The first of a new series "The Fethering Mysteries", The Body on the Beach takes us to a small south coast retirement community where spite runs high. Uptight divorcee Carole has restricted her life to walking the dog and the odd bit of charitable work--she confuses middle age and retirement with being bored and depressed; when she finds a body on the beach, she calls the police and is irritated when they treat her like a hysterical idiot--the body has gone missing. Her new neighbour, the flashy Jude, a woman with a past and an untidy living room, drags the more thoughtful Carole into regular glasses of wine at the pub and what becomes a complicated investigation; Jude is keen to have a good time at all times, and will not take the polite rebuffs which keep Carole from involvement with
… read more...life. This is an interesting thriller which reminds us that even Middle England has its underside; it is also an impressive opening to a new series in which Brett skewers the conventionality and repressed emotion of his intelligent heroine while understanding the safety they represent for her. --Roz KaveneyRead More read less...