Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. 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. In 2014 he won the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger for an outstanding body of work. simonbrett.com
Also by Simon Brett
The Fethering Mysteries The Body on the Beach Death on the Downs The Torso in the Town Murder in the Museum The Hanging in the Hotel The Stabbing in the Stables Death Under the Dryer Blood at the Bookies The Poisoning in the Pub The Shooting in the Shop Bones Under the Beach Hut Guns in the Gallery Corpse on the Court The Strangling on the Stage The Tomb in Turkey The Killing in the Cafe The Liar in The Library
The Charles Paris Theatrical Series Dead Room Farce A Decent Interval The Cinderella Killer
The Mrs Pargeter Mysteries Mrs Pargeter’s Point of Honour Mrs Pargeter’s Principle Mrs Pargeter’s Public Relations
First published in Great Britain, the USA and Canada in 2019
by Black Thorn, an imprint of Canongate Books Ltd,
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
This digital edition first published in 2019 by Black Thorn, an imprint of Canongate Books
First published in 2005 by Macmillan Publishers Ltd,
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
blackthornbooks.com
Copyright © Simon Brett, 2005
The moral right of the author has been asserted
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library
eISBN 978 1 78689 790 9
Contents
To Jack,with thanks for a really good idea(which sadly didn’t make it into the book)
Chapter One
‘Oh, I didn’t