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Fethering #9
Blood at the Bookies
The bets are on whodunnit when a body is found at the bookies ... Jude has never been averse to a bit of a flutter; her friend Carole, on the other hand, thinks that the local betting shop is a den of iniquity. But when Jude stumbles upon the body of Polish immigrant Tadeusz Jankowski - the race is on to find his killer. The odds aren't looking good.
No one seems to know anything about the mysterious Tadek - even his sister can't shed any light on what he was doing in Fethering. Who was the anonymous woman in the bookies who seems to have vanished?
Why was Tadek interested in the local university? And who is the 'Fifi' Tadek spoke of with his dying breath? As they question the local residents, Carol finds an unexpected friend in an inveterate gambler and Jude finds herself in potentially more trouble than she can handle with a lecherous and charming drama professor.
In this race there can only be one winner, but with no leads and several suspects in the running will our lady detectives be pipped at the post by a cold and calculating killer?
No one seems to know anything about the mysterious Tadek - even his sister can't shed any light on what he was doing in Fethering. Who was the anonymous woman in the bookies who seems to have vanished?
Why was Tadek interested in the local university? And who is the 'Fifi' Tadek spoke of with his dying breath? As they question the local residents, Carol finds an unexpected friend in an inveterate gambler and Jude finds herself in potentially more trouble than she can handle with a lecherous and charming drama professor.
In this race there can only be one winner, but with no leads and several suspects in the running will our lady detectives be pipped at the post by a cold and calculating killer?
295 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
44 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
Simon Brett
329 books532 followersSimon Brett 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 31, 2022
Blood at the Bookies (Fethering, #9) by Simon Brett.
This is my 20th book in the Fethering mysteries although it's 9th in the series. I've gone back to include a few I've missed and so glad I did. This was excellent in the development of Jude and Carole's relationship as friends and partnership as sleuths. Great fun!
The mystery begins with a man drifting into the local betting shop and dying in short order from a stab wound. His dying word was Fee.
Jude just happened to be there placing a bet as a favor for a friend who had come down with the flu. She followed this stranger outside to an alleyway where he died. The police question her and later she relayed this experience to Carole who also had come down with the flu.
The mystery as to why this stranger appeared in the betting shop prior to his death and who was responsible for killing him is slowly unraveled by Carole and Jude. Some red herrings along the way but the ending came out of the blue. It's the usual partnership that keeps me coming back for more. So well written and enjoyable.
This is my 20th book in the Fethering mysteries although it's 9th in the series. I've gone back to include a few I've missed and so glad I did. This was excellent in the development of Jude and Carole's relationship as friends and partnership as sleuths. Great fun!
The mystery begins with a man drifting into the local betting shop and dying in short order from a stab wound. His dying word was Fee.
Jude just happened to be there placing a bet as a favor for a friend who had come down with the flu. She followed this stranger outside to an alleyway where he died. The police question her and later she relayed this experience to Carole who also had come down with the flu.
The mystery as to why this stranger appeared in the betting shop prior to his death and who was responsible for killing him is slowly unraveled by Carole and Jude. Some red herrings along the way but the ending came out of the blue. It's the usual partnership that keeps me coming back for more. So well written and enjoyable.
January 17, 2024
Xenophobia seems to be running rampant in Fethering. Jude and Carole are a bit more broad minded and are tracking down the murderer of a young Polish man. They encounter Drama both literally and figuratively!!
The ending bumped this episode up a star. This was #9 in the series. I have one more to go before I part company with these ladies. The book is coming from somewhere in the nether region of Florida via their inter-branch service.
I’ll miss these cozy mysteries when I’m through, they make me think of my grandmother. She emigrated from the UK, a Welsh immigrant who used many of the phrases I find in these books. Through to the kitchen, off to the shops, top of the garden, go straight on through - I can hear her voice, loud and clear.
The ending bumped this episode up a star. This was #9 in the series. I have one more to go before I part company with these ladies. The book is coming from somewhere in the nether region of Florida via their inter-branch service.
I’ll miss these cozy mysteries when I’m through, they make me think of my grandmother. She emigrated from the UK, a Welsh immigrant who used many of the phrases I find in these books. Through to the kitchen, off to the shops, top of the garden, go straight on through - I can hear her voice, loud and clear.
November 2, 2020
The flu has hit Fethering. Jude is checking in on her neighbor Carole who is sick with the flu. Carole acts like she doesn't want any help but she does need someone to walk her dog and get groceries for her. She and Jude are neighbors would seem to be unlikely friends. Carole is a by the rules, uptight prideful personality and Jude is a free spirit healer. They have teamed up in previous books to solve murders.
Jude is going to the bookie store to place a bet for another Fethering citizen who is down with the flu too. While there a hail storm hits the town and the bookie store is a refuge during it. Upon leaving the store, Jude discovers a young man who has been stabbed to death. She saw him enter the store.
Jude and Carole join forces again to solve the murder. It takes them again to the bookie store, to a university, along the beach and to various places to interview people. The young man is from Poland. Why did he come to England and where was he staying? Those are two of the first questions they needed answered after finding out his identification.
I always enjoy the adventures of Carole and Jude. I would give this book at 4.5 rating if possible.
Enjoyed the mystery, the characters and the location.
Jude is going to the bookie store to place a bet for another Fethering citizen who is down with the flu too. While there a hail storm hits the town and the bookie store is a refuge during it. Upon leaving the store, Jude discovers a young man who has been stabbed to death. She saw him enter the store.
Jude and Carole join forces again to solve the murder. It takes them again to the bookie store, to a university, along the beach and to various places to interview people. The young man is from Poland. Why did he come to England and where was he staying? Those are two of the first questions they needed answered after finding out his identification.
I always enjoy the adventures of Carole and Jude. I would give this book at 4.5 rating if possible.
Enjoyed the mystery, the characters and the location.
June 5, 2017
This was just what I needed after my previous very serious and thoughtful read of Small Great Things. Carole and Jude investigate the murder of a young Polish man. They reason things out together and uncover the murderer just when the police were doing the same thing. The ending was satisfying with all the storylines coming to a neat conclusion. Nothing weighty or serious here, just an easy read to clear my palate.
August 29, 2014
I avoid the thriller/mystery genre because I don't need my wild imagination stimulated with further fears. So the well written cosy is right up my street.
Brett is such a pro of this middle-brow sort of cosy, that I know I can relax and enjoy and not be distracted by weak plotting, an unnecessary abundance of characters, mostly vapid, and sub-standard vocabulary. And, as an added bonus, every now and then he slings in an excruciatingly dead-on comment that makes me love him all the more.
In Blood at the Bookies, (I leave the plot synopsis for others) in addition to taking us into the world of betting systems, college instructor ethics, and immigrant prejudice, Brett uses a tertiary scene without it feeling forced, to exploit a recent cancerous growth on UK hospitality. With glee and perfect righteousness, he introduces the Cat and the Fiddle with its outrageous claim of being "a real old fashioned country pub", according to the owner with the "vertiginously deep cleavage". His relentless itemisation of this haunt's gruesomely determined fun decor reminds me of too many similar establishments that poison the home counties these days.
Brett savages the place as only he can do: "Suited businessmen at single tables worked silently through meals piled high with orange chips. An unspeaking couple in a stable-like booth looked as if they were mentally checking through the final details of their suicide pact." That brought me to my knees joking with laughter.
Eccentrically enough for me, the rest of the story was secondary to that scene. Now, also some reviewers complain about poor old Carol and her up-tight ways. Well, dear audience, there are people like that but perhaps especially from a certain generation in England. I have a dear friend of many years who is exactly like that. And so I can identify with Jude's indulgence and insight.
It all adds up to a delightful read with no nasty nightmares to follow.
Brett is such a pro of this middle-brow sort of cosy, that I know I can relax and enjoy and not be distracted by weak plotting, an unnecessary abundance of characters, mostly vapid, and sub-standard vocabulary. And, as an added bonus, every now and then he slings in an excruciatingly dead-on comment that makes me love him all the more.
In Blood at the Bookies, (I leave the plot synopsis for others) in addition to taking us into the world of betting systems, college instructor ethics, and immigrant prejudice, Brett uses a tertiary scene without it feeling forced, to exploit a recent cancerous growth on UK hospitality. With glee and perfect righteousness, he introduces the Cat and the Fiddle with its outrageous claim of being "a real old fashioned country pub", according to the owner with the "vertiginously deep cleavage". His relentless itemisation of this haunt's gruesomely determined fun decor reminds me of too many similar establishments that poison the home counties these days.
Brett savages the place as only he can do: "Suited businessmen at single tables worked silently through meals piled high with orange chips. An unspeaking couple in a stable-like booth looked as if they were mentally checking through the final details of their suicide pact." That brought me to my knees joking with laughter.
Eccentrically enough for me, the rest of the story was secondary to that scene. Now, also some reviewers complain about poor old Carol and her up-tight ways. Well, dear audience, there are people like that but perhaps especially from a certain generation in England. I have a dear friend of many years who is exactly like that. And so I can identify with Jude's indulgence and insight.
It all adds up to a delightful read with no nasty nightmares to follow.
November 22, 2015
I've enjoyed several of Simon Brett's novels, especially the Charles Paris series and the first Feathering book. His books are smart, funny, and lighthearted - just the kind of thing I'm looking for in my entertainment. Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a letdown. I enjoy the protagonists Jude de and Carol, and I enjoy the way these characters develop in each book of the series (this one included) - but I did not enjoy the mystery or the portrayal of the murder victim's Polish sister. Her stereotypical broken English was enough to spoil it for me - and for someone with such a shaky grasp on the language, she sure had a broad vocabulary and understanding of idioms!
I found the mystery a bit pale - I had it figured out rather early on, and was annoyed as I waited for Carol and Jude to figure out a VERY obvious clue - once the obvious occurred to them, the case was solved rather quickly, so it was a real slog to watch them struggle through the thing.
I am willing to give this series another try, but Blood at Bookies is clearly not its best moment,
I found the mystery a bit pale - I had it figured out rather early on, and was annoyed as I waited for Carol and Jude to figure out a VERY obvious clue - once the obvious occurred to them, the case was solved rather quickly, so it was a real slog to watch them struggle through the thing.
I am willing to give this series another try, but Blood at Bookies is clearly not its best moment,
May 17, 2018
When new age healer Jude leaves the local betting shop, she discovers a trail of blood, and follows it to the body of a young man. The dead man turns out to be a musician from Poland. When his sister arrives in Fethering, Jude and her neighbor Carole, a retired civil servant, get involved and investigate, in this long running mystery series.
July 21, 2021
Another delightful yarn from Simon. Jude and Carol are such sweeties, and the plot was quite tangled. Simon's vocabulary is very enlightening, with lots of new words for me to remember.
Loved it.
Loved it.
August 1, 2021
Always a fun ride. How the murder is unraveled by the two ladies is fun.
February 11, 2022
Amazing characters. Brilliant plot.
December 31, 2021
Old pro Simon Brett can still crank ‘em out! Number 9 in his current series “The Fethering Mysteries” and it’s a dandy. His books are just so readable, the characters catch our interest right from the go, and the story skips along merrily.
As the title implies, a man dies at the gambling parlor while Jude is there to drop a few bob on the ponies. The police seem ill equipped, and unmotivated, to investigate the death of what turns out to be a young man from Poland. As usual, our heroines Carole and Jude take it on and are gangbusters to solve the crime, but it’s a toughie. Brett puts out enough red herrings to fill a fishing dory, and we are all too happy to bite on each. In the end the ladies once again ace the case and call the police with a wrapped package.
Light, humorous, entertaining and altogether fun to read. Thank goodness there’s another dozen or so waiting in the wings for me!
As the title implies, a man dies at the gambling parlor while Jude is there to drop a few bob on the ponies. The police seem ill equipped, and unmotivated, to investigate the death of what turns out to be a young man from Poland. As usual, our heroines Carole and Jude take it on and are gangbusters to solve the crime, but it’s a toughie. Brett puts out enough red herrings to fill a fishing dory, and we are all too happy to bite on each. In the end the ladies once again ace the case and call the police with a wrapped package.
Light, humorous, entertaining and altogether fun to read. Thank goodness there’s another dozen or so waiting in the wings for me!
November 14, 2022
Jude, being a good person, has been placing bets on the horses for her 90-year old neighbor ah the local betting parlor. One day, she's startled when a young man wanders in out of a hailstorm, wanders back out and then promptly falls down dead from a stab wound. Jude enlists the help of her friend, Carole, and events soon spiral out of control. I think my favorite part is Carole in a betting parlor! Fast and fun read.
November 11, 2018
Went straight into another Fethering mystery and really loved it. Kept me guessing and I learnt a lot about how a bookies works! I like the relationship between Jude and Carole but wish sometimes they talked to each other about each other a bit more! Perhaps that will come out later in the series!
August 13, 2019
A young man dies outside a betting shop and Jude (no last name) witnesses his death. Jude and her friend Carole Seddon investigate the death of the Polish immigrant. A cozy amateur detective mystery set in modern small town England. The series reminds me of Veronica Healey's Ellie Quicke series, and Healey's Abbott Agency series. All three feature "mature" female sleuths.
July 10, 2020
As happens so often to Carole or Jude, one or both of them just happens to be there when someone is murdered. In this case it is Jude hears the dying words of a young Polish man. I continue to enjoy this series including both the mismatched but close friendship of Carole and Jude and the light touch commentary on contemporary issues such as immigration.
August 29, 2018
I'm really enjoying the growing friendship between Jude and Carole, and seeing how all the changes in Carole's life are affecting her.
September 9, 2018
A particularly British scene is featured--the bookies is the location of this death. Add in a British suspicion of foreigners.
October 10, 2021
This is the first book I have read by this author and it was a good read. Would definitely read more.
February 14, 2024
In the beginning, it was quite slow with the story but eventually you get dragged in and question who is the murderer every minute and then the ending totally surprises you.
December 29, 2025
When Jude decides to visit the local betting shop one day to put a flutter on the Derby (or some such thing), she is met by the arresting sight of a young man staggering in, and collapsing, before blood pools around his inert form.
Soon afterwards, he dies. But Jude has discovered the body, and so, the police question her.
Of course the police do not share the details of their investigation, which appears to be going nowhere. Of course Jude is disconcerted and wants to know what is going on. And so she, and prickly friend Carole Seddon, decide to hunt down the murderer.
In the course of their inquiries, they nearly get murdered themselves.
As usual, Simon Brett’s entertaining cozy sheds light on what it was like to live in Britain during the 2000s. And so, the murder victim is Polish. A romantic young man, he came over to England once he’d met and fallen in love with an English girl whom he’d met at a music festival in Leipzig. The girl in question, Sophia Urqhart, is not nearly so interested in him. Plus, she has a very different view of life. Unlike Tadek, the Polish boy who is smitten with her, Sophia does not think one should drift through life in a haze of romantic bliss. It doesn’t help Tadek’s cause that Sophia’s romantic life is taken up with her narcissistic drama teacher.
We are not far into this novel when Tadek’s sister Zosia arrives from Warsaw. Kind-hearted Jude, sensing that the girl has no money, offers her the spare bedroom in Woodside Cottage, her house that sits adjacent to Carole Seddon’s more pretentious High Tor. And so Jude and Carole get to work, with the help of Zosia, and the various friends she knows who cast light on Tadek’s life.
Their search takes them to the nearby community college (as we would say in the States), rather pretentiously called Clincham University, where we meet Andy Constant, the narcissistic drama teacher who has quite the harem amongst all the college-age girls. Constant is too busy attempting to seduce Jude to be of much help. But a break in the case comes when someone stabs him, sending him to the nearby hospital.
Of course, I cannot say more without spoiling this story for those of you who have not yet read it. But if you are an aficionado of British crime drama, you could do worse than curl up on a cold evening, book (or Kindle) in hand, and peruse this piece. Of course, with your requisite cup of tea.
Soon afterwards, he dies. But Jude has discovered the body, and so, the police question her.
Of course the police do not share the details of their investigation, which appears to be going nowhere. Of course Jude is disconcerted and wants to know what is going on. And so she, and prickly friend Carole Seddon, decide to hunt down the murderer.
In the course of their inquiries, they nearly get murdered themselves.
As usual, Simon Brett’s entertaining cozy sheds light on what it was like to live in Britain during the 2000s. And so, the murder victim is Polish. A romantic young man, he came over to England once he’d met and fallen in love with an English girl whom he’d met at a music festival in Leipzig. The girl in question, Sophia Urqhart, is not nearly so interested in him. Plus, she has a very different view of life. Unlike Tadek, the Polish boy who is smitten with her, Sophia does not think one should drift through life in a haze of romantic bliss. It doesn’t help Tadek’s cause that Sophia’s romantic life is taken up with her narcissistic drama teacher.
We are not far into this novel when Tadek’s sister Zosia arrives from Warsaw. Kind-hearted Jude, sensing that the girl has no money, offers her the spare bedroom in Woodside Cottage, her house that sits adjacent to Carole Seddon’s more pretentious High Tor. And so Jude and Carole get to work, with the help of Zosia, and the various friends she knows who cast light on Tadek’s life.
Their search takes them to the nearby community college (as we would say in the States), rather pretentiously called Clincham University, where we meet Andy Constant, the narcissistic drama teacher who has quite the harem amongst all the college-age girls. Constant is too busy attempting to seduce Jude to be of much help. But a break in the case comes when someone stabs him, sending him to the nearby hospital.
Of course, I cannot say more without spoiling this story for those of you who have not yet read it. But if you are an aficionado of British crime drama, you could do worse than curl up on a cold evening, book (or Kindle) in hand, and peruse this piece. Of course, with your requisite cup of tea.
October 5, 2019
It was more of the familiar, inoffensive same, though the fact that Carole's knee-jerk, pissy snootiness and habit of leaping to conclusions are never called to account by Jude is growing irksome. I don't expect her to end their friendship(though she would be well within her rights to do so), but it's ludicrous to think that Jude, who has always respected herself and others and lived her life on her own terms, would simply accept Carole's childish behavior and let it pass without an apology. Jude might have died or been kidnapped because Carole chose not to answer the phone, yet the subject is never broached again by either the characters or the plot. Tralala, that's just Carole for you, right ho. Onward. Wouldn't want to inconvenience the plot by having Jude take reasonable offense at her friend's shoddy treatment. Such things happen when tired writers just want to wrap things up.
It's not so much of a problem that I won't read the next one, but it's a niggle that might soon become an interest-killing dealbreaker.
It's not so much of a problem that I won't read the next one, but it's a niggle that might soon become an interest-killing dealbreaker.
August 11, 2021
One of a series about a couple of amateur lady detectives. Jude has become a frequent visitor to the local bookies, putting on bets on behalf of a friend who is indisposed with the flu. She knows all the regulars but on one snowy day an unfamiliar young man arrives, leaves suddenly without speaking to anyone and is shortly afterwards found to have been stabbed to death. Who was he? Why was he killed and by whom? Jude and her friend Carol eventually unravel the truth. I used to enjoy Simon Brett's books years ago and this recent charity shop find has encouraged me to seek out more in The Fethering Mysteries series.
August 1, 2019
Jude is running errands for Carole and another neighbor struck down with the flu and so is in the local betting shop when a young man enters, smiles wanly, and leaves--trailing blood. Jude finds the man just as he utters his last words. No one admits to knowing the man, recently arrived from Poland, yet he had been to the betting shop at least once before, talking to an unknown woman. It's too good a mystery for Jude and the recovering Carole to ignore, even if their investigation requires visiting the shop.
April 23, 2020
As always the amateur sleuths get involved in a murder investigation- implausible and entertaining as ever
January 17, 2021
Another good time with old friends.
January 18, 2021
Even though it was fairly easy to figure out the killer (I did many chapters before the end) it was still an entertaining cosy.
October 4, 2021
The 8th book in the Fethering series. Jude and Carole look for a killer. Light cozy mystery.
March 25, 2022
Continue to enjoy this great British cozy mystery series
April 9, 2023
So many books, so little time.
No time for this one.
No time for this one.
January 27, 2024
Jude and Carole are at it again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews