NOT DEAD, ONLY RESTING

by Simon Brett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 1984

Only resting,"" of course, is the British actor's way of saying ""unemployed""--and, in this tenth mystery outing, middle-aged Charles Paris is so desperate from ""resting"" that he takes a part-time job as a wall-paperer. . . and promptly finds a dead body. The corpse: Yves Lafeu, handsome chef at a super-chic London restaurant, and the lover of his boss Tristram Gowers--who has disappeared. The police assume that Tristram (famously jealous) killed Yves in a gay lovers' quarrel, and that he's probably gone off to commit suicide. But Tristram's cousin Kevin O'Rourke, a gay theater aficionado, begs amateur-sleuth Charles to come up with an alternative solution. Could the real murderer be Tristram's bitter ex-wife, an alcoholic actress? Or perhaps Yves' sister, who hated her brother's gay lifestyle? And what about Yves' occasional lover Gary, a beautiful actor and sometime ""escort""-for-hire? Charles talks to all these suspects--while also looking for TV work, giving advice to a very naive would-be actress, and missing estranged wife Frances. But the real culprit is only unmasked after Charles sorts out clues involving blackmail, ruthless actor-ambition, and TV casting. Second-string, mildly amusing Brett overall--with Charles' likability (and an engaging supporting cast) helping to compensate for the thin plot and the lack of a central show-biz involvement.

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION