Simon Brett

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.CreditsWritten by Jeremy FrontFrom a story by Simon BrettProduced and directed by Sally AvensProduction Coordinator: Cynthia FaganStudio Managers: Anne Bunting, Keith Graham and Jenni BurnettAfterword produced by Ania Duggan and Roshni RadiaFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 May-12 June 2020CastCharles Paris……………………Bill NighyFrances……………………Suzanne BurdenMaurice……………………Jon GloverVicky……………………Jessica TurnerJenny……………………Scarlett CourtneyTomasz……………………Ian ConninghamTour Guide/Dan……………………Will KirkWaitress/Izzy……………………Lucy ReynoldsZoe……………………Laura ChristySiriol……………………Sinead MacInnesPete/Player King……………………Neil McCaulTim ……………………Greg JonesCanon Park/Director……………………Clive HaywardPassenger……………………Adam CourtingWaitress/Sat Nav. ……………………Amy Bentley-KleinCassie……………………Heather CraneyCheckout/Fortinbras……………………Ikky Elyas Continuity R4/WS Announcer……………………Jeremy Front

Introducing an engaging new amateur sleuth, declutterer Ellen Curtis, in the first of a brilliant new mystery series.Ellen Curtis runs her own business helping people who are running out of space. As a declutterer, she is used to encountering all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in the course of her work. What she has never before encountered is a dead body.When Ellen stumbles across the corpse of a young woman in an over-cluttered flat, suspicion immediately falls on the deceased homeowner's son, who has recently absconded from prison. No doubt Nate Ogden is guilty of many things - but is he really the killer? Discovering a link between the victim and her own past, Ellen sets out to uncover the truth. But where has her best friend disappeared to? And is Ellen really prepared for the shocking revelations to follow?

'Brilliant! Will make a perfect Xmas stocking filler' Bronya Ralley'Delightful. This dip-in-anywhere book put a smile on my face from the first page . . . for everyone who likes a good chuckle' Ruth MilliganAs we all know, the oxymoron is one of the great beauties of the English language. It has been defined as 'a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory'. Famous examples would include 'bitter-sweet', 'open secret' and 'compassionate Conservatism'.Seriously Funny, and Other Oxymorons brings together a great many examples of the oxymoron genre, amusingly illustrated by Paul Thomas. The book is arranged according to various categories ranging from Popular Culture to Political Principles and Business Ethics, all covered in Simon Brett's inimitably witty style.Anyone with an 'unbiased opinion' will quickly grasp that Seriously Funny makes a 'devilishly nice' book.

A quick trip to the capital goes horribly wrong when Blotto and Twinks get accidentally involved in London's criminal underworld . . .It starts innocently enough at the intimate review 'absolutely everyone is talking about', Light and Frothy, where its glamorous star, Frou Frou Gavotte, has rather taken the fancy of Blotto's school friend Giles 'Whiffler' Trumpington. But while Blotto and Whiffler wait for the star outside the theatre to take her to dinner, Whiffler is seized and manhandled into the back of a cab which then drives off into the night . . . Leaving Blotto with the problem of how to rescue his kidnapped schoolmate.Naturally, he enlists Twinks's help and the two of them encounter actors, singers, impresarios, revue writers, cockney showgirls and Scotland Yard's finest - and white slave traders, who succeed in abducting Twinks - leaving it up to Blotto and his trusty chauffeur, Corky Froggett, to rescue her before she's shipped off to foreign parts forever . . .Praise for Simon Brett'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

When Jude joins the Fethering community choir, she discovers that at least one of her fellow choristers is hiding a deadly secret.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 neighbour Jude joins the new community choir - and discovers that amidst the clashing egos and petty resentments lurk some decidedly false notes. At least one chorister would appear to be hiding a deadly secret - and it's up to Carole and Jude to unearth the truth.

'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . perfect entertainment' GuardianOnce again, the plumbing at Tawcester Towers is causing consternation for the Dowager Duchess, so - unusually for her - she gives her blessing for Blotto to take part in the 'Great Road Race' in his beloved Lagonda ... so long as he wins. The first prize of 10,000 pre-War sovereigns will help towards repairing the leaky ancestral home.Blotto elects to take chauffeur Corky Froggett as his spare mechanic, while Twinks is despatched by her mother to the Highlands, to paint water colours and bag herself a wealthy husband. But, on the morning of the race's start, enfeebled by food poisoning, Blotto and Corky are forced to employ an extra mechanic on their team - a slender, blonde and rather attractive young American... named Ronald.So Blotto and his team are pitted against Europe's finest, in a race which takes them through France, across the Alps, to a finish line at the Colosseum in Rome. Among the competitors are Florian Carré-Dagneau, indulged son of the race sponsors, Count Daspoontz from Germany, and the Italian Enrico Parmigiano-Reggiano. All want to win the race, and all want the prize money and all - with the exception of Blotto and his team - will resort to dastardly deception and fiendish sabotage to ensure Blotto's Lagonda is not the first car over the finishing line...The ninth hair-raising adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo!Praise for Simon Brett:'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. JAMES'King of the witty village mystery' Daily Telegraph'Perfect entertainment' GuardianFethering has everything a sleepy coastal town should: a snug English pub, cosy cottages, a little local library - and the occasional murder . . .Bestselling author Burton St Clair, complete with soaring ego and wandering hands, has come to town to give a talk. But after his corpse is found slumped in his car, he won't be leaving. Jude is the prime suspect; she was, after all, the last person to see Burton St Clair alive. If she is to prove her innocence, she will have to dust off her detective skills and recruit her prim and proper neighbour (and partner-in-sleuthing) Carole to find the real culprit.

"Graced by ingeniously drawn characters, deft timing of twists, and a to-die-for climax. A stunner" - Booklist Starred ReviewWhen Jude joins the Fethering community choir, she discovers that at least one of her fellow choristers is hiding a deadly secret.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 neighbour Jude joins the new community choir - and discovers that amidst the clashing egos and petty resentments lurk some decidedly false notes. At least one chorister would appear to be hiding a deadly secret - and it's up to Carole and Jude to unearth the truth.

A quick trip to the capital goes horribly wrong when Blotto and Twinks get accidentally involved in London's criminal underworld . . .It starts innocently enough at the intimate review 'absolutely everyone is talking about', Light and Frothy, where its glamorous star, Frou Frou Gavotte, has rather taken the fancy of Blotto's school friend Giles 'Whiffler' Trumpington. But while Blotto and Whiffler wait for the star outside the theatre to take her to dinner, Whiffler is seized and manhandled into the back of a cab which then drives off into the night . . . Leaving Blotto with the problem of how to rescue his kidnapped schoolmate.Naturally, he enlists Twinks's help and the two of them encounter actors, singers, impresarios, revue writers, cockney showgirls and Scotland Yard's finest - and white slave traders, who succeed in abducting Twinks - leaving it up to Blotto and his trusty chauffeur, Corky Froggett, to rescue her before she's shipped off to foreign parts forever . . .Praise for Simon Brett'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

When an author event at the local library ends in murder, Jude finds herself a suspect in the waspishly witty new Fethering mystery.Having been booked to give a talk at Fethering Library, successful author Burton St Clair invites his old friend Jude to come along. Although they haven't met for twenty years, Jude is not surprised to find that St Clair hasn't changed, with his towering ego and somewhat shaky relationship with the truth. What Jude hadn't been suspecting however was that the evening would end in sudden, violent death.More worrying, from Jude's point of view, is the fact that the investigating police officers seem to be convinced that she herself was responsible for the crime. With the evidence stacking up against her, Jude enlists the help of her neighbour Carole not just to solve the murder but to prevent herself from being arrested for committing it.

A comprehensive, beautifully illustrated and practical wood engraving manual.Wood Engraving is an easily-followed, practical manual on wood engraving for beginners. Learn the processes of printing and engraving through clear explanations and use the lists of material requirements to help you get started. In this third, revised edition, discover up-to-date technique variations and all the tips and methods that the author has found helpful in 50 years as a practitioner.Since, or so he says, how to do it cannot be separated from why you are doing it and what it is you think you are doing, the book also touches on the relation of wood engraving to art more generally, and is a companion not only to beginning but also to continuing in this historic art. A beautiful object in its own right and written by a master in the field, this book is a must have if you treasure fine wood engraving and the contribution Simon Brett has made to it.

Another hair-raising adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo!The end of the cricket season spells gloom for Blotto, until he is invited to bat against the Hollywood cricket team out in sunny LA, where rain never stops play. And so begins the latest adventure for Blotto and his supremely gifted sister Twinks. Although their mother, the Dowager Duchess of Tawcester, keeps a strict rein on her two children, she knows America is full of wealthy young men, all of whom will fall in love with her daughter - and marriage to a Texan millionaire would solve the Tawcester financial problems once and for all.So, accompanied by trusty chauffeur Corky Froggett, the intrepid siblings head out to California. On arrival in Hollywood they are invited to a glitzy party where they are introduced to a firmament of Hollywood stars, directors and gossip columnists, but the mood of the party suddenly curdles with the breaking news that beautiful starlet Mimsy La Pim - the (former) love of Blotto's life - has been kidnapped. And Blotto is determined to make it his personal mission to rescue her.But in the world of old-fashioned cricket matches, gigantic Hollywood egos, film-making disasters and merciless crooks, it soon falls to Twinks to rescue her brother from the various messes he creates when attempting to rescue his damsel in distress. Will the siblings ever get back to Tawcester Towers - or will it be a case of death before wicket?

Mrs Pargeter discovers the skills by which Public Relations can make evil look good in the latest wickedly entertaining mystery. It is her characteristic generosity rather than her love of animals that finds Mrs Pargeter supporting her friend, Jasmine Angold, at a charity reception for PhiliPussies, whose worthy aim is to rehabilitate stray cats from the Greek island of Atmos into caring English homes. But the evening is to have unexpected consequences. At the event, Mrs P is taken aback to meet a woman who claims to be the sister of her late husband, the much-missed Mr Pargeter. This surprising encounter leads to unwelcome digging into past secrets, the discovery of a body in Epping Forest, an eventful trip to Greece - and unexpected danger for Mrs Pargeter. In the course of her investigations, she learns the true nature of charity and the dubious skills by which Public Relations can make evil look good.

When an author event at the local library ends in murder, Jude finds herself a suspect in the waspishly witty new Fethering mystery.Having been booked to give a talk at Fethering Library, successful author Burton St Clair invites his old friend Jude to come along. Although they haven't met for twenty years, Jude is not surprised to find that St Clair hasn't changed, with his towering ego and somewhat shaky relationship with the truth. What Jude hadn't been suspecting however was that the evening would end in sudden, violent death.More worrying, from Jude's point of view, is the fact that the investigating police officers seem to be convinced that she herself was responsible for the crime. With the evidence stacking up against her, Jude enlists the help of her neighbour Carole not just to solve the murder but to prevent herself from being arrested for committing it.

Pearson English Active Readers present stories carefully written and graded across five levels for teachers of English who want to activate their students’ language through reading, . From original stories, classic and contemporary fiction, to film adaptations and nonfiction titles, an integrated skills approach consolidates vocabulary and develops language skills while learners experience the joy of reading. Find out more at english.com/readers

The wickedly entertaining new Fethering mystery featuring chalk-and-cheese detective duo Carole and JudePolly's Cake Shop has been a feature of the shopping parade for many years, but when its owner announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form the Save Polly's Cake Shop Action Committee.The plan is that Polly's should become a community venture, managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos. Matters take a turn for the worse when she and Carole come across a badly-decomposed body on Fethering beach - and uncover a link to Polly's. Not only do the two neighbours have to find out whodunit, they are also faced with the thorny question: is it possible to run a business on that most volatile of commodities - goodwill?

What is The Fat-Loss Blueprint About? What it is not about is "miracle diets", "weight loss tricks" or gimmick supplements. What I can promise is that the secrets I am about to share with you will give you the information, motivation and tools to significantly increase your understanding of body fat and how to reach your fat loss goals WAY faster. I will reveal a shocking fact that totally floored me and changed the way I approached my quest to lose weight. You will get access to the exact same information that allowed me to lose over a stone in weight and 2 inches of belly fat - and keep it off. -learn the exact habits you can EASILY implement to finally break the cycle of yo-yo dieting -Kick off with the 7 day detox program (nothing will set you up for success better) -Follow the 30 day activity program guaranteed to quickly improve your body, fell healthy and energised.

Tawcester Towers, the family seat of the Lyminster family, has suffered an unwelcome injection of distant cousins, so distant that they aren't even British! Count Igor and Count Lyudmilla Bashusky had to flee Russia after the Revolution and have spent the intervening years building up debts in the hotels of Europe's capitals and sponging off ever more exasperated (and distant) relatives.The Bashusky's arrival at Tawcester Towers causes a stir, and it's up to Blotto and Twinks, that indefatigable duo, to provide a solution to get them back to Russia. Reversing the Russian Revolution and getting a Tsar back into St Petersburg's Winter Palace is just the sort of challenge the fiercely bright Twinks relishes, though her dim-witted brother Blotto shows less aptitude for the subtleties of international politics, despite his commendable bravery.The siblings soon find themselves in Berlin to try and broker a meeting with the White Russian community, and swiftly become embroiled in a world of spies, counterspies, conspiracies and counter-conspiracies. Just when things seem to be looking up, little do Blotto and Twinks realise that their plans are being monitored by the spymaster Fyodor Vlachko, a former worker on the Bushusky's estate who has now risen to a senior post in the secret police of the newly-formed Soviet Union . . .

Gun-runners, shifty politicians . . . and a kidnapped vicar! Mrs Pargeter is on the caseFor Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst the many bequests he made to her, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise to help in her enquiries.Attending the funeral of the rich and respected Sir Normington Winthrop, because his is one of the names in the little black book, Mrs Pargeter sets out to discover the connection between Sir Normington and her late husband. Her investigations will draw her into a shady world of gun-runners, shifty politicians - and a kidnapped vicar.

The wickedly entertaining new Fethering mystery featuring chalk-and-cheese detective duo Carole and JudePolly's Cake Shop has been a feature of the shopping parade for many years, but when its owner announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form the Save Polly's Cake Shop Action Committee.The plan is that Polly's should become a community venture, managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos. Matters take a turn for the worse when she and Carole come across a badly-decomposed body on Fethering beach - and uncover a link to Polly's. Not only do the two neighbours have to find out whodunit, they are also faced with the thorny question: is it possible to run a business on that most volatile of commodities - goodwill?