The Poisoning in the Pub

by Simon Brett

Overview

Welcome to Fethering! Carole and Jude spring into amateur detective action when their favourite pub is targeted by a killer in this quirky, cozy, British village mystery. Jude and Carole get more than they bargained for when a lunchtime meal in their local pub leaves everyone with food poisoning. The landlord is horrified, and when a series of disasters start to befall his business it looks like it could be the end of the road for the Crown and Anchor. Left with a bad taste in their mouths - and not just from the food - the two amateur detectives wonder if it might just be more than a run of bad luck that's forcing their favourite pub into bankruptcy. When a young man is found in the kitchen of the pub, though, with a knife through his heart, Carole and Jude swing into action. There's a killer on the loose in Fethering, and Carole and Jude need to uncover who it is before it's last orders for the pub - and themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448304813
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Series:	Fethering Series , #10
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

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, Charles Paris, and Mrs Pargeter series, and the brand-new Decluttering mysteries. In 2014 he won the CWA's prestigious Diamond Dagger for an outstanding body of work, and in 2016 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature. He lives in an Agatha Christie-style village in the South Downs.
SIMON BRETT worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. He was awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year's Honours for services to Literature and also was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2014 he won the CWA's prestigious Diamond Dagger for an outstanding body of work. simonbrett.com

Editorial Reviews

Business at the venerable Crown and Anchor pub is flagging—and with good reason—in Brett's droll 10th mystery set in the West Sussex town of Fethering (after 2008's Blood at the Bookies). An outbreak of food poisoning, with attendant bad press, temporarily shuts down the establishment. Then the grand reopening is spoiled by a rowdy biker gang and the brutal stabbing death of a beloved, mentally challenged kitchen helper. Before you can say “plowman's lunch,” plucky Carole Seddon and her friend, Jude, are on the case. As “women of a certain age,” Carole and Jude are often underestimated, a circumstance they use to good advantage, along with dogged persistence, feminine wiles and people skills. Those with counter-corporate leanings will enjoy the bashing meted out on a McPub chain bent on driving traditional public houses out of business. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

After a number of Fethering locals get food poisoning at their favorite pub, amateur sleuths Jude and Carole launch an investigation to save the owner from ruin. VERDICT This cozy series (Blood at the Bookies) is as popular as Brett's Charles Paris books and his Mrs. Pargeter novels. Recommend this to readers who love satisfying mysteries set in charming small English towns.

Library Journal

Fethering neighbors Jude and Carole come to the aid of a publican. Ted Crisp's Crown and Anchor is in trouble. A motorcycle gang has taken to vrooming in and out at all hours, disturbing shopkeepers and residents along Fethering's High Street. Recently served scallops have caused serious food poisoning. The local paper's headlines announce that the Health Department has ordered the Crown and Anchor closed. And Dan Poke, the comedian Ted engages to inaugurate the pub's comedy nights, is not only unfunny but insistent on reminding those present about the dodgy scallops. Could things get worse? Well, yes. When a brawl breaks out, Ray, the simple-minded lad Ted lets help out, is stabbed to death, and Ted's long-separated wife reappears to demand a divorce and major alimony. Perhaps inspired by the Chilean chardonnay they quaff, Jude and Carole decide to set matters right. Soon they're confronted by another death, a philandering civic-minded do-gooder, and a man with a scarred face and fewer than ten fingers. Not to worry, though. A few more nips of the chardonnay, and Jude and Carole have put Ted and his pub back in business while sparing a kind thought or two for poor Ray. The last few Fethering mysteries (Blood at the Bookies, 2008, etc.) have lacked the usual quota of wit, gleeful satire and clever if unmemorable plotting. Alas, matters are equally tired at the pub. Even Brett devotees might want to give this installment a miss.

Kirkus Reviews