Death and the Decorator (Fethering Mystery, A, 1)
- Downloads：2574
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-06 11:22:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Simon Brett
- ISBN：1666609714
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Vintagebooklvr
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This is the 21st Fethering Mystery。 And， like the others in the series， it is a reliable solid mystery （I’ve actually read them all）。 Jude and Carol， neighbors and very different personalities， are an unlikely couple of amateur detectives who decide to investigate the disappearance of a young woman 20 years ago whose handbag was discovered behind a wall during the renovation of a building。 Besides a good mystery， I really come back for several reasons。 I love the relationship between Jude and Ca This is the 21st Fethering Mystery。 And， like the others in the series， it is a reliable solid mystery （I’ve actually read them all）。 Jude and Carol， neighbors and very different personalities， are an unlikely couple of amateur detectives who decide to investigate the disappearance of a young woman 20 years ago whose handbag was discovered behind a wall during the renovation of a building。 Besides a good mystery， I really come back for several reasons。 I love the relationship between Jude and Carol。 It is complex and filled with ups and downs。 Jude is the more go with the flow personality who works as a healer。 Carol is the much more up-tight personality who is divorced and retired from the Home Office。 But their differences complement each other in their investigations。 I also love the lighter side of these books。 Sometimes I laugh out loud and others I just smile but it is all good。 I also enjoy the social commentary in the books。 Fethering， the town were most of these murders occur， is the equivalent of a modern St。 Mary Mead。 Aristocrats don’t abound but normal people do and the observations are very telling。 Enjoy。 It is a great series and I wasn’t disappointed with this installment。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion。 。。。more
Eric
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In the early days， it was Chardonnay， now it is large glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc， but has anything much changed in this twenty-first visit to the murderous seaside town of Fethering？ Carole and Jude are still， uptight but now relaxedly-grandmotherly in one case， and just chilled and relaxed in the other。 Nowadays they seem to investigate much more independently although just as intrusively as before。 Ted looms large in the flourishing gastropub and the jokes are no better。 I have fo In the early days， it was Chardonnay， now it is large glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc， but has anything much changed in this twenty-first visit to the murderous seaside town of Fethering？ Carole and Jude are still， uptight but now relaxedly-grandmotherly in one case， and just chilled and relaxed in the other。 Nowadays they seem to investigate much more independently although just as intrusively as before。 Ted looms large in the flourishing gastropub and the jokes are no better。 I have followed this series from its inception。 It never strays out of the readers' comfort zone nor does it endeavour to tear away the comfort blanket。 There are some ingenuities in the plotting of this one， and a slight twist towards the end， but essentially it administers the mixture as before。 For most readers， old and new， this is reassuring。 But I am no longer enamoured。。。 and I am not a fan of magnolia！ 3。5 stars。 Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House /Canongate Books for the digital review copy 。。。more
Homerun2
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Polar opposities Jude， the free spirit， and Carole， the uptight divorcee， look into another mystery in the small town of Fethering。 Jude is in the midst of getting some redecorating done， and she and her painter discover the handbag of a woman missing for decades。 She and Carole can't resist snooping。 The missing woman was a very upright and Catholic girl and the rumors at the time ran rampant: sexual harassment by her boss or his father， an illicit love affair with a co-worker， a secret elopeme Polar opposities Jude， the free spirit， and Carole， the uptight divorcee， look into another mystery in the small town of Fethering。 Jude is in the midst of getting some redecorating done， and she and her painter discover the handbag of a woman missing for decades。 She and Carole can't resist snooping。 The missing woman was a very upright and Catholic girl and the rumors at the time ran rampant: sexual harassment by her boss or his father， an illicit love affair with a co-worker， a secret elopement to Spain， etc。The relationship between the two women is really the heart of this series。 Even for a cozy， their incredible nosiness is over the top。 Jude is unbelievably tolerant and relaxed， and Carole seizes on any occasion to feel affronted。 This one had an interesting and unexpected twist to the ending。Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion。 。。。more
zoe Hitchen
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Another enjoyable visit to Fethering ， where we meet the indomitable sleuthing duo Jude and Carole。Jude is a free spirit in to healing ， crystals and alternative therapies Carole on the other hand is very set in her ways and can be quite taciturn at times。They make the unlikeliest of friends but the perfect amateur detectives 。Jude is having her living room decorated ， and this in turn leads to her uncovering a handbag from a thirty year old disappearance。Carole and Jude get their interest pique Another enjoyable visit to Fethering ， where we meet the indomitable sleuthing duo Jude and Carole。Jude is a free spirit in to healing ， crystals and alternative therapies Carole on the other hand is very set in her ways and can be quite taciturn at times。They make the unlikeliest of friends but the perfect amateur detectives 。Jude is having her living room decorated ， and this in turn leads to her uncovering a handbag from a thirty year old disappearance。Carole and Jude get their interest piqued and they begin to investigate。The writing is of the calibre you expect from Simon Brett ， easy to read with light hearted moments never forgetting the serious subject of the story that being murder。The relationship between Jude and Carole is both complex and credible。I’ve enjoyed all the Fethering mysteries and this one doesn’t disappoint。 Overall an enjoyable cozy mystery ！ Highly recommended！ Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House。 。。。more
Diane Hernandez
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Death and the Decorator is the twenty-first book in the Fethering mystery series。It started with the discovery of a thirty-year-old handbag in a wall during a remodeling job。 Its owner， Anita Garner， had gone missing around the same time。 Anita worked in the building， which was then a nursing home。 Jude and Carole， amateur detectives （and professional busybodies）， decide to investigate Anita’s case。Death and the Decorator is newly written but feels like a golden age mystery。 The small British be Death and the Decorator is the twenty-first book in the Fethering mystery series。It started with the discovery of a thirty-year-old handbag in a wall during a remodeling job。 Its owner， Anita Garner， had gone missing around the same time。 Anita worked in the building， which was then a nursing home。 Jude and Carole， amateur detectives （and professional busybodies）， decide to investigate Anita’s case。Death and the Decorator is newly written but feels like a golden age mystery。 The small British beach town setting is unchanged from the 1930s。 However， many of its characters struggle with modern conveniences like cell phones and laptops。 They are older and/or retired。 Therefore， this book might be a better fit for an older reader。If you fancy an Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple type of plot， but set in modern times， you can’t go wrong with Death and the Decorator， or really any of the books in this series。 3。5 stars rounded up to 4 stars！Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book。 。。。more
Scilla
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Jude is having her sitting room repainted and has hired the decorator Pete， who is currently working in Footscrow House， an old building that has housed many different businesses， all of which have failed and thus has been nicknamed Fiasco House。 Jude meets with him there， and while they talk， he is removing a panel。 When the panel is out， it reveals a small triangular alcove holding a red leather woman's handbag。 Besides the usual items， the bag has a new passport in the name of Anita Garner。 J Jude is having her sitting room repainted and has hired the decorator Pete， who is currently working in Footscrow House， an old building that has housed many different businesses， all of which have failed and thus has been nicknamed Fiasco House。 Jude meets with him there， and while they talk， he is removing a panel。 When the panel is out， it reveals a small triangular alcove holding a red leather woman's handbag。 Besides the usual items， the bag has a new passport in the name of Anita Garner。 Jude takes the the bag to the police。 It appears that Garner disappeared about 30 years previously when the building was a senior care facility， and Anita， age 23 worked there。Jude and her friend Carole immediately begin investigating。 Anita was an only child， and was Catholic。 She had been still living with her parents。 The senior care facility was owned and managed by Veronica and Harry Laselle。 It was their son， Roland， who was now renovating it for holiday flatlets。 Carole goes to the Library to read the old newspapers， and a man approaches her to tell she is reading his writings。 The former newsman， Malt Penberthy， helps her find information。 There is a lot of gossip around town， including that Roland and or his father was hitting on Anita。 When Harry Laselle dies of carbon monoxide poisoning on his boat， the gossip continues along with ideas on whether it was murder， suicide， or an accident。I enjoyed this book， which is very clever， includes humor， and there is a great surprise near the end。 。。。more
Suzi
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