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A Series of Murders / Corporate Bodies; Omnibus 7
Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
About the author
Simon Brett
390 books576 followersSimon 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 30, 2017
I listened to the audio version of this book starring Bill Nighy.
All I can say is that it is brilliant. The writing is crisp and witty. The plot was fast paced & really funny. I loved the actors voices in this audio, they were perfect. A superb BBC production.
All I can say is that it is brilliant. The writing is crisp and witty. The plot was fast paced & really funny. I loved the actors voices in this audio, they were perfect. A superb BBC production.
February 26, 2026
I don't often read omnibus editions, or indeed award 3* reviews, so what was my issue with this book which made reading it quite so onerous?
I found no problem with the writing style, which was really sharp and acerbic and which I definitely enjoyed.
Both storylines were plausible, with plenty of twists and turns, many of which I never saw coming!
The characters were all wonderfully described and fleshed out, even if most were suspects and almost all of them were totally unlikeable as people, which I imagine is just as the author intended.
Therefore, the only reason for my discomfort whilst reading I can lay firmly at the feet of the main protagonist, Charles Paris himself, with whom I simply couldn't connect to or empathise with at all. A washed-up; more often 'resting' than working actor; separated from his long-suffering wife; estranged from his grown up daughter; whose alcohol addiction is out there for all to see. Whilst his personality was perfectly cameoed by the author, I found his amateur sleuthing was rather too haphazard and slap-dash to be plausible or realistic, especially when compared to many of his peers and I found myself groaning as Charles stumbled from one encounter to the next, with no real idea of his expectations or planned outcomes from each meeting.
However, please don't let me dissuade you from checking out the stories for yourself, as maybe I have just completely missed some of the vital nuances with which the books are replete.
I found no problem with the writing style, which was really sharp and acerbic and which I definitely enjoyed.
Both storylines were plausible, with plenty of twists and turns, many of which I never saw coming!
The characters were all wonderfully described and fleshed out, even if most were suspects and almost all of them were totally unlikeable as people, which I imagine is just as the author intended.
Therefore, the only reason for my discomfort whilst reading I can lay firmly at the feet of the main protagonist, Charles Paris himself, with whom I simply couldn't connect to or empathise with at all. A washed-up; more often 'resting' than working actor; separated from his long-suffering wife; estranged from his grown up daughter; whose alcohol addiction is out there for all to see. Whilst his personality was perfectly cameoed by the author, I found his amateur sleuthing was rather too haphazard and slap-dash to be plausible or realistic, especially when compared to many of his peers and I found myself groaning as Charles stumbled from one encounter to the next, with no real idea of his expectations or planned outcomes from each meeting.
However, please don't let me dissuade you from checking out the stories for yourself, as maybe I have just completely missed some of the vital nuances with which the books are replete.
March 7, 2020
listened to an audio book on a 2hr drive - perfect
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews