When Carole Seddon's car is vandalised, it heralds the start of a disturbing series of events in the witty and entertaining new Fethering mystery. Carole Seddon's trusty Renault is one of her most treasured possessions. So when it is vandalised, there's only one person she will entrust with its repair: Bill Shefford has been servicing the vehicles of the good citizens of Fethering for many years. But how could something like this happen in Fethering of all places? Then the note is shoved under Carole's kitchen door: Watch out. The car window was just the start. It would appear that she has been deliberately targeted. But by whom . and why? Matters take an even more disturbing turn when a body is discovered at Shefford's Garage, crushed to death by a falling gearbox. It would appear to be a tragic accident. Carole and her neighbour Jude are not so sure. And the more they start to ask questions, the more evidence they uncover of decidedly foul play .

Introducing an engaging new amateur sleuth, declutterer Ellen Curtis, in the first of a brilliant new mystery series. Ellen Curtis runs her own business helping people who are running out of space. As a declutterer, she is used to encountering all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in the course of her work. What she has never before encountered is a dead body. When Ellen stumbles across the body of a young woman in an over-cluttered flat, suspicion immediately falls on the deceased homeowner's son, who has recently absconded from prison. No doubt Nate Ogden is guilty of many things – but is he really the killer? Discovering a link between the victim and her own past, Ellen sets out to uncover the truth. But where has her best friend disappeared to? And is Ellen really prepared for the shocking revelations to follow?

Carole's son is getting married to a wonderful girl, with rather odd parents. Not only do they have no interest in meddling with wedding preparations, but the mere thought of publicizing the affair frightens them beyond words. Then the father of the bride is found murdered. Fearing the bride-to-be is the killer's next target, Carole and Jude must unravel the bride's family's past before the killer makes another deadly move . . . and before the wedding festivities become completely funereal.

Although she hadn't known Leonard Mallett very well, nor liked him particularly, Carole Seddon feels duty bound to attend her fellow committee member's funeral. As she suspected, the hymns, readings and sermon are all very predictable – not unlike Leonard himself. What she couldn't have predicted was that the deceased's daughter would use the occasion to publicly accuse her stepmother of murder. Did Heather Mallett really kill her husband, as many Fethering residents believe? Deciding to get to the heart of the matter, Carole's neighbour Jude joins the new community choir – and discovers that amidst the clashing egos and petty resentments lurk some decidedly false notes. At least one chorister would appear to be hiding a deadly secret – and it's up to Carole and Jude to unearth the truth.

Grant and Kim Roxby had hoped that their first dinner party at Pelling House would make an impression with their new neighbours. And the next day it's certainly the talk of the town of Fedborough. For their guests - including the couple's old friend Jude - had been enjoying a pleasant meal when they were rudely interrupted by a gruesome discovery. A human torso hidden in the cellar. In this third instalment of the Fethering mystery series, Carole and Jude find themselves turning amateur sleuths once again. They soon begin to question the locals, but they can't help wondering why a town so notoriously distrustful of outsiders is proving so terribly amenable to their enquiries . . .

When the body of a prospective client is discovered in her burned-out home, declutterer Ellen Curtis is drawn into a baffling investigation where nothing is as it first appears. "My mother's going to kill herself . . . That is, if I don't kill her first." When Alexandra Richards approaches professional declutterer Ellen Curtis to ask her to help sort out her mother's chaotic flat, Ellen gets the impression Alexandra doesn't like her mother very much. But when Ingrid Richards' body is discovered in her burned-out home, Alexandra's exasperated words don't seem such a joke. Due to the hazardous state of the victim's over-cluttered residence, the police are inclined to dismiss her death as an unfortunate accident. Ellen's not so sure. Could Alexandra's resentment towards her mother have escalated into outright violence? The more she discovers about the dead woman's remarkable past, the more convinced Ellen becomes that there's something decidedly suspicious about her...

Charles Paris is on his way up again, career-wise. No longer 'resting', he finds himself doubling almost every role in a provincial production of the play dreaded by superstitious theatre folk: Macbeth. Yet when death strikes in the night, Charles finds himself playing an all-too familiar role: that of private eye.

The extremely aristocratic but extremely thick Blotto and his extremely brainy sister Twinks are attending a weekend house party when the inevitable happens. Their hostess, the Dowager Duchess of Melmont, is murdered. An amateur detective, conveniently staying for the weekend, deduces that the Lyminster family chauffeur Corky Froggett must have done it. For Blotto and Twinks, the only way to prove Corky's innocence is by finding the real perpetrator. So begins the second investigation for the daring duo...one which takes them via an opium den in Limehouse, a Scottish castle and a disused Cornish tin mine, to a thrilling final confrontation at the nerve-centre of the evil League of the Crimson Hand. Yes, Blotto and Twinks are back! Praise for Simon Brett: "A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans". (P D James). "Murder most enjoyable". (Colin Dexter). "Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone." (Jilly Cooper). "Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted". ("Sunday Times"). "One of British crime's most assured craftsmen...Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment." ("Guardian").About the AuthorBorn in 1945, Simon Brett was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he gained a First Class Honours degree in English. A great many of his published works are crime novels, including the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter and Feathering series. Simon was chairman of the Crime Writers Association from 1986-7 and of the Society of Authors from 1995-7. He lives near Arundel in West Sussex and is married with three grownup children, one grandson, one granddaughter, and four cats.

Consternation at Tawcester Towers! While giving a guided tour of the house's Long Gallery Blotto is stunned to discover that two of the family portraits - a Gainsborough and a Reynolds - are missing. Tawcester Towers has been the victim of art thieves! Blotto is forced to summon his brilliantly intelligent sister Twinks who instantly deduces that the paintings have been stolen by a gang of international art thieves based in Paris. So Blotto and Twinks instantly set off in the former's Lagonda for France! Their investigations in Paris bring them into contact with the absinthe-soaked art community of the Rive Gauche, but after an attempt on his life at the Folies Bergere, Blotto is persuaded by Twinks that it is to Nice they must travel, as the criminal mastermind La Puce runs his evil empire from there, funded by the proceeds of many European art collections - including those from Tawcester Towers. The French Riviera is a gay old place, and following various lead, Twinks makes contacts with many expatriates and Americans all leading the good life, including the famous silent movie star Mimsy La Pim, who Blotto finds himself curiously drawn to. But after a particularly decadent party it is discovered that Mimsy has been kidnapped by La Puce - and so it is up to Blotto and Twinks to save the starlet from many fates worse than death and restore the fortunes of Tawcester Towers to boot!

The wickedly entertaining new Fethering mystery featuring chalk-and-cheese detective duo Carole and JudePolly's Cake Shop has been a feature of the shopping parade for many years, but when its owner announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form the Save Polly's Cake Shop Action Committee. The plan is that Polly's should become a community venture, managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos. Matters take a turn for the worse when she and Carole come across a badly-decomposed body on Fethering beach – and uncover a link to Polly's. Not only do the two neighbours have to find out whodunit, they are also faced with the thorny question: is it possible to run a business on that...

Christmas can be murder… Carole Seddon hates Christmas – it all seems rather a waste of time. So when her neighbour and best friend, Jude, drags her along to go shopping at a local store called Gallimaufry, she can feel her inner-Scrooge knocking. But the sales are on and even Carole can’t resist a bargain. Then, a few days later, Gallimaufry is burnt down and a body is discovered in the ashes. It seems like a tragic accident, but no-one can die of natural causes when a gun is involved. The victim was young, pretty and in a long-term relationship – who could possibly want her dead? With a host of suspicious characters – the infamous womanizer Ricky Le Bonnier with a string of ex-wives; Piers Duncton, a comedy writer who just isn’t that funny; or Anna Carter, the lonely dog walker – the lady detectives know they have their work cut out for them. And as they dig deeper they discover a host of half-truths and lies. It seems that someone in Fethering has a deep, dark, deadly secret – and is prepared to kill to keep it.

When healer Jude pays a visit to Long Bamber Stables one evening - to meet her unusually equine new client and his owner Sonia Dalrymple - she does not expect to stumble across a man laying in the darkness. Co-owner of the stables, Walter Fleet, has been viciously stabbed to death. Sleuthing neighbours Jude and Carole begin to make discreet enquiries, but it soon becomes clear that Long Bamber Stables is a hotbed of dangerous passions, murderous rivalries and hidden truths . . . and this horsing community will do anything to protect their reputations. 'Murder most enjoyable . . . An author who never takes himself that seriously, and for whom any fictional murder can frequently form part of the entertainment industry' COLIN DEXTER, The Oldie