Callback to classic whodunits

This was a solid mystery, if not particularly suspenseful. There were some fun references to Golden Age Detective Fiction which made the murderer obvious, so the rat race from suspect to suspect seemed a little contrived, as did the evidence that pointed to Jude (the POV character).

I have not read any of Burton’s other works but it still works okay as a standalone, though I had no connection with the characters, which made it harder for me to care about them. All in all it was a good book but not a great one.

I received a copy of this story from the author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy the Fethering series but I felt this, was the least successful as the author was parodying both the genre and his creation too much so while mildly amusing it also rather spoilt it . I also worked out who did it quite early on. I hope the Fethering series continues but perhaps with less of an undercurrent of self awareness and stereotypes as characters which made this easy read unexpectedly a bit disappointing.

Burton St Clair is invited to talk about his new book at the Fethering library, and it ends in tragedy when he is murdered.....

This is an excellent book. With really great characters and a brilliant plot. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book and would highly recommend it.

Burton St Clair is invited to talk about his new best seller at the Fethering local library, but it ends in tragedy when he is murdered.

Jude was a friend of the author and is the last person to see him alive. She becomes the number one suspect and must prove her innocence, but this proves difficult as all the clues point to her.

This is the latest instalment of the Fethering cosy murder mystery stories. This is the first of the series I have read and although I enjoyed it, the story is very run-of-the-mill, with no surprises and it is obvious from the start who the murderer was. The characters did make me titter occasionally but it didn’t wow me at all.

The book is well written and the characters are very likeable, and the story was quite short, just a hundred and ninety odd pages, which made it a quick read. It is a shame that the story was too predictable, hence the 4 stars.

Shesat.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Between being set in England and having amateur sleuths solving a mystery, I was hooked. This is not the first book in the series, but I was able to easily read it without feeling like I had missed out.

Those who cut their teeth on Agatha Christie novels may find this entertaining, especially as those style of crime books are mentioned throughout the book.

I read several of the first Fethering mysteries years ago, but have not kept up with this cozy series.

When Jude knew Burton St. Clair twenty years ago, he was plain Al and a bit of a womanizer, now he is a well known author with a more sophisticated version of his name.

Invited to speak at the Fethering library, St. Clair has changed little, except that he now has a more towering ego than ever. He offers Jude a ride home, makes an advance, is repulsed, and Jude walks home.

St. Clair, however, never leaves the car, and the next day, Jude finds herself suspected of murder.

I fear the most interesting element in this mystery (for me) concerned the challenges British libraries have been facing in recent years.

Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Jan. 4, 2018.

NetGalley/Severn House

Cozy Mystery. Jan. 1, 2018. Print length: 192 pages.

Love the Fethering Mysteries and wish Mr Brett could write them faster. This outing was another fun romp in Fethering with our two amateur sleuths at it again. This time Jude took centre stage, both as murder suspect and as main sleuth. We see more of Fethering and its diverse social hierarchy and I particularly enjoyed the window into library talks and author signings, not to mention several serious nods at Golden Age crime-writing. More please, Mr Brett!

This was the first book that I have read in the Fethering series. Even though this is Book #18, I was easily able to read this as a stand alone mystery. The characters of Jude and Carole are well established, and the particulars of the new mystery swirl around their lives in a logical and plausible manner. There is a murder that takes places outside the Fetherling Library, involving the author who was featured in the evening event. This author, Burton St. Clair, is murdered. One of the main characters, Jude, becomes the main suspect as she was last seen with Burton.

I enjoyed the investigation into the murder, and the interviews conducted by either Carole or Jude are entertaining. This is a delightful quick read, and it was perfect for a light hearted weekend afternoon. This is definitely a book, and a series, that I will now be able to wholeheartedly recommend to friends and family.

Although this book was an entertaining read, I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books in the series.

Jude and her friend Carole have solved several mysteries together in exotic locales, but this time the puzzle lies much closer to home, in their own quiet village of Fethering. When an old friend -- and some say an old flame -- of Jude's is murdered and Jude is a suspect, the friends have no choice but to track down the real killer.

The Fethering mysteries are sophisticated, well written, and witty, with complex characters and satisfying puzzles. Fans of Robert Barnard and G. M. Malliet will feel right a home with this series.

In this installment, Carole and Jude face some extra emotional turmoil. There's also an interesting thread throughout the novel, examining the Golden Age detective story as a literary genre. This would be an excellent book club choice.

Such cozy cute mystery. I was actually transported to the age of non voilent , slowly unwrapping , investigative stories of gone by era. Loved the realistic characterization of the leading ladies and all the other cast. I could not understand some of the literary references but the way the author included the working of the publishing industry and the life in a small town , its too charming. After a while I was more engrossed in knowing about the library , the conversations more than finding the killer. Ooh and the title is much clever. This is such an enjoyable read and one that can be easily finished in a few sittings. It is that engrossing in all ways, specially with the wit and sharp prose. I am going to soon check previous books by Simon.

Thanks Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the eARC.
Jude has been invited to a talk at Fethering Library by an old acquaintance, the successful author Burton St. Clair. He is the ex of a good friend of hers, a philandering arrogant womanizer who believes every woman he meets wants him. When he offers her a ride home, she decides to escape his wandering hands and walk home in the rain instead.
The next morning the police are on her doorstep to inform her of Burton's death. His body was found in his car at the library car park.
It soon becomes evident that, once it's decided this was murder, Jude is the no.1 suspect. The usually relaxed, easygoing Jude is going into panic mode and asks her friend and neighbor Carol to do some investigating before she gets clapped into irons for murder.
Having read most of the Fethering mysteries; enjoyable, cozy mysteries I've always enjoyed, I was a little disappointed in this outing. The usually unflappable Jude getting panicky was not to my liking; definitely out of character. It's still a pleasant book, but I prefer the previous ones.

THE LIAR IN THE LIBRARY is the 18th of the Fethering series of novels by Simon Brett.

Successful author Burton St Clair has been booked to give a talk at Fethering Library. Knowing that his old friend Jude lives in the area he invites her to come along although they haven’t met for twenty years. Jude quickly finds that St Clair hasn’t changed and is still very much a ladies man with an overly large ego and a shaky relationship with the truth.

Jude didn’t suspect that the evening would end in sudden violent death (although she should have at least suspected that it might have given her previous investigations with her friend Carole).

Jude finds that, because of evidence from St Clairs ex-wife about an alleged affair that Jude had with St Clair, that she has become the main suspect. So she has to enlist the help of her neighbour to solve the murder so she does not get arrested for committing it.



As with the previous Fethering novels you get a good solid character driven novel in an interesting milieu with characters who are believable if perhaps a teensy bit over the top and an interesting whodunit at its heart although you don’t get a key clue as to motive until quite some time into the novel.

This is a nice traditional cozy mystery with just a little bit of dark humour and I would recommend as a nice light read although I personally do prefer Simon Bretts other 3 series (Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter and Blotto & Twinks).

A new Fethering mystery from Simon Brett is always, without exception, an anticipated joy. This one, 'The Liar in the Library' doesn't disappoint. An event in Fethering library - an author talk, with Jude as a guest - should be an enjoyable one...however,needless to say, not all goes to plan. Murder is on the menu and Jude becomes suspect number one. Wry, witty and cleverly written, as always, this is an immensely enjoyable read and it's pleasing to see that life, as we know it in Fethering, goes on. Highly recommended.

This is the latest installment in the Fethering Mysteries series and even though it follows a familiar pattern I still found it very enjoyable. It's like returning to a well-loved location and knowing you're going to have a great time.

Aside from the murder mystery, there were several themes running through the book such as funding of libraries, and attitudes to foreigners which added to the contemporary feel of the book. This was balanced by references throughout to Golden Age Detective fiction which the author had a lot of fun with. Obviously it's a subject Simon Brett knows a lot about and one that is dear to his heart but that doesn't stop him sending up the genre to a certain degree, or at least those who take it a little too seriously like Professor Vanessa Perks. I also enjoyed the conversation with the poet Nemone Coote where she insists on name checking all her books with their obscure and entertainingly named publishers.

Thank-you to NetGalley and Severn House for providing the book for review.

As a big fan of Simon's books particularly the Fethering Mystery series I looked forward to this latest chapter and it didn't disappoint. As someone who currently works for the library service and has done for 25 years I could totally relate to the issues facing this public service nationally and Simon covered these issues perfectly. It was great following Jude and Carol on yet another of their investigations, this time a local author getting murdered in the library car park of all places after giving a talk at the library and although I guessed early on who the culprit was didn't spoil it, an enjoyable read.

Back to Fethering on the south coast of England – you may recall that the blog has been there before, but we’ve only scratched the surface of the criminal goings-on in the vicinity. This time, free-thinking Jude is curious when an old acquaintance arrives at the local library. Now a published writer, Burton St Clair is giving a talk about his book. But it seems that Burton St Clair isn’t as popular as he thinks he is…
The next morning, St Clair is found dead in the car park of the library. When it transpires that he died from anaphylactic shock, a reaction to walnuts – none of which were anywhere in the vicinity of the library. Suspicion falls on the last person to see St Clair alive and the only person who knew him well enough to know about the walnut allergy – Jude herself. As she investigates, along with her straight-laced neighbour Carole, she only ends up incriminating herself more…
This is the eighteenth book in the Fethering series and I think by now readers know what to expect. A collection of distinct suspects, a pair of endearing sleuths and a tromp around the suspects once or twice before the killer is unmasked.
As seems to be the case with most of Brett’s work, clue-ing isn’t his strong point. Fans of a Christie homage may want to look elsewhere, as there is one vague clue to the murderer, but most of the detail of the opportunity and motive comes when the killer is detailing their plan after being unmasked. And to be honest, it gets a little silly when it starts out with nobody knowing about the allergy only for it to be revealed that virtually everybody in the library that night not only once knew St Clair, but knew about his allergy too.
But that’s not what people read these books. It’s certainly not why I blagged a review copy of this one – it’s out on September 29th by the way. As ever in September, as the school term kicks into gear, work piles up and I need an easy, fun read. And I know that’s what I’m going to get from the Fethering Mysteries.
Fans of the series will definitely enjoy this one – Well Worth A Look.

I'm a big fan of Simon Brett and I think this is his best one yet. I was riveted from the beginning, and even though I kind of thought I knew who did it., the ending was still exciting.

Here's one to the amateur sleuths!
Burton St Clair, or Al Sinclair is invited to Fethering to give a talk and conduct a book signing following the release of his latest book. When he turns up dead the next morning, Jude, a former close friend of his first wife, Meghan is the police's first suspect, but Jude knows one thing- she never killed the man. She may have wanted to given how he came onto her, but she never did and she finds herself looking into the case with help from her neighbor Carole.
I loved the plot because a writer turns up dead after what would seem to be a successful book signing-more so he's found outside the same library he'd had the event.
I also loved that this story was set in a small town. People know more about each other in a small town and this assumption was quite hard to sustain as the motive behind the murder and the killer was identified.
As for the characters, I felt like there should have been more to Carole than the background offered because she plays a critical role in searching for the killer and though her determination and need for attention (especially from Jude), brought out aspects of her personality, I finished the book not knowing more about her or personally connecting with her.
The book is an enjoyable read.
I'd love to thank NetGalley and the Publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my review.

Simon Brett always entertains, this one is part of the Fethering mysteries with Jude and Carole. It has been a long time since of I read a Simon Brett book, but it does not take long to feel right at home again, I love the easy in the reading, the storylines are always intriguing and the characters are always well drawn.