Product Description

All bets are on when there's a body found at the bookies...When Jude wanders into Fethering's local bookies she has no idea that she will shortly be investigating the murder of Polish immigrant Tadeusz Jankowski. With her partner in crime, friend and next-door-neighbour Carole, she's determined to discover who killed him - and why? There are several favourites in the running: A mysterious woman in the bookies? The charming lecturer at the university? Or the mysterious attacker who Jude only narrowly escapes from? Talking to suspects and gathering information, the amateur investigators try to piece together the broken trail of the young immigrant's life. But in this race there's only one winner - and it could be that they are pipped at the post by a cold and calculated killer...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25500 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 339 pages

Review
Fethering neighbors Jude and Carole (Death Under the Dryer, 2007, etc.) once again one-up the police in solving a village crime.On a visit to the local betting shop to place wagers for flu-stricken Harold Peskett, 92, Jude is put off by the racism of estate agent Hamish Urquhart and his son Ewan. After a young man enters the shop looking ill, then leaves dripping blood and collapses in an alley, Jude finds him stabbed to death. She and Carole quickly sally forth to interview the cops, the betting shop regulars and the dead man's sister, Zofia, who's flown in from Poland to discover why her brother Tadeusz was murdered. The trail leads to Clincham College and a lothario who wouldn't mind kipping down with Jude, even though he's been busy at home. Meanwhile, Carole has connected with Gerald Hume, a retired accountant who wants to be her pal, and the sleuthing duo learns that the Urquhart daughter's summer fling with the dead Polish lad aroused the distaste of her xenophobic family. A few rounds at the pubs and a stakeout help Jude and Carole uncover a romance gone awry that will be resolved in the most appalling way.A so-so plot, but a nice few hours in the country with the ever-expanding cast of congenial Fethering villagers. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full time. He is married with three grown-up children and lives in an Agatha Christie-style village on the South Downs. This is the ninth novel in the popular Fethering series.

Customer Reviews

An annual treat
In what is almost becoming an annual event, 'Blood at the Bookies' is the latest episode in the lives of our Sussex-based sleuths, Carol and Jude. Having stumbled upon the series by chance, I have become a devotee of these cosy, fun mysteries. The latest will not disappoint fans, though it perhaps suffers a little from the relative lack of action outside of Feathering and what seems, at least to me, to be a shortage of viable suspects. I had guessed the culprit long before the final chapters and this can always be somewhat of a disappointment. It did not, however, spoil my enjoyment of a charming addition to the Feathering series. Long may Carol and Jude reign over the Sussex coast!

The Polish question
Carole and Jude are faced with trying to uncover who is responsible for the murder of a Polish immigrant. Jude finds herself under suspicion when she happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Carole unbends from he usual puritanical stance sufficiently to enter a bookies. But it's all in the course of detection. In this latest Fethering mystery, Carole branches out on her own and follows a suspect to find out where she lives and then confronts her, increasing her own confidence. But her friendship with Jude looks in jeopardy when Jude appears to be about to sell her house. These two ill matched sleauths manage to go where angels fear to tread and the murderer is finally unmasked in a tense conclusion. This is an exciting light mystery with a sufficiently complex plot to keep you guessing. The characters are three dimensional and the writing flows smoothly. If you want a mystery without too much gore and with believable characters then you'll enjoy this one.