Death on the Downs

by Simon Brett

Published 26 January 2001

It wasn't the rain that upset during Carole Seddon during her walk on the West Sussex Downs. It wasn't the dilapidated barn in which she took shelter. No, what upset her was the human skeleton she discovered there . . .

So begins the second investigation for strait-laced Carole and her laid-back neighbour Jude. This time their enquires take them away from Fethering to the small hamlet of Weldisham. There gossips quickly identify the corpse as Tamsin Lutteridge, a young woman who disappeared from the village months before. Detective Sergeant Baylis will confirm nothing. So why is Tamsin's mother, a friend of Jude's, so certain her daughter is still alive? And why is the unstable Brian Helling so keen to announce that there is a serial killer on the loose . . . ? As Jude sets out to find Tamsin - either dead or alive - Carole digs deeper into Weldisham's history and the bitter relationships simmering beneath the village's gentle facade.


The Torso in the Town

by Simon Brett

Published 8 February 2002
Amateur sleuths Jude and Carole take on their third case when a terrible discovery is made in the cellar of a grand old house.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 before they were rudely interrupted by a gruesome discovery. A human torso hidden in the cellar.Jude races home to Fethering and her friend Carole with the news. And soon the pair are back in Fedborough, questioning the locals. But they can't help but wonder why a town so notoriously distrustful of outsiders is proving so terribly amenable to their enquiries . . . 'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. JAMES'Aficionados of the elegant, well-turned mystery novel will find much cause for delight in the inauguration of this series.' Crime Time