Dead romantic [Paperback]

Simon Brett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1986

Madeleine Severn is a woman that men dream about -- beautifully groomed and sublimely self-confident, a glorious love object who has yet to surrender to lust. But now she is in danger -- from those she thought she could control. As one affair reaches new heights of passion, Madeleine doesn't realize that she has another admirer, someone who is obsessively tracking every move...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a departure from the acclaimed stories about actor-sleuth Charles Paris, the British author presents a dazzlingly tricky mystery, sure to fool the sharpest clue trackers among his readers. Brett's chief characters in a titillating cast are glamorous Madeleine Severn, a language tutor; her student Paul Grigson; and her colleague Bernard Hopkins. At 18, Paul agonizes over his inexperience of sex and his passion for Madeleine. Paul's jealousy of Bernard turns murderous when he learns that the latter has arranged a rendezvous with Madeleine at an isolated cottage. As for Madeleine, still lovely and a virgin at 37, she believes Bernard will be the romantic bed partner she has long awaited. Unaware that Paul has armed himself with a wicked knife and is following her, the woman drives to meet her swain at the cottage. This is where police find the slashed body and a challenging case.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

From the graphically described opening of this book to its prosaically grim conclusion, Dead Romantic is unlike Brett's other work. Known by many readers for his urbane and witty Charles Paris series (Murder Unprompted, Star Trap), Brett proves that he can write a gratuitously grim cinema verit?-style mystery. There is enough sex and violence to attract the interest of the more prurient, successful Hollywood directors. What it doesn't haveAanywhereAis a likable character. Bernard Hopkins and Paul Grigson, the two male leads, are both driven by their lust for sex and violence and are remarkable for their absolute absence of redeeming qualities. Madeleine Severn, the female lead, does little to attract the listener's sympathy. This novel is further complicated by various subplots peopled by equally unlikable characters. Although read with Brett's usual skill, not a necessary purchase.ATheresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 299 pages
• Publisher: G.K. Hall (1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816141355
• ISBN-13: 978-0816141357
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,275,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be warned! The puzzle pieces may not be what they appear., April 30, 2001

By 

John Austin "[e-mail]" (Kangaroo Ground, Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Romantic (Audio Cassette)

Simon Brett's crime novels are always enthralling, especially if you listen to him reading them. If you are listening in your car, you are likely to overshoot your destination. If you reach your destination before his reading has finished, you might choose, as someone I know did, to drive around the block a few times to allow time to hear how it all ends.

Most are light-hearted, and most feature a less than flawless sleuth. This one is not light-hearted and has no sleuth. Brett presents us with a puzzle and challenges us to solve it. Be warned. Listen carefully to names, and pronouns. The puzzles pieces may not be what they appear to be.

Brett has contrived the puzzle with great skill. Almost every occurrence is plausible, although I find it hard to accept that a woman would wipe down kitchen benches while wearing "long Hollywood style evening gloves". You won't like any of the characters in this book, especially the female tutor whose every utterance is a cliché, but you'll admire the story-teller's skills.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Predictable Shocking Twist, October 10, 2009

By 

Peggy Stone (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Romantic (Mass Market Paperback)

Once you know that there's a shocking twist to the ending - and I don't think you need spoilers; the book jacket gives that much away - in what is basically a three-character book, it doesn't take much to figure out who the corpse is in the beginning and who the likely killer. The conspicuous absense of the victim's sex being mentioned in Chapter 1 will tell you where the misdirection is going. I admit to not catching on when the point of view switched a few times, but felt it was more cheating than actual cleverness when it was revealed, and also disappointing. In a murder mystery, one wants to have someone to care about, and the one possible sympathetic character turns out to be as vile as the others. The heroine's remarkable self-obsession and self-romanticizing are entertaining, but she's really quite loathesome and in the end, no more plausible than the other figures. It's a quick read, but you need a bit of a mental cleansing afterward.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick & Forgettable Read, May 3, 2006

By 

A Discerning Reader (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Romantic (Mass Market Paperback)

Brett has written so many books, this must have been a few weeks' worth of thought and no more. It is tossed off with some style; but the plot, characters, and conclusion are slick and superficial.

Virginity and the way three different characters resolve their angst over that status is a theme of sorts in this novel. Madeline Severn is a 37-year-old tutor at a language school. One of her pupils, 19-year-old Paul, is virtually unable to think about anything else apart from how he can lose his virginity--preferably with Madeline. Madeline seems to be interested in someone else (another teacher at the institution), and Paul must deal with his feelings about a more suitable suitor for Madeline.

Things culminate in a remote cottage where, one weekend, Madeline plans to lose her virginity. A dead body is found in the cottage after the weekend, and the remaining living characters move along pleasantly with their lives. This despite the fact that one of them is a murderer! I won't read any more Simon Brett--there just isn't much thought or psychology to the characters, crime, or motives in this story.