Murder Unprompted

Charles Paris #8

by Simon Brett, Geoffrey Howard

Murder Unprompted is another of Simon Brett's fascinating blend of crime and backstage drama. This time he provides what might be described as the biography of a play—from the cradle to the grave. Murder Unprompted takes you from the author, to an unscrupulous producer, to the theater itself, to director, to cast—including Mr. Brett's bit-player detective, Charles Paris.

But trouble starts the first night. The star can't remember his lines, and worse—he's shot dead on stage. Paris takes on not only his usual role of detective, but lead of the play as well...a role that will lead him to the perpetrators of the crime. Murder Unprompted will delight theater buffs as well as all lovers of mystery.

Author Bio: Simon Brett is a former radio and television comedy producer, who has been writing full-time for more than 20 years. Creator of the Charles Paris, Mrs. Pargeter and Fethering series of mysteries, Brett's psychological thriller, A Shock to the System, was filmed starring Michael Caine. Married with three children, he lives in an Agatha Christie-style village in West Sussex, England.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Crime, Murder Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Cozy Mystery

MP3 Book

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Simon Brett, OBE, FRSL is a prolific British writer of whodunnits.

He is the son of a Chartered Surveyor and was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first class honours degree in English.

He then joined the BBC as a trainee and worked for BBC Radio and London Weekend Television, where his work included 'Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and 'Frank Muir Goes Into ...'.

After his spells with the media he began devoting most of his time to writing from the late 1970s and is well known for his various series of crime novels.

He is married with three children and lives in Burpham, near Arundel, West Sussex, England. He is the current president of the Detection Club.

Reviews

[LeahBethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounding up. I think the author does such a good job writing the character of Charles Paris. He is my favorite out-of-work actor and I really enjoy getting back into his British world of theater, TV and radio. Charles may not be the brightest or quickest detective but he's kind and self-deprecating and I'm so glad he finally had a big moment on stage in Murder Unprompted.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Bill Nighy stars as Simon Brett’s actor sleuth who looks as if he may be starring in a West End hit. But of course things aren’t that simple.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He always found that, while he could never exactly fix the wording of the good [reviews], the bad remained indelibly printed on his brain, accurate to the last comma."

2022 review:
I re-read this because I kind of forgot what happens and had the next book in the series available to read right after. I enjoyed this almost more the second time around; I remembered who murdered the great actor Micky Banks (although I didn't remember that Alex Household was the intended victim by Valeria Cass; Alex runs away and hides in Exmoor because he is paranoid and scared) and so I could enjoy the dry humor surrounding the stage production. Poor playwright Malcolm is probably the biggest loser in the whole situation after Paul Lexington goes bankrupt and abandons all of this.
Solicitor Gerald and Maurice Skellern (aka the worst agent in the world) make small appearances, and I like that George Birkett from a previous book comes back as Charles's replacement.
Juliet is pregnant again and 54-year-old Charles dreams of making up with his estranged wife, Frances. She sells their home at the end of the book and Charles resumes drinking.

2019 review:
I enjoy Charles Paris, flawed man that he is. I do think he achieves some personal growth in this book, at least in so far as he doesn't need alcohol before a stage performance.

He's part of a theatre troupe performing a play, "The Hooded Owl," that finally gets invited to go to the West End. But then the lead actor, Michael Banks, is killed. Was it done by his understudy? Or was someone else meant to get killed? What was the nature of his affair with his leading lady? And if it wasn't the understudy Alex Household, then why did he run away and is in hiding?

I really enjoyed the insider scoop of plays - the whole history of how this play got performed in the first place was funny.

At the end, Michael was killed by his girlfriend's mom.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOTES TO SELF:

series rec by CPi
don't need to read in order
fine break from string of more serious reads
mystery didn't happen until ~60% in

[D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the first work I read of this author and what a lovely little mystery it is. It combines the details of the theater, and many arts in general, with the detective genre smoothly.

The writing flows well, with a cynical humour that I found endearing. The mystery itself is well constructed in that all the hints are available to the reader before the final conclusion is given.

As other reviewers stated, the murder/mystery takes place 2/3rds into the book, making it feel like a slow start. I do think the drama of the play and the people involved give the reader enough to focus on, as well as give enough if a feel of who and what we're dealing with (a great piece of the puzzle required to solve the mystery)

In all, I enjoyed this piece.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Paris is Jessica Fletcher with a big bottle of Bell’s Scotch Whiskey close at hand. He is a failed father and husband with a less-than-mediocre acting career. How he is not known as the jinx of the British theatre is a mystery because whenever he shows up, someone soon to be a corpse won’t be bar behind. Unfortunately for the murderers, he is an observant guy who is very good at putting the clues together.
In Murder Unprompted, the victim is an aging star who has his lines fed to him by a gadget quaintly known as a “deaf aid.”
If you like cozies with a noir edge, you can’t do better than Simon Brett. 3.5.

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles is back in the theatre in this installment and back in the firing line. When he's replaced when the new play he's been starring in transfers to the West End, he finds himself backstage, understudying the role he used to play. The other leading man has also been replaced and he's not happy either, so when the new star is shot dead, there's an obvious suspect. But Charles isn't convinced. Fun, funny and clever.

[JodiP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about the protagonist and this book. He is a really sad pathetic character but I really liked the mystery and how he went about solving it. The supporting characters were all very interesting as well and it explored the theater world about which I knew very little. I may go back and start the series from the beginning, as this is the first one I had read.

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Charles Paris. I'll read more. I loved the characterizations, and the real atmosphere of the relations between the cast. I felt the knowledge of the theater, although I don't frequent those circles.
I enjoy Simon Brett's Fethering series, and I'll be looking for more of this one. The incomparable Ralph Cosham read this. I miss him.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 1 out of 5]

A minor theatrical group performs a play by a new author in Taunton, Somerset, and at the end of the run, are approved to transfer to London. You might as well start reading at page 100, shortly before someone falls down on stage and the play has to be abandoned. Unless you want all the ins, outs, jealousies, snobbery, mawkishness and nerves of am dram. The book is 176 pages long.

[Anna McCormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

How not to stage a new play

After sorties into radio and television in the preceding books in this series, actor-cum-sleuth Charles Paris is back to his roots on a stage. Many troubles (including murder) attend the production of a new play, The Hooded Owl, in which he has a promising part. Of course, it ends in tears, though Charles works out the identity of the murderer.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but not terribly satisfying. Lots of simple declarative sentences and two dimensional characters. I have listened to some of these while on car trips. Think that might be more satisfying than reading.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this series it is sometimes difficult to suss out the reason for the title. This one is clear. Good news for Charles as he gets his chance at the lead role in The West End. And he performs without drinking!

[Lawanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook performed by Geoffrey Howard

[Pooch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good twist for the ending.

[Grace Of Liddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

BBC version. Can't beat it.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a standout of the Charles Paris series, but if you already like the series, there are some familiar pleasures here.

[Panna · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Bocsánat, de ez a stílus abszolút nem az én műfajom.

[Agoston K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of the best of the Charles Paris mysteries, but very enjoyable.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent backstager, marred only by a murder mystery. I was thoroughly enjoying the characters and situation, and for more than half the book there was a lot to enjoy. Then the murder happened (I suppose it was inevitable--I knew going in it was a mystery, I'd asked at the mystery bookshop for a good mystery to read) and I had to divide my focus between the fascinating story of life on-and-off the stage, and the less fascinating story of the whodunnit. Not-really-a-spoiler-alert: the reveal's not all that thrilling or satisfying or believable.

But I enjoyed all the rest of it so much that I'll seek out more by the author--if the rest of his books are just as good but with better mysteries, then I've found a new fave. For the non-mystery bits, 4 stars--for the mystery, 2 stars--hence, 3 stars overall.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable, as usual, even though the murder comes late in the book, and the detection part is very short. I really enjoyed the excursion into the world of West End theater, and, of course, the nice and surprising success of Charles Paris.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first Charles Paris novel. I thought it was written similarly to other Simon Brett series. I liked the story, the plot build-up, and many of the characters. At times, I do think the story did get bogged down with very lengthy detail, but that might be due to developing a new lead character in a series. The end left me disheartened or a little frustrated, and while I don't mind a flawed character, I do want something positive to come about, but it doesn't happen here. I will read at least one more Charles Paris story before making an overall assessment of this series.

[G Hodges · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this for 10 cents at the local library book sale. If I had paid more, I would be upset. The languid, juiced up slightly tattered second son bit is way past it's prime here (even thought there is no mention of Charles as a second son - it's just the mantle he seems to wear). The outcome is also obvious. It is not that I don't like an occasional 'you know, old chap' book. Just not this one. You want him to get his act together. And he doesn't. The crime is secondary.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Paris thinks he really has a shot at the big time when he's hired to play second lead in a new play in the provinces. The producer hopes to bring the play to London's West End! But then things start to go wrong for Charles, and for the lead in the play as well. Another charming outing for Brett's theatrical detective.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Simon Brett's Charles Paris series of mysteries and was delighted to find one I hadn't read before. In this one, Charles finally makes it to a starring role in a London West End play and of course, solves a murder mystery. Ex-wife Francis appears which is always a plus. A nice mix of humor and intrigue.

[Jenine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the theatre workings and characters. The main character Charles Paris is perfectly and even charmingly fallible. But the psychology of the murderer was so unconvincing that it drug the whole thing down.

[Jennifer Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself taking time getting to my destination so I had more time to listen. The narration was good and the story was easy to follow. Not so many characters I couldn't keep them straight but enough that the murderer wasn't obvious. It kept me guessing until the end.

[AnnieM · Rating 1 out of 5]

The narrator killed this book. It was slow and passive. Any reader could have brought more feeling to this book.

I will try another book from the author, but I will read a traditional book, not an audio.

Five hours I'll never get back.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent whodunit fare. Charles seems to work better than he does later and even performs in the West End. The plot involves an ear piece and an obvious suspect. The great spell of life backstage is here.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

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