Meet Charles Paris: a washed-up actor with a taste for wine, women . . . and solving crimes! A binge-worthy cozy mystery series from the original king of British cozy crime, internationally best-selling, award-winning author Simon Brett, OBE. For fans of Richard Osman - but with added bite!"Like a little malice in your mysteries? Some cynicism in your cosies? Simon Brett is happy to oblige" THE NEW YORK TIMES"Few crime writers are as enchantingly gifted" THE SUNDAY TIMES"One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Perfect entertainment" THE GUARDIAN"A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans" P.D. JAMES"Murder most enjoyable" COLIN DEXTER_______________________One middle-aged British actor, with an accidental reputation as a sleuthOne West End theatre role on offer . . .And one enormous catchWelcome to the STAR TRAPMiddle-aged actor Charles Paris is delighted when wily solicitor and old friend Gerald Venables offers him a job: a role in a brand-new West End musical. There's just one catch - and it's a big one. It's not Charles' acting skills that have won him the coveted part, but his growing reputation as a sleuth.Gerald represents one of Lumpkin!'s key investors, and a strange series of backstage mishaps have left him fearing someone's out to sabotage the show.With an uncharitable letter from the tax man burning a hole in his pocket, Charles reluctantly agrees to take on the undercover role. Besides, all he has to do is keep his eyes open - how dangerous can it be?Soon, Charles is embedded in the cast, and quickly discovers that the show's star - hit TV actor Christopher Milton - is making himself less than popular with his prima-donna behaviour. But signs of sabotage there are none - until, that is, the day of the dress rehearsal . . .Fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club, Anthony Horowitz, Alexander McCall Smith, M.C. Beaton and Faith Martin will love this hilarious cozy traditional mystery series featuring one of the funniest antiheroes in crime fiction. Written over a fifty-year-period, it perfectly captures life and contemporary attitudes in 1970s London - and beyond!READERS ADORE CHARLES PARIS:"Brett's affectionately satirical sense of the ever-changing theatrical milieu is quite simply the best in the business" Kirkus Reviews"Highly recommended" Library Journal"Clever, sardonic wit" Mystery*File"Visual and amusing, the Charles Parish books are great fun . . . Recommended" Norma, 5* GoodReads review"Held my interest from start to finish" Randee, 5* GoodReads review"One of his [Brett's] best theater-inspired detective novels" Mihran, 5* GoodReads review"Reading Brett is like eating comfort food; it makes you feel good and forget your problems. It's fast-paced, is funny, full of inside theater dope, and it's fun watching our anti-hero screw up" John, 5* Amazon reviewTHE CHARLES PARIS MYSTERIES, IN ORDER:1. Cast in Order of Disappearance2. So Much Blood3. Star Trap4. An Amateur Corpse5. A Comedian Dies6. The Dead Side of the Mike 7. Situation Tragedy8. Murder Unprompted9. Murder in the Title10. Not Dead, Only Resting11. Dead Giveaway12. What Bloody Man is That13. A Series of Murders14. Corporate Bodies15. A Reconstructed Corpse16. Sicken and So Die17. Dead Room Farce18. A Decent Interval19. The Cinderella Killer20. A Deadly Habit|Joining the cast of a musical, detective Charles Paris is soon regretting his decision, irked as he is by the odious...