Description:

Text for Author Bio: 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 Parks, Mrs. Pargeter and Feathering 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. Text for Book description: Tristam Gowers and Yves Lafeu have the flamboyance of stage matinee idols, but currently they are running a very smart restaurant, Tryst, which is much patronized by top people in the theatrical profession. Which means its not Charles Pariss usual ambience, but this small-part player, whos more successful as an amateur detective than as professional actor, is the guest tonight of another fascinating duo, William Bartlemas and Kevin ORourke, wealthy collectors of theatrical memorabilia. And he is in at the death: the gruesome murder of Yves. It seems to be an open and shut case. Tristam caught the night boat to France within hours of a spectacular public quarrel with Yves over a pretty youth, and now he has disappeared. But of course theres much more to it than that: much more, as Charles discovers when he begins to investigate.Text for Review Box: "Great entertainment." Sunday Times "A cunning tale of theatrical illusion." Yorkshire Post ** ### From Library Journal Charles Paris has learned that the hardest thing about having a career in acting is finding a job. Once more on the dole, but ever hopeful that a role in an award-winning West End play is just a phone call away, Charles starts a new job with another out-of-work actor. Unfortunately, minutes into their first house-painting assignment, Charles discovers a corpse. When the police write the case off as a murder/suicide, he decides to do a little investigating of his own. As usual, Charles's pursuit of the real killer takes more than one wrong turn. A delightfully witty tale, Not Dead, Only Resting is Brett at his best. Simon Prebble's performance of the varied and often peculiar cast of characters helps make this book another gem in the Paris series (Star Trap, Murder Unprompted). Sure to delight mystery fans and English literature lovers alike, this is highly recommended for all libraries. Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### About the Author 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.