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Sign up todayA Comedian Dies
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Learn moreCharles Paris, middle-aged actor turned amateur sleuth, is vacationing at a small English seaside town. Irresistibly drawn to anything theatrical, Charles seeks entertainment at the local music hall and endures a series of not-so-wonderful vaudeville acts in the hope that the man given star billing will be worth watching. This performer, Bill Peaky, comes on stage with his electric guitar, grasps the microphone—and drops dead, due to faulty wiring of the stage equipment.
It looks like an accident, but Charles is not so sure and starts to find out more about the people in the other acts on the bill: Janine, the pretty dancer who disappears; Miffy Turtle, Peaky’s manager, a little too sharply dressed and too sharp altogether; Chox Morton, seedy and unduly nervous, manager of another act; Lennie Barber, one-time star comedian trying to make a comeback. The more Charles investigates, the more suspects turn up.
Simon Brett is the creator of four series of detective novels, the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter, Fethering, and Blotto & Twinks series. His 1984 stand-alone novel A Shock to the System was adapted as a film starring Michael Caine. He was awarded an OBE in 2016 for his services to literature and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Before turning to writing full time, he worked with BBC radio and London Weekend Television Other radio work includes several one-off plays for Radio 4 and a number of episodes of the Baldi detective series. A former president of Britain’s Crime Writers Association, he is president of the Detection Club, as well as being involved with various writers’ organizations.
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.
Reviews
“Typical Brett: Well-realized characters and urbane dialogue…[with] a pronounced touch of irony.”
“Frederick Davidson catches the perfect ironic and self-deprecating tone for Paris. Davidson’s excellent portrayal of the classes of people found in the British television studio and vaudeville hall greatly contributes to the enjoyment of this mystery.”
“Simon Brett, the Laurence Olivier of theatrical mystery, writes thrillers that play wonderfully: the dialogue is witty and natural, the characterization engagingly complex, and the plots most cunningly constructed.”
“A likable case, nicely colored with a music hall/TV background…A neat, swift read by anybody’s standards.”
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