A Comedian Dies

Charles Paris #5

by Simon Brett

A rising young stage comedian, who is about to receive his profession’s award as Most Promising Newcomer, dies sensationally on stage at the start of his act; as he picks up the mike, he is electrocuted. Faulty wiring seems to be the cause; no one person’s to blame; a verdict of death by misadventure is returned at the inquest. But Simon Brett’s actor/detective, Charles Paris, who has already solved some highly complex murders in Cast in Order of Disappearance, So Much Blood and An Amateur Corpse, happens to have been in the audience. And when another member of the cast reveals the comedian checked his equipment before the performance, Charles is launched on a further fascinating puzzle.

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

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Simon 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.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Comedian Dies by Simon Brett is the first Charles Paris mystery that I've read (it is the 3rd in the series). I have read 3 or 4 of the Fethering series and enjoyed them. My wife used to listen to BBC radio dramatizations of the Charles Paris books, starring Bill Nighy as Paris. That is what got me interested in Simon Brett's books.
Paris is a struggling actor who gets involved solving mysteries. He has an on again / off again relationship with his wife and an on again / off again relationship with his career. The story starts with Paris and his wife attending an afternoon variety show where there is a bit of excitement; the lead performer, an up and coming comedian is electrocuted as he starts his act. The police say it was an accident, but being nosy and drawn to mystery, Paris comes to believe that, in fact, the comedian was murdered. Thus begins his rambling investigation of all of the people involved in the show. He picks up and drops suspects faster than a hot potato.
At the same time, Paris has been offered a TV job with an aging comic who is trying to reinvigorate his own career. Paris juggles this new job with his continuing investigation. It's an interesting story and an interesting conclusion. (3.5 stars)

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed the Charles Paris books back in the day, but if this had been the first I read, I doubt I’d have read another. The fun, the wit, were lacking; this was sour and polemical and the resolution was obvious. Compounding this, Frederick Davidson, whom ordinarily I’d listen to reading the phone book, did the book no favors. Two stars only because it served to kill insomnia and because it would have been marginally better read.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't love this installment of Charles. As another review notes, he's a bit flat this go-around - he's not his usual womanizing, drinking self (he does manage to sweet-talk his way into a woman's bed but he continues to distract himself by thinking about the comedian's death).

There are a lot of men in this book and I have to admit that I got some of them mixed up. At the end, the resolution was dissatisfying - Lennie Barber killed Chox, a sound engineer for a now-disbanded band called Mixed Bathing- because he was blackmailing him- that makes sense. But Lennie is being blackmailed because he's the one who kills Bill Peaky in the first chapter, by electrocuting him with raw wires- all because Bill insulted Lennie's dad. A little flimsy given that we don't really get to know Lennie too much; he did worship his dad but I didn't buy it was worth risking his life to kill Peaky, a man who was a waste of time according to most everyone who knew him. Even his wife was cheating on him.Along the way, Brett pokes fun at TV, TV hosts and comics. He has an incisive humor, it just wasn't a very good mystery.

[Breanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf @ 54%

I absolutely hate the way this book talks about women: “if she had been so desolated by her husband’s death, how could she be so cool and collected and even sexy (yes, definitely sexy) so soon afterwards?”

[Avid Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't hate it.

[Morgen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charles Paris is an actor when he gets work, and an amateur detective when he finds himself in proximity to a crime (which apparently happens a lot since this is a series.) He's not a very good detective either- each new bit of information he learns leads him to an immediate new suspect, most of whom he confronts and accuses only to have them prove him wrong, bit that doesn't seem to be the funny part of the story. While on a seaside vacation with his off and on again wife, they attend a Sun and Fun revue- a dance troupe, a rock band that can't decide what their genre is, a so-so singer with her pianist husband, and old comedian who had a very successful comedy show some years back, and a young comedian the agents in the office are suggesting is the next big thing. Not for long- he is electrocuted by a wire installed backwards, which is ruled an accident at the inquest. But Charles picks up on the chance remark made by the pianist and learns the comic had checked everything before going on, meaning the wire was deliberately changed after the check- it was murrrrderrr. He suspects, in no particular order, the dancer who'd been having an affair with the comic, his widow, his agent, the producer trying to land him for a tv show, and the band's roadie.
He doesn't suspect the aging comedian, who actually did it after the upstart mocked his idolized father's Vaudevillian roots. No one cares, not even Charles- police aren't involved, the older comic causes the roadie to overdose and die because he saw him tampering with the wires, then has a stroke. So the whole thing seems pointless.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charles Paris can’t commit - to his wife, his mediocre career, his character impersonations, or even his suspects for very long. He’s an out of work actor who dabbles in detective work on the side. He’s a married man with a wife he can’t stand for very long so he also dabbles in womanizing on the side. His list of talents is short and his list of things he disdains is long. His suspicions run high and his ability to think about motive and opportunity is dangerously short sighted. He accuses a new murder suspect every other chapter. His disguises run more toward perp on the street than respectable business man about town and are about as effective in tracking down relevant information to the case.
It’s not a very believable premise that a down and out actor would be able to obtain necessary info without working with the police or some other reliable contacts.
The murder is somewhat interesting but there’s so many characters, none fully formed, and it’s a bit predictable. The motives and opportunity and psychology are all rather flimsy and both the detective and the author try out at least a half a dozen solutions before settling on a surprise ending in the last two chapters that has more holes than Swiss cheese.
Not a very likable detective, few interesting suspects, decent writing but packed with cynicism, and a flimsy murder case. Don’t think I will try anything else by this author.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"Well, I never did."
Another attempted marital reconciliation between Charles and Frances Paris saw them at an afternoon performance of a number of music hall type acts, with show girls, a musical group, a singer and an old comedian, once famous, now bottom of the bill. Topping them, though, was a young man with a promising future, about to receive a best young newcomer award. Instead, he was electrocuted on stage, picking up his guitar. Accidental death, was the verdict. Charles thought it was murder and set about trying to prove it. And he had quite a list of suspects: everyone seemed to have hated Bill Peeky.

This is book five in the series about Charles Paris, the mostly out of work actor and amateur detective and a fun story, amusingly written, with numerous distinctly interesting characters, all delivered to the reader by the author himself, reading with clarity, fine intonation and enthousiasm, giving distinctive individual voices to each of his protagonists. I love this series and recommend it to all who enjoy light hearted who-dun-its? set within a theatrical background..

[Alonzo Church · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came upon Charles Paris via the BBC radio series with Bill Nighy, and loved the shows, with their mix of downmarket showbiz, comedy, aging baby boomer angst, bad behavior, and occasional detecting. If that's why you're perusing this book, this might not be the series entry to start with -- the wit is rather sparse, there is sentimentality about music halls and 50s tv comedy that's a little unexpected (though quite the thing in 1979, when this was written), and the killer is not hard to figure out, though Mr. Paris has an unusually hard time doing so.

Fortunately, I have started on another of these, which is closer in spirit to the radio show, so my guess is this one is an aberration. Good thing, if I had just picked this up randomly, I would made this a one and done with this author. It isn't bad, but it is, alas, just dull.

[BookCrazy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This audio book was really awful. I've listened to the BBC Radio Charles Paris mysteries with Bill Nighy for years. Even when the plots are simplistic, Bill brings the character to life. You can hear the aches and pains in his voice, his love (such as it is) for Frances, his love of alcohol, his frustration with his agent.

Frederick Davidson, however, reads this book like an upper class British schoolboy. It's the kind of voice I remember from watching 1950s British films where the snobby public (Eton, Harrow, et) schoolboy lords it over everyone else. No range of emotion, no depth, just a horrible one note reading.

The story wasn't the best of the Charles Paris stories either. So all in all a bad read. It was free on Audible. Even being free it wasn't worth the time I lost listening.

[Prince Cad Ali Cad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written (and perfectly performed), the ending felt a bit frayed (with many suspects coming into play, comically so). The main (married) character having a fling with a (also married) woman could have been left out (being fairly explicit as well), though this is my first Simon Brett work and I'm fairly certain we're supposed to think him a cad and profligate. Still, witty and definitely a British book.

[Nic Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, they literally make me laugh out loud, they are very much of their time and possibly may have been written slightly differently now but I can't get enough of them. The mystery is great and kept me guessing but the way that Charles Paris accidentally blunders his way through the story with all his faults is joyful.

[Jennifer Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic light English murder mystery

Fresh angle: told from an actor/ comedian/ amateur sleuth's perspective. A bit humorous at times.
Context: England, late 1970s, how we once were.

[Craftyhj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't enjoy this as much as others I have read in the series. The inevitable sexism of the 1970s grated significantly in this one. I also thought that the Charles Paris character was rather more inept than usual. The perpetrator really was rather obvious throughout.

[margaret chalmers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A joke gone flat.

Back with low level actor Charles Paris. On a rare excursion with his long suffering wife, they have separate homes, he sees a ghastly variety show in which a modern young comedian dies....no, really, drop down dead. Later Charles becomes 'feed' for an old time comedian doing the act of his now deceased partner. A tv show is proposed and once again Charles feels the faint hope of success....filtered through copious amounts of Bells scotch. Murder and death destroys the ambition once again, but we readers get some great laughs and insight into the workings of television shows. If you are starry-eyed about show business then these stories are not f o r you, too knowledgable, too wickedly cynical...and funny. I love them. You might too.

[Stacielynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

the charles paris mysteries are set in a different era, so they remind me of historical fiction. but they were written at the time in which they were set, so they are more dated in some ways.i don't mind that, since it lends an air of authenticity to the story. i just would suggest this series to a specific type of reader.
i enjoyed getting a peek backstage in the world of stand-up comedy in the ebbing days of vaudeville. lots of viable suspects and plenty of vile characters, so i enjoyed following charles down the rabbit hole.

[Karen Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like cozy English murder mysteries and at the beginning of this audiobook, I thought about what a pleasure it was and how fun it would be to listen to more in the Charles Paris series.

Then I hit upon the awful sexism (such as multiple rape "jokes") and realized that no...no I would not enjoy wincing my way through more.

But I went through it all anyway, hoping for a terrific ending. Sadly, the ending was ridiculous and disappointing...so the series also dies for me.

[Rory · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in this series that I have read (well listened to on audiobook).

This was the same as the last one really. It was ok and it was background. But I had no interest in any of the characters. I didn't warm to any of them or care who did the murder or why.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worked it out! So pleased with myself. Not ad laugh out loud funny as others in the series, but an enjoyable mystery.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

[Pooch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barber and Pole

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comedy is not a laughing matter.

[Sobriquet · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Matt Kolbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Brett is almost like dipping your toe in a mixture of Robertson Davies and P. G. Wodehouse.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, slightly dated.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Charles Paris mystery. Not earth-shattering and I easily discovered the murderer, but the humour and characters kept me entertained. I’ll be reading another of these.

[Eyejaybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find Charles Paris a very engaging character. Now middle-aged (there are hints in this novel that he has just entered his fifties, although, paradoxically, in some of the later books the approaching milestone of fifty looms over him very menacingly – a feeling I recall all too clearly) he is more or less resigned to playing out the remainder of his acting career in minor roles.

As the novel opens, we find Charles enjoying a temporary rapprochement with his long-suffering wife Frances, and they spending a week in Hunstanton, on the Norfolk coast. Now long beyond its Victorian heyday, the allure of Hunstanton as a holiday resort has faded, and finding the weather relentlessly miserable, Charles and Frances take refuge one afternoon in a ‘summer’ revue matinee, an old-fashioned variety show featuring a selection of musical acts, dancers, conjurers, jugglers and a couple of comedians. Even when this book was published, some forty years ago, the live variety show was already a fading and dated phenomenon, and the ensemble performing at Hunstanton was unlikely to reverse that downward trend.

Charles is, however, intrigued to see that one of the comedians on the bill is Lennie Barber, who many years ago had enjoyed considerable success as the leading partner in Barber and Pole, one of the most popular comic double acts of the 1950s. Another of the acts in the show, Bill Peaky, has been widely tipped for future stardom and has already secured a considerable fanbase from his occasional television appearances. However, his career is truncated in the most brutal fashion when he is electrocuted on stage as a consequence of a faulty connection in the stage sound system.

As usual, Charles Paris suspects that there is more to this than simple mischance, and becomes involved in one of his amateur investigations, which also affords him the opportunity to try out a selection of disguises, and to use some of the different voices and accents that he has employed throughout his startlingly unsuccessful acting career. This novel marked one of the first occasions in which Charles accompanies his disguises with reminiscences of the generally negative comments from critics. Like so many actors, he tends only to remember the particularly cruel comments that reviewers have offered up.

Also as usual, Charles ends up suspecting virtually everyone in scope of the investigation in turn before eventually discovering the actual culprit. I realise that this might all sound rather bland and predictable, but Simon Brett writes in an appealing manner, and the insights into different aspects of the theatrical and television worlds that his books afford are always enjoyable.

[Rose]

https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=co...#

[Tony Renner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Detection takes a back seat to satiric commentary on the business of show in Simon Brett's fifth Charles Paris novel, A Comedian Dies (1979).

Television producers take the brunt of the skewering here while stand-up comedians and variety shows receive a rather gentler lampooning:

Paul Royce looked petulant. "I thought the idea of this show was to try out something new, to bring you up to date."

"Try out something new, yes. But I'm still Lennie Barber. It's got to be new material, but new Lennie Barber material. I haven't spent a lifetime building up my own comic identity to have it thrown over like this. Listen, that sketch might go all right in Monty Python or whatever it's called--"

"Oh, so you don't think Monty Python's funny?" asked Paul Royce, leading Barber into a pit of impossibly reactionary depths."

As usual with the Charles Paris series, once a dead body finally hits the ground what had been a breezy, gossipy entertainment becomes more of a forced march to a solution. In A Comedian Dies, Paris's skill as a detective matches his lack of success as an actor as he accuses nearly every other character of being the murderer and never does get it right.

Paris also never does bring to justice a character who doles out an horrific beating in what turns out to be a red herring. It's almost as though Brett added the description of the aftermath of the beating to placate a publisher calling for more violence in the book.

Two daggers out of four.

[Note: Just learned that this March 8 marks the 37th anniversary of the transmission of the first radio episode of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" written by Douglas Adams and produced by none other than Simon Brett.]