Sicken and So Die

by Simon Brett Narrated by Geoffrey Howard

Overview

Simon Brett's oldest and most beloved character, Charles Paris, is back. Paris, the often out-of-work actor, has a good part, for a change, playing Sir Toby Belch in a summer festival production of Twelfth Night. But when the director takes ill and then Paris' friend in the production is the apparent victim of intentional food poisoning meant for Paris, it's not long until the bodies start to turn up. Paris is forced to deal not only with a wild young director whose idea of Shakespeare the bard himself would hate, but with a murderer in the production as well.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

For actor Charles Paris, life is wonderful for a change: Frances, his wife, has let him back into her apartment (and bed), and he has landed the splendid role of Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. Of course, none of this can last. At a publicity party, the director succumbs to abdominal cramps severe enough to hospitalize him. Enter Alexandru Radulescu, an avant-garde director who says Shakespeare "writes only about sex." As the provocative, spectacle-loving Radulescu slices and dices the comedy to shreds, Charles, who clings to a traditional interpretation, becomes increasingly resented by his colleagues, all of whom appear to be turning into Radulescu groupies. When, following a group dinner, another member of the company falls sufficiently ill to leave the show, Charles suspects foul play. While he sizes up who might do what to whom (and how many additional lines they would finagle if they did it), someone else prowls behind the scenes to stage yet another incident, this one fatal. For followers of this series, this is classic Charles Paris, with the interminably struggling actor again giving us Brett's (Singled Out, 1995, etc.) wry and entertaining view of the theater. The story is tightly wrapped around Twelfth Night, and readers who are familiar with the play will surely derive more pleasure from it than those who aren't. (Jan.)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169833751
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/25/2010
Series:	Charles Paris Mysteries , #16
Edition description:	Unabridged

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