Book excerpt: 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 _______________________ An unknown actor - but better-known sleuth - on the hunt for his next job A murder in the BBC A scandal that is about to come to light, but when it does . . . You don't want to be on THE DEAD SIDE OF THE MIKE! Little-known actor Charles Paris just wants to get a drink after a job well done recording a BBC radio drama. Instead he finds himself stuck in the spiralling tedium of a BBC committee meeting in whose subject he has no interest at all. The evening gets worse when the body of studio manager Andrea Gower is found in the editing suite of Broadcasting House. It's an obvious suicide . . . but when another death occurs, Charles isn't as convinced anymore. With numerous potential suspects, Charles uncovers layers of scandal linked to higher powers - and greater dangers than he could have imagined. But will Charles bring the truth to light, or will he be the newest victim of the cover up that led to Andrea's death? 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: "Very nice indeed . . . with jaunty pacing and Charles becoming a tenderer fellow" Kirkus Reviews "Humorous and satirical" Mystery Scene Magazine "This series is always a delight, at times poignant, always filled with interesting characters - and this is a good who-dun-it? too" Norma, 5* GoodReads review "This is the pure entertainment of a whodunnit. Charles is smart and witty . . . An excellent entry in one of my favorite series" Randee Baty, 5* GoodReads review "Simon Brett's Charles Paris lightens my mood without sacrificing intelligence and great writing" Jennifer Dudley, 5* GoodReads review "First Class Murder Mystery. Highly Recommended" James Lavery, 5* Amazon 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