- source: e-book, review copy provided through NetGalley by Severn House
- #16 in the Fethering series
- published in 2014
- ISBN 9781780290690
Carole Seddon has never enjoyed holidays much. Nevertheless, she has allowed herself to be persuaded by her friend Jude to accept a fortnight’s free accommodation at a luxurious Turkish villa owned by Jude’s property developer friend Barney Willingdon.
But from the outset the holiday is marred by a series of menacing incidents: threatening messages daubed on the villa walls; and their host being accosted by a knife-wielding man at a local restaurant.
As Carole and Jude launch into what they do best - investigating - it becomes clear that Barney Willingdon has made plenty of enemies, with his ruthless business deals and complicated love life. Matters come to a head when Carole’s sightseeing trip to nearby Pinara is curtailed by the discovery of a body in one of the ancient Lycian tombs. And what really did happen to Barney’s first wife, Zoe?
My Take
It is no secret on this blog that the Fethering series is one of my favourite cozies. I enjoy the contrast between Carole, the prim and proper retired civil servant, and her neighbour Jude who has a rather laissez faire attitude to life and, from Carole's point of view, a rather murky past that doesn't bear thinking about.
One of the features of the plots is their unlikely nature, and this one particularly interested me because of its setting in Turkey, which I have visited at least twice, and because this is the first time that Simon Brett has taken his sleuthing busybodies outside of England.
This was perfect holiday reading, with the usual quirky humour as Brett pokes fun at his two main characters, from Jude being disconcerted by a neighbour who insists on staring at her cleavage, to Carole's need to find a purpose to having a holiday.
My rating: 4.5
I've also reviewed
BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES
THE POISONING IN THE PUB
4.4, THE SHOOTING IN THE SHOP
4.3, SO MUCH BLOOD
4.2, A DECENT INTERVAL
4.5, BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT
4.2, GUNS IN THE GALLERY
4.6, THE CORPSE ON THE COURT
4.3, THE STRANGLING ON THE STAGE
4.2, THE CINDERELLA KILLER
Oh, this does sound like a great holiday read, Kerrie. And I do like the way Brett uses wit in his writing.
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