A Series of Murders

Book excerpt: 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 jobbing actor - and sometimes sleuth - plays a policeman in a new TV show One death is surely a tragic accident . . . But two deaths? It looks like A SERIES OF MURDERS . . . For once Charles Paris has a stable job, playing the role of brainless Sergeant Clump in the new TV series Stanislas Braid, a detective show based on the crime novels of the inimitable W.T. Wintergreen. On the first day of filming, after a power struggle between the show's leading actor and the director, Charles seeks a drink in the West End Television bar to escape the chaos. But his plans take a dramatically dark turn when he discovers the body of Sippy Stokes, one of the lead actresses on the show, lying dead in the prop room. Whilst the rest of the crew believe the death of the unpromising actress was an unfortunate accident, Charles isn't convinced. And his suspicions only grow as other 'accidents' plague the production, prompting him to launch his own investigation. Can Charles solve the case and catch the killer before the director calls 'cut'? 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: "Four words that never fail to lift the heart: A Charles Paris Mystery" The Telegraph "There's tension aplenty" Kirkus Reviews "[A Series of Murders] is the best yet" the.ken.petersen, 5* LibraryThing review "The books have inside knowledge (and stinging satire) about the world of British theater, they are deft at presenting crime and detection, the writing is concise, the pacing is sure, and the wit makes them wryly amusing" Glenn, 5* GoodReads review "This plot is very clever, and the solution is quite ingenious" John, 5* Amazon review "A fun and entertaining adventure" Victor, 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