This is a Charles Paris mystery, a whodunnit based around a slightly seedy acting world. In this version, Charles is playing pantomime in Eastbourne. He is way down the bill, of course; the stars are soap actors, ex-soap actors and an American actor from a world-wide comedy series. The director is obsessed with choreography, one of the Dames is a traditionalist while the other is an ex-soap star who can't act, and Charles is in a double act with an ex-boxer who also can't act. Fortunately for Charles his mind is taken off the impending disaster that is the production when the American is found dead.
Other brilliant characters include the American wife, who hates him and is suing for divorce, a missing dancer (all the dancers smoke) who claims to have known the American when she was called something else, the American's lawyer-cum-agent who will procure anything for his client, and a drug-dealing wannabe-investigative journalist.
Through this Charles quaffs Bells and Merlot and has a night of sex in which the lady is so controlling that he feels like an animated dildo!
Charles Paris mysteries are always high on humour and the plot is good enough to give the reader some opportunity to uncover some of the clues. Great fun. July 2015; 186 pages.
Other Simon Brett mysteries on this blog include:
- The Fethering mysteries featuring uptight Carole and 'healer' Jude, amateur lady detectives at a South Coast resort including Blood at the Bookies, the Corpse on the Court and Bones Under the Beach Hut,
- The Blotto Twinks series of thriller meets P G Wodehouse including Blotto, Twinks and the Rodents of the Riviera.
- But the Charles Paris books such as A Decent Interval are my favourites.
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