Simon Brett is a former radio and television comedy producer, who has been writing full-time for more than twenty years. Creator of the Charles Paris, Mrs. Pargeter and Fethering series of mysteries, his psychological thriller, "A Shock to the System" was filmed, starring Michael Caine. Married, with three children, he lives in an Agatha Christie-style village in West Sussex, England.
Veteran British character actor Charles Paris is usually thankful for any work, but appearing in the pilot episode of the game show If the Cap Fits is a new low. Paris is not even a celebrity panelist, only a mere member of the public whose occupation must be guessed. His agent explains that the producers wanted an actor no one would recognize. Paris does, however, have a reputation as an amateur detective and is enlisted to prove the innocence of a young woman arrested when the show's sleazy, skirt-chasing host drops dead of cyanide poisoning. This is one of the best in the series of Paris tales, which lovingly satirize the fringes of show business. Brett is one of those rare writers, such as Douglas Adams and John le Carre, who reads as well as any actor. Highly recommended for all mystery collections.
Michael Adams, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Lib., Madison, N.J.
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