Death on the Downs

By: Simon Brett

Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard

It isn't the rain that upsets Carole Seddon during her walk on the West Sussex Downs. It isn't the dilapidated barn in which she is forced to seek shelter. No, what upsets her is the human skeleton she discovers there, neatly packed into two blue fertilizer bags.

So begins the second investigation for strait-laced Carole and her more laid-back neighbor Jude. This time their inquiries take them away from their seaside village of Fethering to the small downland 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? Why is village elder statesman Graham Forbes suddenly taking an interest in Carole? And why is the decidedly 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.

©2001 Simon Brett (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks

So glad I found this series!

These are a cross between “actual” mysteries, and “cozy mysteries. No gratuitous blood and gore and descriptions of violence, but not sugary sweet and silly. Story is solid mystery. Narration is good. Really enjoying the series. On to book three!

Predictable.

Formula story with weak characters. Okay for an airplane read. Writing not bad but could be a television script.

I really like this series

I am really enjoying this series. I was looking for something similar to the Cherringham series which I greatly enjoy. Bunburry didn’t do it for me, but this one is very good.

Mind Boggling

The story was excellent the plot twist and turns
kept me up i had to finish couldnt go to sleep untill i finished the narrator was excellent i reccomend this book to any mystery buff

Gentle mystery well told.

I like this series because the main characters are so loveable, in spite of their peculiarities. The mystery is well thought out and plausible. Surprise endings but not unbelievable. Fun read.