The Body on the Beach

A Fethering Mystery

By: Simon Brett

Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard

Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Recently retired, Carole Seddon is residing in 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, while taking their daily constitutional, find a corpse on the beach. 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.

©2000 Simon Brett (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Simon Brett is one of the wittiest mystery writers around." ( Baltimore Sun)
"Howard's narrative clarity and varied inflection illustrate the story remarkably well." ( Booklist)
"Brett has written yet another mystery with a good central puzzle and intriguing individual touches." ( Chicago Tribune)

A fun mystery!

Simon Brett's style is rather similar to that of CS Lewis. This is made even better by having been read by Geoffrey Howard, who also narrated 'Mere Christianity'. However, one has to wonder why Audible has Ralph Cosham's name on the cover pic. Very odd, that. 🙂

The body on the beach

This was a entertaining book to read. I liked the characters and they were an interesting bunch.

Body on the beach

Really enjoyed the story and the narrator. Very relaxed and modern. I will search out other books by the author.

Charming with depth

Would you listen to The Body on the Beach again? Why?

Yes because we like the people, the setting, the characters in the town, and the story.

What other book might you compare The Body on the Beach to and why?

We read Murder in the Museum and liked that too.

Which scene was your favorite?

Rescuing Nick was excellent and very, very funny yet suspenseful and scarey. Judes situation was silly and out of character. (My husband disagrees.)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many moments.

Any additional comments?

We like the world Brett has created.

Subtle humor and believable characters

Interesting plot, and a classic, slow-burn search to solve the mysteries. The relationship development among the varying characters is satisfying. I’ll pick up more of these. Not quite cozy though, as some of the details are a little gritty.

Escape.and then Somr

This is a read.for.when.you want a.good.time.but.not.sure h.a good.time.you.can't do anything.else. The mystery.of the novel.works,.the.characters. are.just who.you.want to hang.with, and the story is good. What's not to.like?

A not-quite cozy mystery

I thought this was an enjoyable story. The characters are more fleshed out than in an Agatha Raisin novel (for example), and it's a bit serious in parts so it isn't entirely a light-hearted romp. I read a lot of British novels, so the prim and proper whatever thing a lot of other reviewers mentioned didn't strike me at all. It's not over the top--it's just writen by an English author (shrug). I'm about six books into this series at this point and very much enjoying Carol and Jude and their complex friendship. I hope to get past the Geoffrey Howard narrations soon though. I see Simon Brett reads his own books later in the series. Howard sucks the life out of these books IMO. Simon Brett can be very funny and sometimes very touching, but Howard reads everything about the same way, like a financial analyst discussing the latest stock prices.

Good mystery

Well written, a lot of unknowns, no clue who done it till the very end…….and no cursing.

Clean book! - Solid four star story and reader

I found the story pretty good and enjoyed it. The reader's voice is very easy to listen to for me. I like the cultured tone of his voice, not too high pitched or nasally, just steady and calming to listen to. Nice accent as well.

The story was solid, two middle aged ladies stick their noses into a murder mystery. Nice plot twist at the end when 'the big reveal' happens. I enjoyed it. I plan to listen to more of these books.

Of note to those of us who tend towards a rated G preference, this one is nice and clean, I don't recall anything objectionable in it. Rare to find these days, but they are still out there. This is one of them. Enjoy!

A good listen!

It was an interesting English small town mystery that unraveled some of the intrigues and relationships between the town folk. The performance by Geoffrey Howard was well done and his English accent was perfectly suited to the storyline. A comfortable story with enough intrig to keep you interested till the end.