Cast, In Order of Disappearance

This was the first in the Charles Paris series and according to my notes I read it pre-LT, although it had faded in memory. I love the character, a jobbing actor who changes somewhat over the course of the series and I was interested in how he started out. I really enjoyed it, but suspect I like the later Charles Paris better. I love how he adds a blurb from a review - usually tongue-in-cheek - when plays he has appeared in are mentioned, adding some humour. Same goes for the disguises he adopts from characters he has played. Sergeant McWhirter was my favourite, deceiving no one I’m sure.

The setting is 1973 with headlines featuring PM Edward Heath’s unpopular policies, the oil crisis, the miners’ strike, the resulting power show more cutbacks leaving everything, including television, in darkness from 10:30pm.

I’m looking forward to filling in all the Charles Paris books I’ve missed over the years. He is a lot of fun. show less

Charles Paris is a character actor in 1970s London, eking out a living show by play by film part. He is long separated from his wife and happily “playing the field” with various ingenues that come across his path. When one friend, Jacqui, is treated badly by an impressario, Charles reluctantly agrees to intercede in hopes of reconciling the two, but instead he stumbles across the man’s body. Jacqui is convinced that murder must have occurred, and although Charles has his doubts, he uses his contacts and theatrical resources to try to discover the truth, if only to assuage her grief, but there are more people interested in the situation than just him alone…. This is the first novel in a long-running series; published in 1975, it show more fairly captures the zeitgeist of the times, complete with whinging about petrol shortages during the oil embargo and the casual attitude toward sex and relationships prevalent at the time (no, I wasn’t in London in 1973, but I was a teenager then and remember the excesses very well). I like the milieu of a slightly seedy theatrical scene, and I like Charles quite a bit, although how he manages to function given the huge quantities of drink in which he regularly indulges is a mystery to me. I am looking forward to continuing with the series, of which it seems there are more than 20 novels, so I have a lot of catching up to do! Recommended. show less

When I was 15 or 16 we spent Christmas with my older sister who was already married and she gave me one of the coolest Christmas presents I had ever had. She had ordered a "grab bag" from a mystery book catalog. This was where they just put 5 random mysteries in a box and send it to you so you had no idea what you might get. I thought this was so much fun!

I don't remember what 4 of those books were, though I'm certain they are still on my shelves somewhere. The 5th one however, led me to what has become one of my favorite authors and series of all time. That book was So Much Blood by Simon Brett. It's the second in the Charles Paris mystery series.

Simon Brett published 17 books in this series, the last one in 1997. I loved them all. He show more then went on to write several other series including Mrs. Pargeter and the Feathering series. I assumed, sadly, he was done with Charles Paris. But now, 17 years later, he has a new Charles Paris book coming out on July 1st. I'm starting a re-read of the series in order to get back into his world before I read the new book. I'm so excited!

The first book in this series is Cast, in order of Disappearance. We are introduced to Charles Paris, a chronically out of work London actor. We find out that he drinks too much and is a womanizer. But in my mind, he is a classic British amateur sleuth in the best traditions of classic British amateur sleuths.

In his first outing, he is asked by a young actress he knows to find out why her boyfriend, a prominent figure in British theater, wants nothing to do with her anymore. Charles is reluctant but always influenced by a pretty young thing. Soon the boyfriend turns up dead, blackmail pictures are circulated, the blackmailer turns up dead, it's all just a big mess for Charles. Throw in the blackmailer's wife who comes on to him at every opportunity and a petrol crisis that has all of England thinking twice about their mode of transportation and you've got a complicated puzzle for Charles to figure out.

This book is pure fun, smart and witty. The behind the scenes looks at the British theater and the BBC are fascinating throughout the whole series. I'm so glad to see that Charles is coming back! show less