The Body on the Beach

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)

Prim, proper, and murder on an English beach

Simon Brett has created the seaside village of Feathering, in England, that is a quaint background for an updated re versioning of a Miss Marple type mystery. He completely captures the scenes and residents of Feathering, so it feels like a second home for this reader. Our protagonist, Carole Seddon, is a fifty something, divorced, former employee from the Home Office. Being "proper" and quietly in the background of society is her goal for her latter years. All goes well until a free-spirited, loudly jovial, and TOO neighborly woman moves next door to Carole. "They just call me Jude" keeps everything about her own personal life quiet, but she shares in everything else going on around her.

When Carole finds a dead body on the beach, that conveniently goes missing when she reports her find to the police, Jude becomes her encouraging side-kick to prove that there was actually a dead body. Of course, the two find themselves getting into all kinds of compromising situations, and threats are made to their safety. When a young boy is also washed upon the beach, the police finally become involved, and the "game is afloat".

Great characters, wonderful scenic descriptions, stereotypical village life, and subtle humor makes this a GREAT start of a new series for Simon Brett.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A very nice listen

Geoffrey Howard did a really good job of narrating this first book in what appears to be a series by Simon Brett. Two women, Carole and Jude, who would probably never be drawn toward each other as friends, suddenly find themselves neighbors. They are as unlike as possible, but mutual interest in Carole's discovery of a body (that disappears before the police can find it) gradually begins a bonding process as they decide to work to solve the mystery the police brush off as a non-event. This was a pretty good story. I guess it is best classified as a cozy, but I think it is a cut above the average cozy. Brett is a good author. Recommend.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Reminds me of "Rosemary & Thyme" TV series

This is the first book in the "Fethering" series. As in the "Rosemary & Thyme" series (which can be seen on Netflix, if you're interested), you've got two middle-aged gals who love a good mystery, and can't seem to mind their own business. I discovered the second & third books in the series at my library and therefore listened to those two before this one. (Library did not have this title). I keep notes of the books I listen to, and my notes on the 2nd & 3rd books tell me there was no objectionable language (it is possible that I just didn't notice!) This book, however, had a sprinkling here and there of language that I didn't care for, but definitely NO F-bombs. I plan to continue with the series. I deducted one star because of the language.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

I loved it!

Two great characters, one a free spirit, one an uptight and social conservative join together to discover what happened to the body on the beach. A fun, wonderful listen. My only complaint is that the reader could have slowed down a bit, but that didn't spoil the listen for me. Many of the locals are funny without knowing they are and that adds to the enjoyment of the book. I'm definitely going to be listening to more of these Feathering mysteries. A great cozy. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Easy to listen to

First of all I have already stopped reading a few books simply because the reader turned me right off...not so in this case. Geoffrey Howard does a super job. The story moves along in a very logical and easy to listen to way. Not a lot of jumping back and forth in time and place. I'm about ready to look for my second book by this author.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A Proper Mystery

I don't usually listen to British cozy mysteries. I tried this one because it was recommended to me. It was a pleasant surprise. The story was slow, but, the plot and characters were intriguing. The two lead characters fit together like an old married couple. Jude has a mellow and relaxed attitude, while Carole is uptight and conservative. For these two new friends opposites attract and they bring out the best in each other.

There are enough twist and turns in the mystery to keep you interested and guessing. The one thing I do not like about this mystery is it's narrator. The two lead characters are female yet the narrator is male. Surely there are some British actresses who could have given their voice to this book. All in all it's a good mystery.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Delightful book

Delightful. Entertaining. Made me laugh out loud several times.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

light and fun listen

happy and light to listen to. the character dynamic is perfect and also character development is spot on. characters are very believable and storyline is easy to follow without being able to guess whodunit. neat British seaside setting as well! very happy with this purchase!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Consistently good and interesting

I am hooked on Simon Brett's mysteries. Geoffrey Howard is an excellent narrator. Carol and Judes characters are developed so richly and with in such humor and depth. I recognize parts of myself in each. Stimulating entertaining read. I wish so I'm in Brentwood write some more. I've listened to all of his books at least once.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful