A Deadly Habit
by Simon Brett

Meet Charles Paris: a washed-up actor with a taste for wine, women . . . and solving crimes! A binge-worthy cozy mystery series from the original king of British cozy crime, internationally best-selling, award-winning author Simon Brett, OBE. For fans of Richard Osman – but with added bite!

“Like a little malice in your mysteries? Some cynicism in your cosies? Simon Brett is happy to oblige” THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Few crime writers are as enchantingly gifted” THE SUNDAY TIMES

“One of British crime’s most assured craftsmen . . . Perfect entertainment” THE GUARDIAN

“A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans” P.D. JAMES

“Murder most enjoyable” COLIN DEXTER

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A middle-aged actor – and sometimes sleuth – with a script that needs divine intervention!
One dead monk . . .
A heavy drinking session . . .
It’s looking like A DEADLY HABIT!

Charles Paris has an unexpected – or divine? – stroke of good luck when he is cast as a monk in a new West End play, The Habit of Faith, thanks to the influence of his old acquaintance and fellow cast member, international TV superstar Justin Grover.

Unfortunately, the script is terrible, and Charles’s off-stage habits are less than pious. A heavy drinking session sees him passing out in his theatre dressing room and missing dinner – and with it the chance for long-lasting rapprochement – with his constantly estranged wife, Frances. Worse follows when Charles wakes up hungover and stumbles upon a dead body at the bottom of the stairs, then tells an unfathomable lie to the police! Can he atone for his sins by unmasking the killer?

Fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club, Anthony Horowitz, Alexander McCall Smith, M.C. Beaton and Faith Martin will love this hilarious cozy traditional mystery series featuring one of the funniest antiheroes in crime fiction. Written over a fifty-year-period, it perfectly captures life and contemporary attitudes in 1970s London – and beyond!

READERS ADORE CHARLES PARIS:

“Clever, well-paced” Publishers Weekly

“Excellent book, Simon Brett at his best. Roll on the next Charles Paris book” Davis, 5* Amazon review

“I love Charles Paris. He is without doubt the most attractive detective around, and Simon Brett is one of the wittiest of writers. I’ve enjoyed this book very much” G. McCullough, 5* Amazon review

“Brilliant book by a superb author. Highly recommend” 5* Amazon review

“Brett has again produced a marvellous book and I recommend it and the whole series” Jim, 5* Amazon review

“I really enjoy Simon Brett’s Charles Paris books, and this one was no exception” Elaine, 5* Goodreads review

“A perfect read” Cynthia, 5* Goodreads review

THE CHARLES PARIS MYSTERIES, IN ORDER:

1. Cast in Order of Disappearance
2. So Much Blood
3. Star Trap
4. An Amateur Corpse
5. A Comedian Dies
6. The Dead Side of the Mike
7. Situation Tragedy
8. Murder Unprompted
9. Murder in the Title
10. Not Dead, Only Resting
11. Dead Giveaway
12. What Bloody Man is That
13. A Series of Murders
14. Corporate Bodies
15. A Reconstructed Corpse
16. Sicken and So Die
17. Dead Room Farce
18. A Decent Interval
19. The Cinderella Killer
20. A Deadly Habit
15. A Reconstructed Corpse
16. Sicken and So Die
17. Dead Room Farce
18. A Decent Interval
19. The Cinderella Killer
20. A Deadly Habit

Reviews

“Clever, well-paced”

Publishers Weekly

Simon Brett

Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. He is the author of more than 100 books, including the much-loved Fethering mysteries, the Mrs Pargeter novels and the Charles Paris detective series, as well as the Decluttering mysteries. In 2014, he was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association’s prestigious Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence and contribution to crime writing, and in the 2016 New Year’s Honours he was awarded an OBE ‘for services to literature’.Married with three grown-up children, six grandchildren and a ginger cat called Douglas, he lives in an Agatha Christie-style village on the South Downs.

View author page

Editions

A Deadly Habit by Simon Brett is available in the following formats

Hardback *97817802910551st September 2018150 X 220mm192$28.99
Hardback *978178029105531st May 2018150 X 220mm192£20.99
Ebook97817801097701st September 2018N/A192£7.99
Ebook97817801097701st September 2018N/A192$14.99
Paperback978184751921429th March 2019139 X 215mm192£13.99
FormatISBNPublication DateDimensionsPagesPrice

* Out of print