Decent Interval: 18 (A Charles Paris Mystery) - Softcover

Brett has a rare gift for balancing humor and detection--Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Welcome back, Charles Paris. The bit-part actor and backstage sleuth is Simon Brett's most engaging creation ... On the way to solving the mystery we are treated to an insider's view of an actor's life, with its few triumphs and many tribulations. It all makes for an exhilarating read--Daily Mail

Two Hamlets, two Ophelias, a range of jostling egos, stage history and lore, and the wry figure of Paris himself make this more than worth the price of admission.--Booklist Starred Review

By popular demand: a welcome return for Simon Brett's actor detective Charles Paris, last seen in 1997's Dead Room Farce.
After a long period of 'resting', life is looking up for Charles Paris, who has been cast as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father and First Gravedigger in a new production of Hamlet. But rehearsals are fraught. Ophelia is played by Katrina Selsey, who won the role through a television talent show. Hamlet himself is also played by a reality TV contestant, Jared Root - and the two young stars have rather different views of celebrity and the theatre than the more experienced members of the cast.

But when the company reach the first staging post of their tour, the Grand Theatre Marlborough, matters get more serious, with one member of the company seriously injured in what appears to be an accident, and another dead. Once again, Charles Paris is forced to don the mantle of amateur detective to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Simon Brett is the winner of The CWA Diamond Dagger 2014.