- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Pan; New Ed edition (1 Jun 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330445278
- ISBN-13: 978-0330445276
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 19.2 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 58,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Torso in the Town (Fethering Mysteries)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Review
Brett dishes up a nicely complicated plot. ("Denver Post") A highly enjoyable read. ("Daily Mail," London)
Product Description
The third delightful whodunnit in the beloved series sees Carole and Jude investigating a gruesome discovery in a town riddled with secrets . . .
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm not so keen on the Charles Paris books, but loved the first couple of the Mrs Pargeter series A Nice Class of Corpse (A Mrs Pargeter mystery)when she first came on the scene, although I found the originality of the character was not sustained in later episodes. Sadly the first one seems to be out of print (bring it on for Kindle, publishers!)
However, the Fethering series is very enjoyable and easy to read, nice for bedtime or when you don't want your intellect to be too challenged. That is not to denigrate Simon Brett's powers as a writer, for he can produce some good prose and interesting insights when he chooses, as in: 'Grant's capitulation provided an interesting sidelight on his marriage. Like many egotists and control freaks, Grant Roxby could be cut down to size quite easily by the right person. The balance of power in the relationship between him and his wife was not as it appeared from the outside.'
I like the way Simon Brett writes, there are never any lapses of grammar, you know you are reading a novel conscientiously and professionally produced. And he has a deft sense of humour. All right, they aren't masterpieces of literature, but they are a jolly good read and you aren't up to your armpits in gore or terrified out of your wits. You know the main characters are still going to be there in one piece for the next in series - and I enjoy them! I would urge you to start at the beginning of the the series with The Body on the Beach (Fethering Mysteries 1) so that you understand the background of the 'detective' duo.
However, the Fethering series is very enjoyable and easy to read, nice for bedtime or when you don't want your intellect to be too challenged. That is not to denigrate Simon Brett's powers as a writer, for he can produce some good prose and interesting insights when he chooses, as in: 'Grant's capitulation provided an interesting sidelight on his marriage. Like many egotists and control freaks, Grant Roxby could be cut down to size quite easily by the right person. The balance of power in the relationship between him and his wife was not as it appeared from the outside.'
I like the way Simon Brett writes, there are never any lapses of grammar, you know you are reading a novel conscientiously and professionally produced. And he has a deft sense of humour. All right, they aren't masterpieces of literature, but they are a jolly good read and you aren't up to your armpits in gore or terrified out of your wits. You know the main characters are still going to be there in one piece for the next in series - and I enjoy them! I would urge you to start at the beginning of the the series with The Body on the Beach (Fethering Mysteries 1) so that you understand the background of the 'detective' duo.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the third in the Fethering mystery series and I come to it having read, the two before but also some of the other books afterwards.
The main protagonists are back, neighbours in Fethering, Carole Seddon and Jude? (There are a couple of clues in this book to the possibility of her surname). The premise is the same, a body is discovered by one of the two sleuthing neighbours, they seek to find out what happened and whodunit, and inevitably one of the gets caught up in the tangled web of mystery whilst the other works it all out and comes to her rescue.
A torso is found in the cellar of a local Fedborough house, but how long has it been there and what is the connection with the previous residents and some of the local people? The town is described by Simon Brett well, and he encapsulates all of the key places in the area as well as showing us a town very much divided by class. Key characters, the local architect, the ex butcher, the interior designer, the vicar, the doctor and his wife, the token aristocrat as well as the less 'well to do' are all featured, and means that Carole and Jude have a lot of ground to cover in finding out information, but everyone is so helpful, that it becomes suspicious. After a couple of red herrings, the answer is not all it seems to be and it tests both faith and morals.
In my opinion this is a rather weak story, compared to the others which are far better. Do not start with this one if you have never read any Brett's Fethering mysteries before, it will leave you disappointed. I felt it needed a bit more substance and I found myself drifting off from the actual plot too many times, as I wondered on what local town, Brett had based Fedborough on. However, to glean something from this book and my review, Brett has managed to keep us the readers and Carole guessing about Jude's background - to the point of frustration. This remains the long running mystery throughout these books - Jude. If we find out about her though, will it mark the end of their partnership and the Fethering mysteries for us?
The main protagonists are back, neighbours in Fethering, Carole Seddon and Jude? (There are a couple of clues in this book to the possibility of her surname). The premise is the same, a body is discovered by one of the two sleuthing neighbours, they seek to find out what happened and whodunit, and inevitably one of the gets caught up in the tangled web of mystery whilst the other works it all out and comes to her rescue.
A torso is found in the cellar of a local Fedborough house, but how long has it been there and what is the connection with the previous residents and some of the local people? The town is described by Simon Brett well, and he encapsulates all of the key places in the area as well as showing us a town very much divided by class. Key characters, the local architect, the ex butcher, the interior designer, the vicar, the doctor and his wife, the token aristocrat as well as the less 'well to do' are all featured, and means that Carole and Jude have a lot of ground to cover in finding out information, but everyone is so helpful, that it becomes suspicious. After a couple of red herrings, the answer is not all it seems to be and it tests both faith and morals.
In my opinion this is a rather weak story, compared to the others which are far better. Do not start with this one if you have never read any Brett's Fethering mysteries before, it will leave you disappointed. I felt it needed a bit more substance and I found myself drifting off from the actual plot too many times, as I wondered on what local town, Brett had based Fedborough on. However, to glean something from this book and my review, Brett has managed to keep us the readers and Carole guessing about Jude's background - to the point of frustration. This remains the long running mystery throughout these books - Jude. If we find out about her though, will it mark the end of their partnership and the Fethering mysteries for us?
Format:Paperback
One of my best friends is always asking me for new stories he can tell. He loves to use stories to entertain those at the right and left of him at dinner parties. Presumably, if he had actually attended the dinner party that opens up this book, he would never again need another story.
The Torso in the Town is the third Fethering mystery featuring Carole Seddon (mid-fifties divorced, retired Home Office bureaucrat) and her relatively new neighbor Jude (an alternative healer who has no obvious source of income of about the same age). Carole is sedate, introverted, and concerned about appearances. Jude is a full-tilt boogier, loves people, and cannot wait to get involved in whatever is going on. They share a love of solving local mysteries, especially murders, as amateurs.
One of the charms of this series comes in the clever plots that Simon Brett puts together to allow Carole and Jude to get at the facts to make their discoveries. In this case, Jude has been invited to have dinner with old acquaintances who have recently moved to Fedborough, just up the river Fether from Fethering where Carole and Jude live. Before the meal is done, her hosts' son races up to announce that he's found a body in the basement. In rummaging around behind a wall, the boy had located an old box . . . from which dropped a shriveled human torso. Talk about dropping your turkey on the floor in front of your guests on Thanksgiving!
Carole, meanwhile, is licking her wounds after her brief relationship with local pub keeper, Ted Crisp. She feels embarrassed and doesn't want to be seen. This makes Carole even more standoffish than usual. Jude's story of the torso helps Carole ooze out of her hurting shell. It turns out that Carole had recently been consulting an interior decorator who used to live in the home where the torso was found. Carole finds it easy to drop by and find out what she can learn.
From there, the complications are quite humorous as Carole and Jude become Fedborough's newest odd couple in the eyes of the locals. Initial connections lead to pubs, more drinks, a timely dinner invitation, and lots of gossip about who has done what to whom in the past. Carole and Jude also recruit unlikely assistants (including the boy who found the torso) before the book is over.
The ending will probably not surprise you, but it presents far nicer questions of "what if" than most mysteries develop. I liked the ending best of the three books so far in the series. The ironies are pretty entertaining for those who love irony.
This book has a special treat in it for those who have wanted to know what Jude's last name is: You get two clues via the post man.
The Torso in the Town is the third Fethering mystery featuring Carole Seddon (mid-fifties divorced, retired Home Office bureaucrat) and her relatively new neighbor Jude (an alternative healer who has no obvious source of income of about the same age). Carole is sedate, introverted, and concerned about appearances. Jude is a full-tilt boogier, loves people, and cannot wait to get involved in whatever is going on. They share a love of solving local mysteries, especially murders, as amateurs.
One of the charms of this series comes in the clever plots that Simon Brett puts together to allow Carole and Jude to get at the facts to make their discoveries. In this case, Jude has been invited to have dinner with old acquaintances who have recently moved to Fedborough, just up the river Fether from Fethering where Carole and Jude live. Before the meal is done, her hosts' son races up to announce that he's found a body in the basement. In rummaging around behind a wall, the boy had located an old box . . . from which dropped a shriveled human torso. Talk about dropping your turkey on the floor in front of your guests on Thanksgiving!
Carole, meanwhile, is licking her wounds after her brief relationship with local pub keeper, Ted Crisp. She feels embarrassed and doesn't want to be seen. This makes Carole even more standoffish than usual. Jude's story of the torso helps Carole ooze out of her hurting shell. It turns out that Carole had recently been consulting an interior decorator who used to live in the home where the torso was found. Carole finds it easy to drop by and find out what she can learn.
From there, the complications are quite humorous as Carole and Jude become Fedborough's newest odd couple in the eyes of the locals. Initial connections lead to pubs, more drinks, a timely dinner invitation, and lots of gossip about who has done what to whom in the past. Carole and Jude also recruit unlikely assistants (including the boy who found the torso) before the book is over.
The ending will probably not surprise you, but it presents far nicer questions of "what if" than most mysteries develop. I liked the ending best of the three books so far in the series. The ironies are pretty entertaining for those who love irony.
This book has a special treat in it for those who have wanted to know what Jude's last name is: You get two clues via the post man.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
