Simon Brett Audiobooks

Radio comedy craft brought to detective fiction in Charles Paris: An Amateur Corpse

1 audiobook reviewed

★ 4.0/5 average

295 listener ratings

Who is Simon Brett?

Simon Brett – born in Worcester Park, Surrey, in 1945 – is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio, that last role giving him one of the more enviable CVs in British broadcasting: his radio credits include The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue and Just a Minute.

As a novelist he is best known for his mystery series – he has written several – and his standing has been recognised with an OBE and a fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature. Few working crime writers have roots so deep in British comedy and broadcasting, and it shows in the writing: Brett’s craft was honed in rooms where every line had to earn its place.

Simon Brett in audiobooks

A crime writer who spent years making radio comedy knows exactly how dialogue should sound, and that craft runs right through Brett’s mysteries. Charles Paris: An Amateur Corpse brings one of his series sleuths into our catalogue in a form that suits the material perfectly: detective fiction from a writer steeped in performance, timing and the well-placed line. British mystery with a wry streak is prime audio territory – the pleasure is as much in the telling as in the solution – and Brett is one of its most practised hands. For UK listeners who like their crime witty rather than grisly, this is as safe a bet as the genre offers.