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The Body on the Beach: A Fethering Mystery Audiobook
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(3.02) - 596 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Recently retired, Carole Seddon resides in the seaside hamlet of Fethering, in the cottage she purchased with her ex-husband. There she maintains a quiet and sensible life with the companionship of Gulliver, her Labrador retriever. But everything changes when she and Gulliver find a corpse on the beach while taking their daily constitutional. What's more, there are two wounds on its neck. The body mysteriously disappears and the police dismiss Carole as a befuddled middle-aged woman. She almost starts to believe it herself—until a stranger threatens her to keep quiet or else.
Unable to contain her anxiety, Carole confides in her eccentric neighbor, Jude, who suggests that if the police cannot be bothered to catch a killer, maybe they should do it themselves.
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"My sister gave me this book to read and as she has recommended good books I have liked in the past, I decided to trust her judgement and try it out. This is a series also, which I am always interested in. It turned out, I did like it and am eagerly awaiting the second book to arrive in the post. It is light reading, a murder mystery with some good humour. Carole Seddon has retired to the village of Fethering from her job in the Home Office and has bought a dog for walking and is intent on leading a quiet life. She has a new neighbour called Jude (just Jude) she is intent on keeping her distance from, apart from being civilised and nodding good morning to her. When Carole takes an early morning walk on the beach and discovers a mans body, her peaceful life is suddenly transformed. Carole reports the discovery to the police, but when they go to check, the body has disappeared. However, when Jude introduces herself and drags Carole off to the local pub for a drink, Carole finds herself confiding in Jude about the body and Jude convinces Carole to investigate the matter with her. It's a great tale of two ladies who do what they do best, pumping people for information and getting more than they bargained for. It introduces us to two ladies who are complete opposites who hit it off and work well together as characters. This is a series I am looking forward to following."
— Mary (4 out of 5 stars)
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“The ‘odd couple’ is a staple of the classic whodunit, and Simon Brett gives it a sweet twist.”
— New York Times -
“Brett has written yet another mystery with a good central puzzle and intriguing individual touches.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“A pair of sleuths who are winning enough to make the reader invite them back for more…Holmes and Watson with a dash of Laurel and Hardy.”
— Toronto Star -
“Simon Brett is one of the wittiest mystery writers around.”
— Baltimore Sun -
“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.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“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!”
— AudioFile -
“Brett, well known to readers of his Charlie Paris series, is at his humorous best in this cozy seaside mystery. Skillfully narrated by Geoffrey Howard, it is highly recommended for all public libraries.”
— Library Journal -
“Howard’s narrative clarity and varied inflection illustrate the story remarkably well.”
— Booklist
The Body on the Beach Listener Reviews
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Mike Porter, 10/30/2019
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" I really enjoyed this book. I liked the differences between the two women. I will be looking for more in this series. "
— Linda, 2/6/2014 -
" I hear this author is good, so I had high hopes for this book, the first in a series called the Fethering mysteries. It was OK, but it was really easy to put down. I didn't get swept up in it at all. "
— Kathy, 2/3/2014 -
" A new series, this is about a retired civil servant set on being practical & sensible, in the extreme, who discovers the body of the title, only to have it disappear. The police clearly think she's "hormonal," and only her new and faintly bohemian neighbor seems to believe her. What follows is Carole's coming out of her shell, throwing caution to the breeze (not the wind, not quite), and working with Jude (the neighbor) to solve the mystery. Pretty good plot, though I knew whose body it was pretty early on. "
— Lora, 1/31/2014 -
" Ok, I liked this (the first in the series) much more than I liked the first one I read so I think I can continue to read these book. "
— April, 1/20/2014 -
" I like Simon Brett's interesting characters, descriptions of life in Britian from the inside, and his sense of humor and mystery. His characters are very alive - I feel like I can see and hear them easily. Good sense of humor too. "
— Pam, 1/12/2014 -
" Fun story. If you like british mysteries, you'll like this one. "
— Phil, 1/9/2014 -
" Good series. I'm hooked. "
— Carla, 12/24/2013 -
" So cozy I almost dozed off a few times! It was enjoyable but I don't know if I'll continue with the series. It was lacking some kind of luster. "
— Elizabeth, 12/16/2013 -
" I really like British mystery authors and Simon Brett is one of my favorites. "
— Terri, 12/15/2013 -
" Along the lines of Louise Penny's Three Pines, except the lead detectives are women. Lots of fun! "
— Sally, 12/10/2013 -
" A witty and entertaining mystery that is the first in the series about two intrepid detectives. They are both middle-aged women with seemingly nothing in common, yet they make a great team. "
— Gina, 12/5/2013 -
" Quaint English mystery. Nothing special but entertaining. "
— Linda, 11/3/2013 -
" I liked this book, and the characters were quite engaging. I checked out The Shooting in the Shop as soon as I finished this one. Happy to find Simon Brett. "
— Yeva, 10/19/2013 -
" On a mystery roll lately! What a delightful read. Mystery and charming characters with just enough improbabiltiy and humor to keep me totally engaged. Loved the writing style. I will read more of Simon Brett. "
— Phyllis, 9/13/2013 -
" A modest mystery with an unconvincing protagonist and her irritating co-investigator. "
— Curtiss, 8/30/2013 -
" Better than the typical British Cozy, I enjoyed "The Body on the Beach" in the same way I enjoy shows like "Murder, She Wrote" for their sense if place and off-beat, quirky characters. The mysteries are run-of-the-mill, but the odd folks who populate the small, coastal English town are a lot of fun. "
— Stephanie, 6/11/2013 -
" I enjoyed listening to this story. I think I'll enjoy the Fethering mysteries. I'm surprised I haven't already read them. "
— Margaret, 5/11/2013 -
" Good intro to the setting and the characters in this the first of the Fethering series. Brett really skewers the pretensions of the middle and upper middle classes. Ouch! "
— Marfita, 4/7/2013 -
" I like Simon Brett and was pleased to find this series. "
— Elizabeth, 2/19/2013 -
" I like all these books in the series "
— Jean, 12/12/2012 -
" Not too bad... a bit too slow and anticlimatic for me. "
— Patti, 11/16/2012 -
" A step above the majority of cozies as far as writing and character development go. The mystery wasn't all that hard to suss out, but made a nice little "listen". "
— Pamela, 2/28/2012 -
" Simon Brett is great at combining social satire with mystery. "
— Edith, 1/7/2012 -
" A fine pot boiler mystery. "
— Jenine, 5/19/2011 -
" Along the lines of Louise Penny's Three Pines, except the lead detectives are women. Lots of fun! "
— Sally, 5/10/2011 -
" it was an ok read, but not very exciting "
— Jeanette, 4/1/2011 -
" better than Paris, not as good as Pargeter "
— Helen, 3/31/2011 -
" The first of Brett’s Fethering mysteries, this is a fun cozy mystery set in a smallish coastal town in the South of England. The two main characters become amateur sleuths as they investigate a body that one of them found on the beach. "
— Cecilia, 3/31/2011 -
" Fun, britishy, mystery! Light, vacation-type reading. "
— Melissa, 3/13/2011 -
" This is what I consider a cozy mystery series - a good cozy mystery series. "
— Susanna, 1/13/2011 -
" These are pretty light mysteries...okay but not GREAT! "
— Natalie, 9/21/2010 -
" I like this author's writing style, and I liked the setting of small town England. But the mystery itself was a bit disappointing. "
— Carrie, 6/21/2010 -
" Ok, I liked this (the first in the series) much more than I liked the first one I read so I think I can continue to read these book. "
— April, 4/12/2010 -
" A relaxing cosy mystery with a sense of humor. "
— Mary-Jean, 2/14/2010
About Simon Brett
Simon Brett is the creator of six series of detective novels, as well as ten stand-alone novels. His stand-alone novel A Shock to the System was adapted as a film starring Michael Caine. He has been awarded the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger for an outstanding body of work and the Malice Domestic Award for lifetime achievement. He was awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours for Services to Literature and also was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is a former president of Britain’s Crime Writers Association. He worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time.
About Geoffrey Howard
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) was a stage actor and an award-winning narrator. He recorded more than 100 audiobooks in his lifetime and won the prestigious Audio Award for Best Narration and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.