What Bloody Man is That?

Simon Brett has always been one of my favorite British crime writers, but only his Charles Paris mysteries interest me because the actor, Charles, is such a funny character, a wreck of a man, but oh, so human, so flawed. He's always nursing a hangover at a crucial time in his acting career or during his murder-solving avocational excursions. The theater backgrounds and the inner workings of acting are fascinating elements in the books. Brett's other crime series are boring and simplistic. He should go back to Charles who is usually drunk, in and out of small acting jobs, and fun to read about because he has the worst agent in England. He's separated from his wife Frances, and is always teetering on the edge of despair, sobriety, and farce. Acting jobs are hard for Charles to land. This time he has a job in provincial repertory in Warminster in that cursed play "Macbeth." Because he's a good-hearted, eager-to please, desperate actor, and because the director is a wimp, he gets saddled with ten bit parts in the play, all with different costumes. Warnock Belvedere is a nasty old ham playing only one part, that of Duncan. He quickly becomes hated by the whole cast and eventually ends up as the murder victim. Charles has to solve the case because he discovered the body, and he's the chief suspect. He gives up the booze while on the case. It's an ingenious plot, and the solution is perfectly fitting. The school matinee performances are hilarious, and the cast gets the giggles because a walnut is being passed around the cast to unsuspecting players. Brett doesn't really go into whether the play was effective for adult audiences or whether all the other actors did a good job. He's more interesting in weaving a good comic yarn, setting a fast pace, getting in some telling caricatures, and providing readers with a very enjoyable performance.