Product Description

Very little disturbs the ordered calm of Fethering, a pleasingly self-contained retirement town on England's southern coast. Which is precisely why Carole Seddon, who has outlived both her husband and her career at the Home Office, has chosen to reside there. So the last thing Carole expects to encounter in Fethering is a new neighbour with but one name and an obviously colourful past. 'Jude' was not really Fethering . . . but neither was the body Carole found on the beach. A body, it has to be said, that has disappeared by the time the police arrive. Only Jude is ready to believe what her neighbour says she saw - and from that moment on, the two women are resolved to turn detectives. 'I stayed up until three in the morning and chewed off two fingernails finishing this delightful, thoroughly English whodunnit.' Daily Mail

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132634 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Brett's witty Mrs. Pargeter and Charles Paris mysteries will cheer this buoyant launch of a series set in the English seaside town of Fethering (mischievously situated "not far from Tarring"). It's here that Carole Seddon, a fiftyish divorcee late of the Home Office, has settled, content to live a sensible, orderly retirement. But two events conspire to disrupt Carole's rigid routine: the arrival of an alarmingly casual new neighbor who insists on being called, merely, "Jude"; and the discovery of a dead middle-aged male on the Fethering beach. When Carole informs the police about the body, they dismiss her as a menopausal hysteric; after all, their subsequent search of the area yielded no trace of evidence. But when a haggard, drug-deranged woman appears at Carole's door with a gun, demanding to know if Carole located a knife on the body, Carole realizes that the corpse had been moved just before the police search. When a local teenage boy is found washed up on the beach, it's Jude who convinces Carole that the two deaths are somehow connectedAand deserving of the two neighbors' full attention. Carole and Jude have surprising depth as characters, even though Brett overplays his hand in refusing to reveal any details of Jude's former life, including her surname. But the yin/yang relationship of the women is both mysterious and wholly believable, and the seacoast setting is so vivid you can taste the salty air. For late-summer beach reading, this is a cracking good choice. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This novel introduces Carole Seddon, a sensible woman in her 50s, who is grateful to look older than her years. A divorcee recently retired from the Home Office, she hopes to lead a very low-profile life at her cottage in Fethering; however, her plans for a quiet seclusion are quickly dashed when she discovers a corpse on the beach. The subsequent disappearance of the body, interview by the police, and threat by a gun-wielding stranger leave Carole befuddled. Her neighbor Jude decides that the two of them need to solve the mystery themselves. A more unlikely partnership cannot be imagined. Brett, well known to readers of his Charles Paris series (Star Trap, Murder in the Title), is at his humorous best in this cozy seaside mystery. Skillfully narrated by Geoffrey Howard, it is highly recommended for all public libraries. Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Finding dead bodies definitely does not happen in Feathering, and solving mysteries is decidedly not among Carole Siddon's sensible activities. Events, alas, take over, and the story reveals the darker sides of an English seaside town. Pungent wit flows razor-sharp out of Howard; each word is uttered with an exactitude that perfectly mirrors the droll social commentary that sets Brett's book apart from the rest of its genre. Line after line, Howard evokes characters and milieu. Great fun! S.B.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

A Strong Beginning to a Fine Series

Mix one up-tight newly retired ex-civil servant with a penchant for being reclusive, Carole Seddon, with a devil-may-care new female neighbor with a shadowy past, Jude (no last name), in class conscious Fethering, and you have plenty of room for good fun. Add to those mismatched characters mysterious events . . . and murder, and your plate will soon be overflowing with interesting reading.

Unlike new writers who are often awkward with their first books in a new mystery series, the talented and experienced Simon Brett (author of Mrs. Pargeter and Charles Paris mysteries) is sure-handed from the first word. Here's part of the book's opening paragraph: "Fethering is on the South Coast, not far from Tarring. Though calling itself a village, Fethering isn't what that word immediately brings to the minds of people nostalgic for the idealized, simpler England. Despite the presence of many components of a village -- . . . a whole bunch of people who reckon they're the squire - Fethering is in fact quite a large residential conurbation."

This book presents great challenges event to a seasoned pro. Carole and Jude are amateur detectives and avoid involvement with the police. They have to get people to talk to them, reveal secrets, and track down clues on their own. It's difficult to do without creating serious mistakes in the plot. At the same time, this book requires a lot of character development. Mr. Brett pulls it off while making it all look ridiculously easy.

Here's the story's beginning. Carole likes to walk her dog (one of the few activities she has other than cleaning her spotless house) for exercise. One morning, she heads for the beach and is disturbed while someone races past her without the customary village nod. Soon thereafter, Carole finds a dead body. But Carole's not easily flustered. She heads home, washes her dog, cleans the house, and eventually calls the police about the body some time later before the tide comes in again. They investigate and find no body. Carole feels pretty silly. Soon thereafter, Carole bumps into her new neighbor Jude, a little before she had planned to meet her. When Jude believes Carole about the body and suggests they do something, Carole is delighted . . . even though she isn't exactly sure that Jude is someone she wants to spend too much time with.

The story is filled with such delightful class-conscious set-ups. Fethering seems to have been occupied with more than its share of people who think they are the squire.

The mysteries deepen as other strange occurrences follow. What does it all mean? Mr. Brett does a fine job of making sense of out what seems pretty far-fetched . . . so stick around to the end.

Oh Happy Days
This is the first of two vols in Brett's latest series. It is a typical(?) Briddish mystery, with much toing and froing. The main character may seem a bit dry, but by the end of the story she has loosened up quite a bit. Such as going to a pub! I expect that there will be an expansion of her character with perhaps a bit of, dare I say it, romance? Anyhoo, Brett is off to a good start with this one and the second book is on the shelves. Treat yourself to seaside England....tides, rain and some snooty people doing their thing. Enjoy, and aloha...

The Jude and Carole Show . . . .
Simon Brett is a very good writer, and I enjoyed the logical flow of the story. The reader can clearly understand the mood and scene of each situation. His two amateur sleuths, Jude and Carole are complete opposites in character, but develop a friendship and a quirky ability to jointly solve a murder. Why only 3 stars? Some parts of the story just seemed a little dry - I was expecting a little more wit and lighthearted conversation between characters. Also, Carole just wasn't that interesting - granted, she is a character that is suppose to have a pretty uninspiring look on life, but it's a little too uninspiring.