. Hamlet himself is also played by a reality TV contestant, Jared Root. But when the company reaches the first staging post of their tour, matters get more serious, with one member of the company seriously injured in what appears to be an accident, and another dead. Once again, Charles Paris is forced to don the mantle of amateur detective to get to the bottom of the mystery.
©2013 Simon Brett (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Death on the Downs
Summary
It wasn't the rain that upset Carole Seddon during her walk on the West Sussex Downs. It wasn't the dilapidated barn in which she was forced to seek shelter. No, what upset her most was the human skeleton she discovered there.... So begins the second investigation for straitlaced Carole and her more laid-back neighbour Jude. This time their enquiries take them away from Fethering to the small download hamlet of Weldsham, where gossips quickly identify the corpse as Tamsin Lutteridge, a young woman who had disappeared from the village months before....
©2001 Simon Brett (P)2001 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Stabbing in the Stables
Summary
When Jude pays a visit to Long Bamber Stables - to meet an unusual new client and his owner, Sonia Dalrymple - she does not expect to stumble across a man laying in the darkness.
Co-owner of the stables Walter Fleet has been viciously stabbed to death, and Jude suspects she may have arrived only seconds after his murder. Unable to resist a mystery, friends Jude and Carole begin to make discreet enquiries.
It soon becomes clear that Long Bamber Stables is a hotbed of dangerous passions, murderous rivalries and sinister secrets...and this horsing community will do anything to conceal the truth behind their deceptive lives.
©2006 Simon Brett (P)2006 Isis Publishing Ltd
Bones Under the Beach Hut
Summary
The affluent seaside resort of Smalting is unaccustomed to crime. So when human remains are found beneath the floorboards of a beach hut, the community is awash with suspicion. Amateur sleuths Carole Seddon and best friend Jude are drawn into the mystery, and their suspicion quickly falls on attractive Philly Rose, a young Londoner newly arrived in the area, whose boyfriend has recently vanished.
Meanwhile, Kelvin Southwest, caretaker of Smalting’s beach huts, seems to be hiding a dark secret while Reginald Flowers, pompous president of the Smalting Beach Hut Association, becomes increasingly defensive about his own history. When the bones under the beach hut are identified, the ghosts of the past are painfully reawakened, and long-hidden secrets begin to surface.
©2011 Simon Brett (P)2011 Isis Publishing Ltd
A Series of Murders
Summary
Charles Paris is in clover. He has been contracted for three whole months to play brainless bobby Sergeant Clump, foil to the charismatic amateur sleuth, Stanislas Braid, in a TV series of that name. Recourse to the whiskey bottle is still needed, however, to get him through a day’s filming - one made all the more arduous by the pompous posturings of the show’s star, and the constant outraged interruptions of the ancient author whose detective novels are being adapted.
Indeed, there is plenty of friction about. But when a particularly unpromising actress is killed, crushed to death, there seems no reason to doubt it was an accident - except in Charles’s mind. Leaving behind a trail of broken resolutions and empty bottles, Charles indulges in some sleuthing of his own. He may lack the panache of the suave Stanislas Braid, but unlike the great detective, the danger Paris encounters is only too real.
©1989 Simon Brett (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Blood at the Bookies
Summary
Jude has never been averse to a bit of a flutter; her friend Carole, on the other hand, thinks that the local betting shop is a den of iniquity. But when Jude stumbles upon the body of a Polish immigrant, Tadeusz Jankowski, the race is on to find his killer. The odds aren’t looking good. No one seems to know anything about the mysterious Tadeusz - even his sister can’t shed any light on what he was doing in Fethering. As they question the local residents, Carole finds an unexpected friend in an inveterate gambler, and Jude finds herself in potential trouble with a lecherous and charming drama professor.
©2008 Simon Brett (P)2008 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Poisoning in the Pub
Summary
Fethering residents Jude and Carole get more than they bargained for when a meal in their local pub leaves everyone with food poisoning. The landlord is horrified, and when a series of disasters start to befall his business it looks like it could be the end of the road for the Crown and Anchor.
The two amateur detectives wonder if it might just be more than a run of bad luck. When a young man is found in the kitchen with a knife through his heart, Carole and Jude swing into action.
There's a killer on the loose, and our lady sleuths need to uncover who it is before it's last orders for the pub - and themselves.
©2009 Simon Brett (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd
Semi Circles: The Complete Series 1 and 2
Summary
Paula Wilcox and David Wood star in this BBC Radio sitcom about an upwardly mobile husband and wife climbing the social ladder in suburbia. Helen and Ben have recently moved into a lovely semi-detached house in an up-and-coming area and are eager to restore their home to its original character (complete with open fireplace in the living room and milkmaid's yoke on the wall). They're also keen to host dinner parties and mix with the right sort of people - to the bafflement of their elderly neighbour, Mrs Kelly, who's lived in the neighbourhood all her life and preferred it before it filled up with middle-class incomers. In these 12 episodes, Ben and Helen join an action committee to oppose the opening of a new restaurant on their street, contemplate the attractions of the countryside and squabble over spending Christmas with Helen's mother in West Wittering. Plus, Helen flirts with feminism, Ben contemplates private education and the couple unite to fight the forces of materialism.... Written by Simon Brett, whose sitcom credits include After Henry, this improving story of life and improving times in an improving neighbourhood stars Paula Wilcox as Helen and David Wood as Ben. Produced by Pete Atkin. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 1st March - 5th April 1982 (Series 1), 16th November - 21st December 1982 (Series 2). Cast: Helen - Paula Wilcox Ben - David Wood Mrs Kelly - Pat Heywood Alastair - Bruce Alexander/Tony Millan Mr Juke - Arthur English Roger - Ben Aris Mo - Penelope Nice Mr Mukerjee - Tariq Yunis Willy - Robert Longden Blythe - Bryan Coleman Perpetua - Patience Tomlinson Laura - Anita Carey Nigel - James Griffiths Linda - Jill Lidstone Kevin - Stuart Organ Julian - Mark Wing-Davey Maureen - Miranda Forbes Doctor - Robert Rietty Mr Cullingford - Michael Bilton Dick - David Gooderson Marian - Jean Trend Neil - Nick Wilton Britt - Rosalind Adams
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Charles Paris: A Doubtful Death
Summary
Bill Nighy returns as the loveably louche actor-cum-amateur detective Charles Paris. Charles Paris is in Oxford, appearing in a re-imagining of Hamlet by a high-concept drama company. No fan of immersive theatre, he’s unimpressed with the director’s vision and less than thrilled to be rehearsing alongside puppeteers and mime artists. But he soon finds himself back on familiar territory when the actress playing Ophelia goes missing, only to turn up dead. Did she take her own life, or was there foul play? As he amasses a list of suspects who might have wished her harm, Charles takes on the mantle of detective once more to decide if this is to be or not to be a murder case.... Scripted for radio by Jeremy Front from a story by Simon Brett, A Doubtful Death stars Bill Nighy (Emma, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice. Also included is an exclusive 18-minute afterword in which Jeremy Front discusses his experience of adapting an unproduced screenplay, reveals what it’s like to work with recurring characters and actors and explains the mechanics of recording for radio. Simon Brett OBE has written 19 Charles Paris novels as well as many other detective novels. Jeremy Front is a dramatist and comedic writer; he has won awards for his adaptation of Sword of Honour and co-writes and stars in the series Incredible Women with his sister, Rebecca. Credits: Written by Jeremy Front. From a story by Simon Brett. Produced and directed by Sally Avens. Production Coordinator: Cynthia Fagan. Studio Managers: Anne Bunting, Keith Graham and Jenni Burnett. Interview produced by Ania Duggan and Roshni Radia. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 May-12 June 2020.
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Star Trap
Summary
Christopher Milton is one of TV’s brightest stars and the natural choice to play the lead in Lumpkin!, the musical version of She Stoops to Conquer. His is a ruthless, egomaniacal talent, guaranteed to turn his co-cast’s rehearsals into nail-biting hell. Charles Paris suspects him of harbouring at least one dark secret from years past. And then the ‘accidents’ begin.
Soon it is plain that someone will stop at nothing in order to sabotage the show for their own ends.
©1977 Simon Brett (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Not Dead, Only Resting
Summary
Charles Paris is, as ever, waiting for a phone call from his agent, and is driven to painting and decorating to make ends meet.
A rare evening out at a high-profile restaurant among stars of stage and screen promises a break in the depressing routine. But when the restaurant’s handsome, temperamental chef is brutally murdered, Charles finds himself drawn into the ensuing investigation.
At first it seems an open and shut case: the chef’s partner is in France within hours of having a spectacular quarrel with him over a pretty youth. Yet as Charles’ inquiries take him into the feuds and jealousies of his own profession, both murder and motive are anything but obvious.
©1984 Simon Brett (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Death Under the Dryer
Summary
When Carole goes for a trim at Connie’s Clip Joint, she doesn’t expect to find herself at the scene of a murder. But in the back room, strangled by the lead of a hairdryer, sits Connie’s young assistant Kyra.
Carole and her sleuthing friend Jude are soon enjoying some tactical snooping, and it seems that Fethering’s fingers are pointing firmly at Kyra’s boyfriend Nathan, who has disappeared. As our discreet lady detectives decide there are only so many haircuts they can have for the sake of neighbourhood crime-solving, they also realise that this is no cut-and-dried case....
©2007 Simon Brett (P)2007 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Witness at the Wedding
Summary
Carole Seddon's son is soon to be married to Gaby. But Marie and Harold Martin seem desperate to keep plans for their daughter's big day as low-key as possible. After a quiet engagement party, Harold disappears...only to be found dead the next day in a burnt out car in Epping Forest. Carole discovers that the Martins are hiding secrets that can be traced back 30 years, to the murder of Marie's best friend. Now the girl's killer has been released from prison and is back in his old stomping ground. Fearing that the bride-to-be is his new target, Carole enlists the help of her friend Jude to unravel the Martin family's past before the wedding day is ruined.
©2005 Simon Brett (P)2005 Isis Publishing Ltd
A Comedian Dies
Summary
A rising young stage comedian, who is about to receive his profession's award as ‘Most Promising Newcomer’, dies sensationally on stage at the start of his act; as he picks up the mike, he is electrocuted. Faulty wiring seems to be the cause; no one person is to blame; a verdict of death by misadventure is returned at the inquest. But accomplished detective Charles Paris happens to have been in the audience, and when another member of the cast reveals the comedian checked his equipment before the performance, Charles is launched on a further fascinating puzzle. Read by the author.
©1979 Simon Brett (P)2014 Audible, Inc
Dead Room Farce
Summary
It's not Beckett exactly, but a three-month run of Not on Your Wife!, a new farce by the prolific British farceur Bill Blunden, is not to be sniffed at by a jobbing actor. Which is why Charles Paris is standing on stage with his trousers around his ankles, playing Aubrey, the older lover of GIlly, wife of Bob, whose young mistress Nicky he is passing off as the property of his neighbor Ted. Rehearsals have gone well, the laughs are coming, and if his marriage is on the skids again there's always the consolation of Bell's - and the uncertain attractions of aging ingenue Cookie Stone. But by the time the troupe reaches Bath a darker mood has set in. Cookie Stone seems to think she and Charles are practically married (if only he could remember what happened!), and Charles' old friend Mark, who runs a recording studio in Bath where Charles is making a talking book, has a drinking problem that amounts to a death wish. But it's not the drink that kills Mark, it's somebody in the cast who has a dirty little secret that Mark must not be allowed to reveal...
©1997 by Simon Brett (P)1999 by Blackstone Audiobooks
The Shooting in the Shop
Summary
Carole Seddon hates Christmas - it all seems rather a waste of time. So when her best friend, Jude, drags her along to go shopping at a local store called Gallimaufry, she can feel her inner Scrooge knocking. Then Gallimaufry is burnt down, and a body is discovered. It seems like a tragic accident, but it’s not natural causes when a gun is involved. With a host of suspicious characters - the infamous womanizer Ricky Le Bonnier; Piers Duncton, an unfunny comedy writer; and Anna Carter, the lonely dog walker - the lady detectives know they have their work cut out for them. It seems that someone in Fethering has a deep, dark, deadly secret - and is prepared to kill to keep it.
©2010 Simon Brett (P)2010 Isis Publishing Ltd