Customer Reviews

The Body on the Beach

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simon Brett is one of the most skilled and satisfying practitioners in the detective fiction field. All I ask of such writers he provides: interesting amateur sleuths, shrewd characterisation, fluent but stylish prose, some gentle thrills at the end, and an opportunity to "escape" to somewhere I am happy to be for six or seven hours.

In this novel, he introduces a pair of new sleuths: Carole and Jude. He also introduces a new locale: a coastal resort on the south coast of England, near Worthing. It is called Fethering, and it is fully described in the first chapter.

Simon Brett not only writes, but he also reads his works, using a narrator's voice that resembles that of the current British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, while also providing convincing and distinguishable portrayals for all his cast of characters.

A body on the beach you'll be glad you stumbled over.

Fethering is located on the South Coast near Tarring. Only the locales believe the posh place is large enough to be considered a village. Resident Carole Seddon feels Fethering is perfect for her personal values. The fifty-three year old divorcee recently retired form the Home Office. The prim woman's only companion is her Labrador Retriever Gulliver.

Carole's proper environs is shaken to its core when she finds a man's body on the nearby beach. She goes home, washes her dog and her kitchen floor before calling the police, who find nothing on the beach. The police believe Carole is a bit daffy with her loneliness leading to her imagination running wild. An outraged Carole reacts to their condescending nature by ignoring her inhibitions to go to a pub with her neighbor, Jude. Carole tells Jude about the events of the day. Jude not only believes Carole, but also insists they investigate THE BODY OF THE BEACH. Thus, a new fearless crime fighting team has formed.

The interaction between the two female protagonists turn THE BODY ON THE EBACH into a fascinating amateur sleuth tale. Jude's mellow attitude contrasts with Carole's up tight demeanor, but their interplay forces Jude to take a step back while loosening Carole a bit. The who-done-it is fun supplemented in part by the official position of the local police. Simon Brett provides his audience with an insightful look at small village life in an insular British hamlet. The opening gamut in the Carole-Jude mysteries seems to forecast a long running series to the delight of sub-genre fans.

Harriet KLausner

I was hoping for another Charles Paris story however I started reading and realized that Carol and Jude are as interesting as old Charles. I can't wait to find out more about this pair.

Mr. Brett's strength lies in his ability to make his characters human and interesting; his plots believable. You want them to be safe and happy.

I quite enjoyed this series debut, set in Feathering, a small English village. A prim woman finds a (you guessed it) body on the beach. It's gone by the time the police arrive and they think she made a mistake (it doesn't help that the woman washes her dog and then her kitchen before phoning them). Her new "Bohemian" neighbor believes her story and suggests they investigate what may have happened. A well-plotted, witty book, with memorable characters. The relationship between the reserved narrator and her outgoing new neighbor is well-depicted and it should be interesting to see how their relationship develops as the series progresses.

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.

Simon Brett never disappoints me. His plots are always well thought out and his characters true to their personalities. I have read many of the Fethering books and have just now read "The Body on the Beach, the first of the series. I can hardly wait to fill in with the two or three I've missed.

The Body on the Beach is a wonderful story about the relationship of two women who are drawn together by murder and intrigue in a seaside village in England. Carol a lonely divorcee and Jude the free spirit are total opposites, but they bond as the story evolves and the mystery is solved. The description of Feathering allows your imagination to wonder and wish you could travel to this far off place. It is a page turner. Not for the reader who wants adventure and murderous rage. This is a book for the reader who loves cozy mysteries. It's defintely the book to read on a cold winters day with a hot mug of cocoa.

The story is interesting and not overly complicated. I particularly like his writing style: very simple but yet exceedingly accurate in describing personalities and feelings. I think he is a master of word arrangement, just like Ann Granger and Paula Gosling.

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...

I enjoyed this book very much, nice cosy fiction for when you want a few hours not glued to the edge of your seat, wound up by artificial tension. It's a book for a rainy Sunday, a cup of coffee and a biscuit at hand, or just before you go to bed and don't want your mind filled with terrifying pictures guaranteed to give you bad dreams. There, I've explained why I enjoy 'cosy' fiction sometimes, as well as all the other magnificent reads by other authors like Connelly, Block, Mankell, Indridason, Leon etc. There is a place for everything - and Simon Brett has a way with words and a quiet sense of the ridiculous, a great entertainer.

I prefer the unorthodox Jude best of the detective duo, her attitude to stuffy village life is a breath of fresh air, and there is enough of a crime to be satisfying without being scary. This is a good start to the new series and I shall look forward to reading more.