Corporate Bodies

Charles Paris #14

by Simon Brett

Hired to operate a forklift in a corporate video, struggling actor and English sleuth Charles Paris finds the job complicated when a girl on the set is crushed to death by the machine.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, British Literature, Crime, Detective, Cozy Mystery

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

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

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles is branching out into corporate videos. But when there's a death on the set in the warehouse, he's not convinced it was an accident - even though everyone else is. Soon he's digging around as tensions rise around the launch of a new product... This is lots of fun and it's nice to see Charles trying to make a difference in his relationship with Frances too.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Paris, the usually out of work actor and amateur sleuth, is engaged by a television writer to work on some in house corporate videos as a forklift operator and all is going well until a body is found behind some pallets. This is always a reliably good series and this entry was no exception.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite Charlis Paris so far. He is part of a corporate video, working for Will Parton's new company, when a young receptionist dies from a pile of pallets falling on her. Is this murder or simply a forklift accident? He of course investigates. There's a lot of filler as he talks to businessmen and Frances makes an appearance. This book is probably 100 pages shorter if you take out the Wimbleton experience, which was mostly unnecessary, aside from introducing us to Ken Colebourne's sickly wife Patricia. It ends up that Ken slept with Dayna and Charles thinks he killed her (she was the young woman who died in the factory) but it comes to light, after Patricia dies and Ken kills himself to save face with her (not knowing she's already passed), that HEATHER killed Dayna. She was angry Dayna might draw the boss' attention. What Heather doesn't know is that her boss, Brian, is impotent and has been for decades. Lots of unnecessary conversations about cars and muesli bars.

[Anna McCormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sparkling wih humour

Charles tries a spot of acting for a corporate video; but his thought that it could become a paying area of employment fades when he becomes involved in solving a murder that no one seems interested in except him. Charles acquires a new suit (gasp!), tries a raprochement with Frances (oh, dear), drinks too much (as usual), and chases wrong rabbits till he finally identifies the right one. The dialogue and narrative sparkle with humor based on product-marketing and corporate behaviour, so that, though the mystery isn’t all that mystifying, the book is a fun read.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite my cup of tea. I have read several of Simon Brett's books featuring his Mrs. Pargeter, and I enjoyed them. I wanted to like the main character, Charles Paris, an actor who wants to solve a murder that had been categorized as an accident. I didn't like Charles for his constant need for alcohol or the rude way he treated his wife, from whom he had walked away. Charles doggedly searches for the motive and means for the "accident" and makes several wrong guesses before discovering the perpetrator. Going forth, I will stick to Brett's Mrs. Pargeter mysteries/

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"And later, Charles fell in the river."

Oh joy - I found another Jeremy Front adaptation of a Simon Brett story for BBC Radio 4. Performed by the full cast led by Bill Nighy as Charles Paris, the often out of work actor, this time he's in work and having great trouble with machinery.
Music from Cream, the Kinks and the Who, amongst others add to the sheer indulgent pleasure.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Eh, I didn’t like this one as much as the previous books. Perhaps it was because the setting, murder, and murderer felt unsatisfactory. Also, I think Brett magically made Charles younger so he wouldn’t eventually be writing about an octogenarian sleuth with an eye for the ladies.

On to the next one...

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded this audio book because I really enjoy Brett's characters in some of his other books. (Carole and Jude in the Fethering series are great.) I wondered if I had not given the Charles Paris series a fair chance when I abandoned this series after a couple books years ago. It turns out the bumbling Paris character is just not for me.

[carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the first book with the Charles Price character that I have read. I enjoyed other books by Simon Brett with different lead characters. Not so with this book. It was difficult to get through.

[Eugene · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring, tawdry, shallow cartoonish characters, predictable from the get go. Not at all entertaining. The book cost me $1 and that was at least 90 cents too much. The only good thing was it was short and it was easy to skim through lots of the text that seemed like filler.

[Bud Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This an entertaining golden oldie from one of my favourites. It has Simon Brett's usual mixture of good plotting, humour and believable characters. If you've not read Simon Brett, give him a try if you like a good laugh with your murder!

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Paris gloriously inept as a detective; brilliant.

[Shiraz Esat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard this as an audio book play from the BBC. Funny and captivating!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an actor, Charles Peru's makes a good detective!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay mystery with some humorous insights into advertising and corporate culture.

[Dogsandbooks]

He does crank these out!

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entertaining Charles Paris mystery, with the same humor as always. This was also an interesting introduction to corporate videos and the role they play in actor’s livelihoods.

[Stephanie Grathwol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of this author's many books that I've encountered. A decent whodunit.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another detection novel, I enjoy the character of Charles Paris, but I can’t imagine how he drinks so much without getting alcohol poisoning- he is engaging and the plot moves along. Someone murdered a young women in a manufacturing company who was having sex with recording the event to use as blackmail-

[Ginger Heskett]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14345511

[Silvio111 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This Charles Paris series has a completely different tone from Simon Brett's "Mrs. Pargeter" detective series. Whereas the latter has a sort of facetious yet decorous attitude, illustrated by the complacently refined matron surrounded by all her late husband's loyal crime compatriots, in contrast, Charles Paris has a rueful, self-deprecatory take on his own somewhat faded acting career, embellished by his dryly witty references to past put-downs from theater (or should I say, "theatre") critics from his long slog toward elusive success in his his field.

I really like this series; I had previously only heard BBC Radio programs featuring Bill Nighy as Charles Paris, which are actually pitch-perfect. I am happy to discover that the books are just as satisfying.

[Brian G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Paris enters the world of Business.
Whilst filming a Corporate video a young girl is killed in an accident. Charles uncovers secrets about the management of the company and believes the girl was murdered
Told with the humour you expect from Brett this mystery is draws you in
One star has beenknocked off because of Charles Paris' behaviour after he uncovers the murderer.
SPOILERS


He tells the murderer that he won't report them to the police as the girl (who was blackmailing) deserved to be murdered!
Out of character (of both Paris and Brett)

3 stars

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brett's amateur sleuth is an unemployed actor always on the verge of something big. In this tale, he is hired to play a part in a corporate video and ends up trying to solve a murder. Brett is a master at understated humor.

[Rachel N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Paris gets a job shooting a commercial film for the Demoleen Company. While there a secretary is killed by pallets falling on her. It's deemed an accident but Charles is sure it is murder. A competent mystery.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon Brett (of "The Fethering Mysteries") is such a good writer that he's helped me enjoy his Charles Paris mysteries, even though I wouldn't normally like Charles Paris. And he has such a good sense of humor and bons mots.British Cozy at its best :)

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Charles Paris murder mystery. Whilst doing commercials at a corporate office a girl is found dead. Charles thinks she is murdered and proceeds to investigate.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the Charles Paris character and the humor of this series. Very light, but fun.

[Grace Of Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as audiobook. BBC radio play production. Bill Nighy was great.