Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the ARC.

I have read all of the Fethering Mysteries published to date. This, number 18 in the series, is the poorest and thinnest to date.

The plot is very obvious- no excuse to say it is based on one in a fake Golden Age detective novel- and the culprit clear from an early stage, although there was no discernible motive.

Jude is subjected to police suspicion on flimsy evidence and the police behave in an unfeasibly unprofessional way. Carole has become even more of a caricature and there was little here of the interaction between the neighbours which usually spices the books.

The writing was rather formulaic and the pot shots at trifling pseudo- academic studies, “serious” poetry, the publishing industry, and golden age detectives, were relentlessly unfunny. The author also does not seem to know that e-books can be annotated and ‘handled’ in ways similar to print copies.

Serious subjects such as library underfunding and European migrants crop up but they appear ‘bolted on’ as the sort of concerns that middle class South of England residents might have.

This is a light and easy read and many will be entertained by it. My view is that this series has had its day.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of The Liar in the Library, the 18th novel in the Fethering series.

Jude goes to the library to hear author Burton St Clair speak about his latest bestseller, although when Jude knew him 20 years ago he was plain Al Sinclair. Unfortunately his name is the only thing that has changed as he is still the same egocentric Casanova and Jude takes great delight in repulsing his advances (again). When he is found dead in his car and witnesses say she was the last person seen with him she comes under suspicion, leaving Carole to clear her name.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Liar in the Library and although it has been a while since I visited Fethering on the south coast of England not much has changed, apart from a Costa Coffee replacing the cozy tearoom.

The murder mystery is fairly simple with plenty of suspects, an ingenious if unoriginal cause of death and amateur sleuths in the form of Jude and Carole but it allows Mr Brett to inject his trademark humour and take a few accurate potshots. With the action starting in the library and a death by poison it allows him to take aim at the publishing industry, funding cuts in libraries and golden age detective novels but as it is all done with humour he can make his point without it turning into a diatribe.

I like Mr Brett's take on middle class life in Fethering. He has a sharp eye for its prejudices and hypocrisies, like the aforementioned coffee shop, and uses his humour to expose it in all its glory. I also love his caricatures like Burton St Clair, the awful academic, Nessa Perks and the poet Nemone Coote - the names say it all.

The Liar in the Library won't tax your brain but it will make you giggle so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.