Torso in the Town (A Fethering Mystery) [Paperback]

Simon Brett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 2003 | Series: A Fethering Mystery

Amateur sleuths Jude and Carole take on their third case when a terrible discovery is made in the cellar of a grand old house. Grant and Kim Roxby had hoped that their first dinner party at Pelling House would make an impression with their new neighbours. And the next day, it's certainly the talk of the town of Fedborough. For their guests - including the couple's old friend Jude - had been enjoying a pleasant meal before they were rudely interrupted by a gruesome discovery. A human torso is hidden in the cellar. Jude races home to Fethering and her friend Carole with the news. And soon the pair are back in Fedborough, questioning the locals. But they can't help but wonder why a town so notoriously distrustful of outsiders is proving so terribly amenable to their enquiries...'Highly enjoyable ...A good, juicy, very English murder mystery' - "Daily Mail". 'A crime novel in the traditional style, with delightful little touches of humour and vignettes of a small town and its bitchy inhabitants' - "Sunday Telegraph".

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. JAMES 'Highly enjoyable... A good, juicy, very English murder mystery' Daily Mail 'A crime novel in the traditional style, with delightful little touches of humour and vignettes of a small town and its bitchy inhabitants' Sunday Telegraph

About the Author

Simon Brett worked as a radio and TV producer before taking up writing full-time. As well as the Fethering Mysteries series, he is also the author of the TV series AFTER HENRY, the radio series NO COMMITMENTS and SMELLING OF ROSES, and the best-selling HOW TO BE A LITTLE SOD. His novel A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM was filmed starring Michael Caine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan (February 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330486551
• ISBN-13: 978-0330486552
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,381,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder in a small town, November 19, 2003

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Torso in the Town (Isis) (Audio CD)

A headless, armless torso is found by the host's young son, in the cellar of one of the better houses in a small town, during a dinner party, and so the local gossip begins! Elements of mysteries, illicit love affairs and all of the petty gossip that small towns thrive upon, emerge as everyone speculates on firstly, the identity of the victim and secondly, upon the murderer.Friends Carol Seddon and her next door neighbour, Jude,play detective as a relief from the boredom and insularity of small town life and uncover many secrets involving the town's inhabitants.The story is written in a light hearted way and in the elegant style of many other English mystery tales...I thoroughly enjoyed it !

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, July 13, 2006

By 

Bookworm "Bookworm" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Torso In The Town (Fethering Mysteries) (Paperback)

I love this series. Torso in the Town is not my favorite installment, but it's a good one nonetheless. I think the reason I didn't enjoy this one as much is because the townspeople were either excruciatingly annoying or downright evil. In the other books in the series, the townspeople are just quirky and you like to laugh at them. In this book, there just seemed to be more of a menacing tone. Also, there was poor Carole and her breakup with Ted. The woman isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows on her normal days, so you can imagine what she's like after an embarassing breakup.

All that aside, the plot itself is well written and the mystery is tight and interesting. As usual, the revealing of the culprit is a tantalizingly slow, heart-pounding climax. Brett once again throws red herrings everywhere. I absolutely did not predict the culprit correctly.

So other than my slight disappointment with the characters, I enjoyed this book. I look forward to Stabbing in the Stables, which is coming out in August 2006!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dinner Party Conversation: Be Sure You Get the Joke, March 1, 2007

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Torso In The Town (Fethering Mysteries) (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.