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Simon Brett

The Body on the Beach

by Simon Brett (Author)

378 ratings

Book 1 of 21: A Fethering Mystery

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Very little disturbs the ordered calm of Fethering, a pleasingly self-contained retirement 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. `Simon Brett comes up trumps yet again... an excellent thriller.` Irish News `A new Simon Brett novel is an event for mystery fans.` P. D. James `Pure pleasure from beginning to end.` Birmingham Post `I stayed up until three in the morning finishing this delightful, thoroughly English whodunnit.` Daily Mail

ISBN-10

0330376969
ISBN-13

978-0330376969
Publisher

Pan MacMillan
Publication date

January 1, 2001
Language

English
Dimensions

4.37 x 0.91 x 7.01 inches
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pan MacMillan (January 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0330376969
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330376969
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.37 x 0.91 x 7.01 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,274,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #22,593 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #71,902 in Women Sleuths (Books)
- #344,624 in Textbooks

Customer Reviews:
378 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Knitaround

Entertaining cozy mystery

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 11, 2022

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Started this series because I quite enjoyed (most) of the Mrs.; Pargeter series. Overall, I like this one better. More fully-fleshed out characters. I like that the author doesn't take himself too seriously.

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Lynn T.

Two Unlikely Friends Go Sleuthing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 28, 2012

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This is the first Simon Brett book that I have read. Was happy it was available on Kindle so I was able to read the first book in the Fethering mystery series. Carole Seddon who has recently retired from the Home Office is looking forward to a nice quiet retirement in the costal village of Fethering, England. Two events occur that change her wishes.

A new neighbor moves in next door named just Jude. Jude is the opposite of Carole and is unconventional. The other event is when Carole takes her dog on a morning walk on the the beach. She discovers a body on the beach. She calls the police (after washing her dog) and they investigate. However, no body can be located. Carole and Jude team up to solve the mystery.

One of my favorite parts is when Jude talks Carole into going into a pub. Carole keeps telling herself that she is not a pub person. After more visits to the village pub, she is on a first name basis with the pub owner. She still is saying that she is not the sort to visit a pub. She does seem to like her white wine.

The best part of "The Body On The Beach' for me is the relationship and adventures of unlikely friends who go sleuthing. The atmosphere of the costal village of Fethering added greatly to the book too. Have downloaded the next book in the series "Death On The Downs".

5 people found this helpful

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Gram1950

Cozy Without Being Stupid

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 26, 2018

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I was stuck in the house recuperating and looking for an easy read that would keep me entertained. I like mysteries with lots puzzle pieces that eventually fit together. I hate mysteries where the red herring makes more sense than the actual murder. I also like characters to feel real. Some of the characters were cliches but the two main ones were interesting enough to make me want to read the next one in the series. (Spoiler) I would like to know Jude’s full name.

7 people found this helpful

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LMB

I really liked this. it's got fun characterization

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 30, 2015

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I really liked this. it's got fun characterization. Got a nice heaping of Anglo-speak. Good, if very contrived, plot twists. If you are looking for a silly, but not slapstick English mystery - this is a very fun choice.

5 people found this helpful

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Odd Couple of Detective Fiction

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 10, 2010

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THE BODY ON THE BEACH by Simon Brett introduces readers to an odd couple of amateur sleths who will puzzle you, while providing several hours of pure entertainment.
Jude (free spirit) and Carole (establishment uptight) don't have a thing in common except living next door to each other. They manage to forge ahead and solve the crime in spite of their difference in this first of the Fethering Mysteries.
A fun, fun read with slick prose for an expert.
Nash Black, author of QUALIFYING LAPS.

4 people found this helpful

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Pamela B. Griffin

Good book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 25, 2020

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Interesting characters, as well as an original plot, made this book worthwhile. I look forward to the next Simon Brett novel.

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Mel

Depressing characters,

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 9, 2021

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This book was a chore to read, from the neurotic focal character, Carole, adventuress, Jude, and the middle class machinations of the plot. W

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Good mystery

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 16, 2018

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Brett's story telling is phenomenal. He creates lively characters and head -scratching mysteries that kept me turning the pages well into the night. If you like cozy mysteries with quirky women, this is the book for you.

4 people found this helpful

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Greyhound

Good story line

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 3, 2022

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I really loved this book. I had listened to a play written by the author called 'The detective club' on Radio 4. This actually exists for all detective writers and he was once chairman. It was so funny and I thought his play was hilarious. So once I found he had written some books I quickly ordered one. Especially as this is placed in the coastal villages of Sussex, as my home town was Brighton.
So all different aspects of the villages are amalgamated to make one and it was joyous.
His same style of the play shone through. Really easy to read, nothing grotesque or foul language. In fact I would probably like the audio of his books as I think they lend themselves to listening. Downside is you won't get much else done.

2 people found this helpful

Stephen Heath-Smith

Well crafted and engaging

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 19, 2021

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Quite frankly l found it a great read, well rounded characters that you can visualise (often ruined if it is turned into a film) and a plot that builds and offers up many scenarios that keep you guessing. I confess, l do know the area that most plots are set in anti added to the visualisation as you read. Having found the Feathering series comparatively recently l have rather overindulged but they do benefit from being read in sequence to see how the main characters and plots interlace themselves.

2 people found this helpful

S Riaz

The Body on the Beach

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 15, 2013

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The first in the Fethering mystery series sees retired divorcee Carole Seddon safely in a comfortable routine in her cottage on the South Coast. However, her safe, if somewhat uneventful life, is soon to be shaken by two events. The first is that, during an early morning walk on the beach with her dog, Gulliver, she discovers the body of a man. The second is the fact that she has a new neighbour, the gregarious and open minded Jude (no surname offered), who flouts the unwritten rules and conventions of the conservative community into which she has moved.

This first novel, involving the mis-matched duo, sees Carole initially disbelieved by the police as to her discovery, as the body seems to have disappeared. However, really, the mystery is second place to the evolving relationship between the two women, who seem so opposite and yet fulfill a need in each other. As they begin to investigate the 'underbelly' of Fethering ("This is Fethering, not Miami Beach!" explodes a disbelieving Carole when a gun is pulled on her) they find that even the most staid places have their problems; in this case drugs, disaffected youth and unhappy marriages. The plot is not the most original, but this cozy series is excellent and one I am enjoying re-reading. However, this first book is important to introduce the characters and well worth reading.

8 people found this helpful

Jane Baker

Eccentic female sleuths

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 8, 2008

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Divine. These two are unlikely "co-workers". Carole is traditional in her Burberry and Jude is avant-garde. At first Carole is reluctant to become involved with Jude whom she feels is not a Fethering type person. Jude draws her in and they begin their sleuthing in redoubtable style. Brett injects his own brand of dry wit to the proceedings and his no-nonsense approach to pc is totally refreshing. Apart from murder he threads social issues seamlessly throughout. He would make a delightful dinner guest. This whodunnit is pure pleasure and it's a super feeling to have the next in the series to read - and the next. Simon Brett should be in line for A Dagger Award with this series. Miss it at your peril.

2 people found this helpful

Pannie78

if you like cosy mysteries I can recommend this series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 31, 2016

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This was the first Fethering mystery that I read and I was hooked, have now read most of them , I feel that I know the 2 main characters as I can look round my own circle of friends and pick out the same characteristics that Carole and Jude possess . I think that this is the attraction of the series as both the heroines are just 2 ordinary middle aged women coping with retirement . I must admit that at times I want to shake Carole with her narrow minded view on life but she is loosening up bit by bit in each book mainly because of the influence of her neighbour and friend Jude. ..... if you like cosy mysteries I can recommend this series

One person found this helpful

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