Severn House Publishers: 1125 books

The prosperous housing estate of Smithy’s Loam should be the epitome of middle-class respectability, but Mrs Pargeter decides that there’s something just a little bit odd about her new neighbours. When the central heating breaks down, she decides to contact the former occupants, the Cottons, for...

Construction on Mrs Pargeter’s new country home comes to an abrupt halt when a corpse is discovered in the wine cellar. The accused is Concrete Jacket, the builder and great friend of Mrs P’s late, lamented husband. Mrs P is not about to let prison come between her and her dream home. Concrete...

While she has never felt the need to change her figure, Mrs Pargeter is happy enough to accompany her friend Kim to a health farm. Until, in the night, she sees a body being wheeled out. What Mrs Pargeter doesn’t realise is that this suspicious death will set her on a trail of detection which will bring her into direct conflict with her late husband’s business associates.

Invited to a Private View of the work of controversial artist Denzil Willoughby, the good citizens of Fethering are not quite sure what to expect. And it turns out to be a lively affair, culminating in several embarrassing confrontations. But what no one could have anticipated was that the evening...

The genteel game of Real Tennis takes a murderous twist in Simon Brett's witty and entertaining new Fethering mystery - Jude's life has been turned upside-down thanks her new mant, Piers Targett, who's keen to get her involved in his hobby - or obsession - of Real Tennis. But when one of Piers' friends...

Joining the cast of a musical loosely based on She Stoops to Conquer, actor/detective Charles Paris is soon regretting his decision, irked as he is by the odious theatre and television star who is backing, producing and starring in the show. But when rehearsals are hampered by a strange series of...

For once Charles Paris is gainfully employed in the role of Sergeant Clump in what promises to be a long-running TV series based on rather dated 1930s detective novels. Yet once again, Charles finds himself in the role of real-life detective when he discovers a young actress's body crushed beneath a props case, and sets out to prove his hunch that she was murdered.

As understudy to the lead in a West End play, Charles Paris's thespian and detective skills are called upon once again when the lead is shot dead on stage on the opening night. The suspects range from a jealous wife to a bitter actor who lost his part, from the playwright who heard his beautiful lines twisted to the director who saw his work ruined.

Taking on his most unlikely performing assignment yet: 'forklift-driver-for-a-day' in the Delmoleen company corporate video, Charles Paris discovers - to his horror - that a forklift can lead to death. Industrial accident - or murder? Charles decides to find out.

A three-month run in a new farce, Not On Your Wife, is not to be sniffed at by jobbing actor Charles Paris. But by the time the troupe reaches Bath, a dark mood has set in, and Charles's old friend Mark has a drink problem that amounts to a death wish. But it's not the drink that kills Mark; it's somebody in the cast who has a dirty secret to hide.

Charles Paris's acting career plumbs new depths when he takes on the part of a possible murder victim in Public Enemies, a true-crime TV series. Finding himself in a bizarre world somewhere between police procedure and showbiz, Charles can't help getting involved in the investigation - especially when dismembered limbs start turning up.

Things are going suspiciously well for Charles Paris. He has moved back in with his ex-wife and landed a proper part in a proper production: Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. But when two members of the theatre company suddenly fall ill, Charles finds himself in trouble again - both on and off stage.

After a long period of ‘resting’, life is looking up for Charles Paris, who has been cast as the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father and First Gravedigger in a new production of Hamlet. But rehearsals are fraught. Ophelia is played by Katrina Selsey, who won the role through a television talent show. Hamlet...

Playing the corpse in a murder mystery at the Regent Theatre is not exactly a triumph for Charles Paris. In fact, his career could not sink any lower. However, suddenly the mystery spills over into real life with the artistic director's apparent suicide. But was it suicide - or murder? Charles Paris determines to find out.