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 seasoned actor - and part-time sleuth - starring in a new theatre production

A former lead actor throwing a scene

An unexpected death on opening night

Everything hints at a MURDER UNPROMPTED!

Seasoned actor Charles Paris is delighted - albeit nervous - to be cast in a big role in a new theatre adaptation of The Hooded Owl. But with opening night at a West End theatre fast approaching, last-minute changes to the cast mean Charles and his fellow lead actor, Alex Household, are no longer the stars - but instead the understudies! Alex isn't happy at all and flatly refuses to be replaced by untalented star Micky Banks, let alone be his understudy.

When Micky gets shot on stage on opening night, all eyes turn to Alex. It falls to Charles once again to use his exceptional detective skills to solve the murder and clear his comrade's name - if, that is, he's actually innocent . . .

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:

"Another Brett winner - one of his best" Kirkus Reviews

"Packed with suspense and humor, it is certain to please mystery and theater fans" Library Journal

"Simon Brett's Charles Paris series are always a delight to read" Mysteries in Paradise

"The best in the series so far . . . Full of humour and a cracking plot" Brian G., 5* GoodReads review

"Read it for a great whodunnit that will keep you guessing, while enjoying every page" J.M. C., 5* Amazon review

"Simon Brett never disappoints. Charles Paris is one of my favourite fictional characters" Ellen D., 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