So Much Blood

Charles Paris is excited to be asked to fill in at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival when a planned theatrical event has to be scrapped; he has long worked on a one-man play featuring the poetry of Thomas Hood, and spending a week in Edinburgh presenting it to small audiences seems like a good use of his time. Once there, he falls in with a group of amateur actors who are putting on a satire called Mary Queen of Sots, which is meant to show up all sorts of social malfeasance in modern-day (1970s) Britain, but things are thrown into disarray when at a rehearsal one of the young actors is accidentally killed - meant to be stabbed with a set of prop knives, the poor young man is stabbed with a real one. Charles, however, is of the opinion that show more this was not an unfortunate mistake, but rather was a cleverly disguised murder, and he sets out to prove his theory, much to the detriment of his own health and safety…. This second novel in the Charles Paris series is less jarring than the first, largely because the reader already knows the time period in which it is set and the rather seedy character of Charles Paris himself - a womanizer, near-alcoholic, moderately successful actor who’s now middle-aged and a bit tired of his lifestyle. As such, it was easy to fall into the search for the truth, complete with various red herrings thrown in along the way. In other words, a satisfying if slight classic mystery featuring an amateur detective for whom the reader can root; mildly recommended. show less

Even though this is the second in the Charles Paris series, it was my first introduction to him. I read this when I was 15 or 16 and fell in love with it and with Charles Paris. I've reread it several times since then and, much as I love it, I have begun to see the flaws.

It's set in Edinburgh during the Festival. Charles is doing his one-man show of Thomas Hood's poems as a fill in for a show that had to cancel. In the course of a photo shoot for another play being done by the same theater group, an actor is stabbed by what should have been a stunt knife. It certainly looks accidental but Charles' intuition is telling him it's not. He sets out to figure out who among this very bizarre theater cast could be behind the murder.

Previous to show more reading this book, I knew nothing of the Edinburgh Festival or of Thomas Hood and very little about Edinburgh. After reading it, I feel fairly knowledgeable about all three. The city and the theater setting are major players in the story.

The mystery actually takes a back seat in many ways to the setting. It's a clever little mystery that I did not figure out until Charles did but the actors, the plays, the theater, the history and Charles' various relationships overwhelm it.

Obviously I still love this book since I still give it 3 1/2 stars and reread it regularly but having read this rest of this wonderful series, I can be realistic about this one's flaws. show less

A pleasing diversion, but not one of Charles Paris' best outings.

If you haven't tried Simon Brett's crime stories, I thoroughly recommend them: they are perfectly judged tongue in cheek detective fiction. The stories are not, nor are they meant to be, lifelike crimes, however, there is just enough credibility to hold some level of belief.

Mr Paris is a jobbing actor and his outings are against this back ground. In this case, an actor is stabbed, during rehearsals, with a dagger that should have had a retracting blade. There is a pleasing twist at the end and this book keeps one interested from page one to the end.

Even though this is the second in the Charles Paris series, it was my first introduction to him. I read this when I was 15 or 16 and fell in love with it and with Charles Paris. I've reread it several times since then and, much as I love it, I have begun to see the flaws.

It's set in Edinburgh during the Festival. Charles is doing his one-man show of Thomas Hood's poems as a fill in for a show that had to cancel. In the course of a photo shoot for another play being done by the same theater group, an actor is stabbed by what should have been a stunt knife. It certainly looks accidental but Charles' intuition is telling him it's not. He sets out to figure out who among this very bizarre theater cast could be behind the murder.

Previous to show more reading this book, I knew nothing of the Edinburgh Festival or of Thomas Hood and very little about Edinburgh. After reading it, I feel fairly knowledgeable about all three. The city and the theater setting are major players in the story.

The mystery actually takes a back seat in many ways to the setting. It's a clever little mystery that I did not figure out until Charles did but the actors, the plays, the theater, the history and Charles' various relationships overwhelm it.

Obviously I still love this book since I still give it 3 1/2 stars and reread it regularly but having read this rest of this wonderful series, I can be realistic about this one's flaws. show less

There is something special about an audio book when the narrator is actually the author, especially when it is really well done as SO MUCH BLOOD is.

This title comes early in the Charles Paris series (which by the way has a new title, the first for 16 years, published this year.) Charles isn't quite the dipsomaniac he becomes in later books, and his marriage still clings to some vestiges of life. All the books in the series are connected to Charles' life as a barely successful actor.

Although there is one gory murder, SO MUCH BLOOD is really a cozy. Charles Paris is rather easily led and makes some basic mistakes in his judgment of those around him. He follows some red herrings, and so for that matter did I. A lovely enjoyable read.