Mrs Pargeter's Principle

By: Simon Brett

Narrated by: Simon Brett

Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

For Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst his many bequests, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve, she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise.

Attending the funeral of the respected Sir Normington Winthrop, because his name is in the book, Mrs Pargeter sets out to discover the connection between Sir Normington and her late husband. Her investigations will draw her into a shady world of gunrunners, shifty politicians - and a kidnapped vicar.

©2015 Simon Brett (P)2016 Isis Publishing Ltd

More Mrs. Pargeter, Please!

As much as I enjoy the Feathering series, I find Mrs. Pargeter is truly more to my taste: a lovely cozy heroine in a lovely cozy mystery. If you are a fan of a Dorothy Gilman's books, I think you will enjoy this as well. I am just sad that there are (so far) no other books of this series available on Audible. Audible, are you listening?

Going back to "Fethering"

I have enjoyed most of the books in the "Fethering" series by this author, so I thought I'd try one of these books. I won't be listening to another. Firstly, I found the protagonist to be annoyingly gullible. Secondly, there were too many characters in this book to keep track of. Therefore, for me, this was not an easy listen. I like to listen while I'm going about my daily chores, and I found myself thinking, "who is this guy?" Nope. Going back to Fethering.
For those who are interested, there are no sexual situations nor vulgar language in this book

Fun start, PC finish!

What did you like best about Mrs Pargeter's Principle? What did you like least?

I liked her resourcefulness but hated that she was only open-minded with liberal ideology but judgmental with traditional. Example: the vicar who slept with his housekeeper was portrayed as good-natured and funny but businessmen and women were portrayed as money-hungry and snobbish.

Would you be willing to try another book from Simon Brett? Why or why not?

I don't know. If I could figure out whether or not he would try to beat me over the head with his political viewpoint I would consider it.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Narration was good.

Could you see Mrs Pargeter's Principle being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Only if the story-line were written more balanced.

Any additional comments?

The main characters were written well.

Silly story

Kind of weak. Silly characters. But I'll keep on listening to anything read by Simon Brett!

Repetitive and Tedious

I have enjoyed past entries in the Mrs. Pargeter series but found this one very difficult to listen to—boring and repetitive. The series has lost its charm for me.

A wonderful performance!

it's just so rewarding to hear a piece of writing read as the author intended. Simon Brett brought the characters that he created with such tour de force that it whetted my appetite for more. i love the story, the humour, and the wonderfully realized characters in this novel.

Made my top 10 in Genre and my library goes back many years

The most wonderful thing is the characters. You can see them and visualize saying: “want to have lunch next week?” This is rare. And I should know as I suspect my library over last years nears 1000 listens. Don’t miss this. There are not enough stars to rate this one!!! I cannot wait to tell my friends of this discovery.

Just right

Simon Brett is a master. All the elements combine to form a magnificent potion — better than champagne.

Gratifying Escapism

This is one of the best in the series that I have listened to so far, along with "Mrs. Pargeter's Point of Honor". These stories are not realistic mysteries or likely in any way - rather they are just how I would like a story to turn out - pure fantasy in fact. There is an appropriate amount of suspense and danger, but lots of easygoing conversation among mostly pleasant, friendly and caring people. Problems are solved with plenty of money, good food and drink, and Mrs. Pargeter's well-meaning interference actually works! And one of the best things is how long they are - good value for the money! You can see the ending coming miles away but still it's quite gratifying when the bad guys are defeated, and the good characters we have grown fond of find love by the time the book ends.

Not For Me

Not For Me ! Story does not make sense. Cannot get into it. It is seldom I do not finish a book but just cannot listen to this. Can I give this book back ?

Please make more available!

Mrs Pargeter and her eclectic entourage are wonderful. Please record more. The world is a grayer place without Mrs Pargeter. I'm sure there be someone in Ps black book to help make this happen.

Hilarious!

Loved it! Couldn't wait to listen at every opportunity. Fantastic characters....lovely to have the heroine as a slightly older lady who's sassy (though blissfully unaware!) and attractive despite some extra 'timber'. Love Gizmo's inventions and their slightly dubious names. Brilliantly characterised loveable rogues. More Mrs. Pargeter on Audible, please.

Terrible

What would have made Mrs Pargeter's Principle better?

A different character. Silly character and silly story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Simon Brett again?

I love the Charles Paris series. It is hard to believe it is the same author.

Would you be willing to try another one of Simon Brett’s performances?

Yes, but not anything with Mrs Pargeter or Jude (from another terrible series)

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None. I couldn't finish it.

Fun story, interesting new angle on a mystery

What made the experience of listening to Mrs Pargeter's Principle the most enjoyable?

Gentle modern times fantasy. Characters initially seem unassuming and develop intriguingly. Some plot ambiguities, the 'answer' is not particularly well hidden. A fun listen.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Unusual story precept and construction.

What about Simon Brett’s performance did you like?

His gentle use of different voices for the characters. Excellent timing overall

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - very rare for me to do that.

Such a " feel good" book.

What did you like most about Mrs Pargeter's Principle?

The gentle story and great narration is calming but never boring. I hope there are more in this series.

What did you like best about this story?

The main characters - they are so genuine and have a certain naivety that is hard to find these days, but is so endearing

What does Simon Brett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I love his calm style.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Her principle wins through

Any additional comments?

If you are feeling down this is the book to listen to.

Delightful

A delightful read from start to finish with colourful characters and subtle humour. Next please!

Delightful gem of a book

If you could sum up Mrs Pargeter's Principle in three words, what would they be?

I wanted a light book but not a detective novel, chit lit or historical romance, something else and this was my choice. I am delighted. It certainly skims over the nasty side of the criminal underworld and makes them out to be loveable rogues but once you put that aside, it really is about people and what makes them tick. Simon Brett narrates his own work really well, not always the case when an author reads.

light-hearted.

Quite light-hearted and entertaining wasn't what I was expecting but I enjoyed it. a good listen.

Entertaining as always.

I enjoy the Simon Brett books. The narration is great and the plot is good. To me they are well written lighthearted crime books which lead you in to use your imagination to see the character.

More please!

I can never tire of Simon Brett reading his witty clever and beautifully crafted works. There were more on Audible- where are they please?????!’nnn