Simon Brett Mysteries

Charles Paris is painfully aware he's not a successful actor. Or husband. Or much of anything else, except sleuth. In his latest novel in this long-running series, Simon Brett puts Charles through his paces with a collection of murders during the Christmas pantomime season in The Cinderella Killer.

Kenny Polizzi is a big-name actor from the States escaping to Eastbourne, a seaside resort in England for a part in Cinderella and also to escape his soon-to-be-ex-wife. Found late one night under a pier with a bullet hole in his forehead, it quickly becomes apparent that suspects and motives are legion. In addition, a dancer who may have had a connection to him has disappeared. Motivated in no small part by boredom (he has only a small part in the show, after all), Charles sets out to solve the mystery.

Like all the Charles Paris novels, there is a fair bit of dry humor, from the rehearsal shenanigans (two boxers who can't dance, spats about the billing, etc.) to the reviews Charles has received (snarky, but apparently accurate). The murderer is not immediately obvious, and if you like your British cozies, you should be in for a treat.

For some real guffaws, there are the Blotto and Twinks mysteries by the same author. These are satires of Agatha Christie and other writers of the period with Blotto, the handsome, brave, and dim heir to the Tawchester dukedom, and his sister, Twinks, who is more than bright enough for the both of them. Best of all, the entire series so far can be read in a weekend. Vintage planes, trains, and automobiles figure in these continent-sprawling romps, starting with Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-king's Daughter.

Jude (just Jude) finds a little adventure in her life with her friend Carole Seddon when bodies start appearing in Fethering, a seaside town. Carole is a bit uptight, but compared to Jude, so was Jerry Garcia. The two retirees sleuth around in this long-running series with comic results. Brett makes some wicked social commentary about small-town life in these atmospheric mysteries, the latest being The Strangling on the Stage.