Carole Seddon, newest of veteran Brett's three series sleuths (actor Charlie Paris and widow Emily Pargeter are the others) gets a second turn following her debut in The Body on the Beach. Seddon, an early Home Office retiree, prides herself on her sensible approach to life a snug place in Fethering, a routine that involves mental exercises like the Times crossword puzzles and long walks along beaches or out on the Downs. On a walk on the South Downs near Weldisham (a village that "looked from the outside as though it hadn't changed much since the days when Agatha Christie might have set a murder there"), a driving rain forces Carole to seek shelter in an abandoned barn, where she discovers a bag of human bones. The local police are informed, and rumors spread to the effect that the bones might have belonged to a missing young woman named Tamsin. Soon Carole and her somewhat mysterious and exotic friend Jude are busily involved in sussing out information on their own partly for adventure, and partly because Tamsin had once turned to Jude for help. Carole's lack of self-confidence, really a lack of self-awareness, is meant to be endearing, but becomes irksome at times. All in all, Brett's more than competent plotting, a cast of characters that play against type to keep things sufficiently interesting and his take on village gentrification combine for fine entertainment. The author's core fans and those nostalgic for the traditional English cozy will snap this up. (Aug. 7) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
It wasn't the rain that upset Carole Seddon during her walk on the West Sussex Downs, nor was it the dilapidated barn in which she sought shelter. What upset her was the human skeleton she discovered there, neatly packed into two blue fertilizer bags.
Thus begins the mystery for strait-laced Carole and her more laid-back neighbor Jude, whose investigation takes them to the small hamlet of Weldisham. There gossips quickly identify the corpse as Tamsin Lutteridge, a young woman who disappeared from the village months before, after becoming involved with several practitioners of alternative medicine. But Detective Sergeant Baylis will confirm nothing, and Tamsin's mother is adamant that her daughter is still alive. Others believe a serial killer is on the loose. As Jude sets out to find Tamsin-either dead or alive-Carole digs deeper into Weldisham's history and the bitter relationships simmering beneath the village's gentle façade.
It wasn't the rain that upset Carole Seddon during her walk on the West Sussex Downs, nor was it the dilapidated barn in which she sought shelter. What upset her was the human skeleton she discovered there, neatly packed into two blue fertilizer bags.
Thus begins the mystery for strait-laced Carole and her more laid-back neighbor Jude, whose investigation takes them to the small hamlet of Weldisham. There gossips quickly identify the corpse as Tamsin Lutteridge, a young woman who disappeared from the village months before, after becoming involved with several practitioners of alternative medicine. But Detective Sergeant Baylis will confirm nothing, and Tamsin's mother is adamant that her daughter is still alive. Others believe a serial killer is on the loose. As Jude sets out to find Tamsin-either dead or alive-Carole digs deeper into Weldisham's history and the bitter relationships simmering beneath the village's gentle façade.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169915129 |
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Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 01/01/2007 |
Series: | Fethering Series , #2 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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