The Liar in the Library is book number 18 in an amateur sleuth series set in small town Fethering England. The main character is Jude a local healer and investigator. In this book a former friend of Jude's is murdered after a local book talk and Jude is the prime suspect.

This book squarely fits into the cozy mystery genre and as such is no great work of writing but it was perfectly enjoyable for what it is. One of the nice things is that even though it is book 18 in a series I did not feel that I needed to have read any of the previous books in order to read this one.

If you are looking for a quick read that is not overly predictable give this one a go.

The Liar in the Library is a village mystery with a plot that relies heavily on the conventions of Golden Age mysteries like those written by Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. It’s the 18th book in Simon Brett’s Fethering Mysteries—the first being The Body on the Beach, published in 2000.

Showing a keen sense of irony from the start, Brett’s English seaside town of Fethering is fictional, but it’s “not far from Tarring” in the South Downs. The Body on the Beach introduced next-door neighbors and partners in detection Carole Seddon and Jude Nicholls. On the surface, they don’t have much in common: Carole’s a sensible, insular, retired civil servant, while Jude works as a healer (after “having had a portfolio of careers including model, actress, and restauranteur”).

Yet the chalk and cheese somehow blended. And perhaps the strongest bond between Carole and Judith was their mutual passion for solving crimes.

Successful author Burton St Clair is lecturing and signing books at the Fethering Library. Twenty years ago, Jude knew him as “Al (short for Albert) Sinclair.” At the time, he was married to his first wife, Megan, and living in shabby-genteel Morden on the outskirts of London. Jude remembers Burton as a habitual philanderer, but “Jude was by nature a generous woman and prepared to take at face value that evening’s assertion that Burton had found emotional stability with his new wife.” If that were true, Jude thinks, “she wouldn’t have to face the tedious necessity of deterring his wandering hands.”

Jude is impressed, despite herself, by St Clair’s “fluent” presentation, even though many of his anecdotes are familiar.

He certainly held the literary ladies of Fethering in the palm of his hand. They had already been predisposed towards him. Probably every one of them had read his breakthrough novel, Stray Leaves in Autumn, whose paperback cover was so prominently displayed on the screen behind him. Why that book had caught the zeitgeist in the way it had, nobody could tell.

Jude has a theory about why it is a success, “It was because Stray Leaves in Autumn was, at its most basic, an old-fashioned romance.” And a “rather mawkish” romance at that. Things get interesting when it’s time for questions. An ill-assorted cast of characters peppers St Clair with inquiries, not all of which are pertinent or polite.

A gentleman who speaks with “the ease of having been to the right schools and university” zeroes in on St Clair’s somewhat disparaging comments about crime fiction and, specifically, crime writers. He quotes St Clair’s words back to him, “… when you said you were not in the business ‘as a crime writer might be—of killing people simply for the convenience of my plots’.”

“And I stand by that. Though plot is significant in any kind of story-telling, in literary fiction it does not have the primacy that it does in crime fiction.”



“Are you talking here about Golden Age crime fiction or more contemporary stuff?”



“Does it make much difference?” asked Burton St Clair loftily.



“Oh, so you’re saying all crime fiction is an inferior genre?”



“I’m not saying ‘inferior’,” said Burton, though he clearly was.

The two men do not agree to disagree. Although St Clair is anxious to leave crime fiction behind, a woman enters the fray. She’s “inordinately tall and expensively dressed” and speaks with “the relaxed refinement of an East Coast American intellectual.” And wouldn’t you know, she’s an expert on the Golden Age of classic mysteries.

The questions mercifully end, and the crowd heads to the drinks table. Librarian Di Thompson finally shuts down the festivities. She’s exhausted, and the bad weather outside matches her mood. Poor Jude has a half-mile walk home in the driving rain. St Clair offers to give her a lift in his new “Beamer.” She tells him she’ll provide directions.

“With you, Jude, I don’t need any directions.”



His left arm was suddenly around her shoulders. His right had found its way under the jacket to her breasts.

The handsy leopard hasn’t changed his spots after all. One “stinging slap to Burton’s cheek” later and Jude makes her sodden way home to Woodside Cottage. She doesn’t sleep well, so she welcomes a coffee visit from Carole the next morning. They are interrupted by a ringing doorbell.

“Good morning,” said the woman. “Are you Jude Nicholls?”



“Yes.”



“I’m Detective Inspector Rollins, and this is Detective Sergeant Knight. We would like to talk to you about the death of Burton St Clair.”

Everyone knows the last person to see a murder victim is the killer—well, at least a prime suspect. A conceit of the Golden Age of crime fiction is that the writer gathers all the suspects in one spot—a country house, a church service, and in this case, a literary evening—and the investigation focuses on them. Carole and Jude diligently track down who in the audience at the library evening is connected to Burton St Clair.

They stop at the Crown & Anchor, Fethering’s local watering hole, where landlord Ted Crisp says that “everyone had their own view of what had happened.” In fact, an American woman told him that “this kind of murder is almost always domestic, and it always starts with the husband having an affair.” The professorial American provides Crisp with the acronyms HKW and WKM (Husband Kills Wife and Wife Kills Mistress). Carole tartly notes that, in this case, “It’s the husband who got killed.”

Jude gets a call from Oliver Parsons, the erudite man who questioned St Clair on his disdain for crime fiction. They join heads to puzzle out who killed St Clair. Parsons is wistful for the days when amateur detectives like Lord Peter Wimsey had a pipeline to the police.

“Oh, if only we were back in the Golden Age—Lord Peter Wimsey is lacking a vital forensic detail and Inspector Parker, tugging his metaphorical forelock, immediately shares with him the findings of the police post-mortem. Don’t get that kind of co-operation now. Police no longer know their place. They are even … ‘he chuckled as he framed the witticism’… getting ideas above their station.”

Jude winced. “Ooh, that’s dreadful.”

The Liar in the Library is a puzzle, but Simon Brett plays fair. All the pieces are right in front of the reader. After you finish, you’ll be tempted to pick up a classic from the Golden Age.

Liked the cozy mystery aspect. Something about small-town murders (especially in England!) has always appealed to me. Also enjoyed the somewhat droll comments by Jude. I'll be looking for more in this series now that I've discovered it.

Thanks to Mr. Brett, Canongate Books and Netgalley.com for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Simon Brett has written a fun "cozy mystery" with "The Liar in the Library." I was not familiar with either the author not this series, of which this story is the 18th! The protagonists, Nude and Carole, make a fun investigative team. I like the humor gently interlaced with the plot. If folks enjoy the " cozy mystery " genre one could do far worse than " The Liar in the Library. ". I thank Net Galley for providing me with the chance to try a new author (at least New to me) at no charge.

A library book talk is an opportunity for Jude to catch up with Burton St. Claire ex husband of a friend that she had fell out of contact with. When he comes on to her and she leaves him in his car she becomes the last person to see him alive and the prime suspect in his murder. Hoping to clear her name she and her friend Carol take up the investigation. A great story that allows the real small town atmosphere of the setting to flourish. Departures along the lines and tracing the crooked course of the investigation Jude and Carol are on board to follow where the investigation leads them.

This was the first one I picked up in this series and despite it being No 18 it was perfectly readable as a stand alone.
I really enjoyed reading this - it’s as cosy a mystery as one could wish for and with the added benefit of an arrogant writer being the murder victim and sporting plenty of humorous observations about the writing and publishing industry I couldn’t have asked for more.
I didn’t warm to Carole, the sidekick, as much as I would have wanted, but the rest of the cast were just what you want from a murder set in a village with limited suspects. Classic, cosy, well-crafted, good fun!

You know what to expect from Simon Brett. If you enjoy cozy crime in a modern setting, this book is for you.

This was a good book, but the story moved a bit slow for me. If you are into a slower paced book, this is still in the cozy mystery space, give this book a read. This is the first book I’ve read by Simon Brett and I may look into reading others. I am interested in learning more about the writing style of the author.

When this book came up on NetGalley, I requested it even though I have never read this author, but am always drawn, as a retired librarian, to books about books, bookstores, libraries, etc. I did not realize that this book was part of a series, but don't feel that I missed anything by reading it out of order although I usually do try to read series in order.

Having been booked to give a talk at Fethering Library, successful author Burton St Clair invites his old friend Jude to come along. Although they haven?t met for twenty years, Jude is not surprised to find that St Clair hasn?t changed. He still came on to women even though he was married. What Jude hadn?t been suspecting however was that the evening would end in his death. More worrying, from Jude's point of view, is the fact that the investigating police officers seem to be convinced that she herself was responsible for the crime. With the evidence stacking up against her, Jude enlists the help of her neighbor Carole not just to solve the murder but to prevent herself from being arrested for committing it.

I do like the author's writing. He develops the character's well and has a twist at the end that I wasn't expecting. I also will look into other books he has written, especially in this series.

I wasn't sure about this book initially but turned out to be a good 'who done it'. Amateur sleuths at their best and not making the police look very efficient. Clues along the way and many lies told but who is the murderer? A surprise ending, well worth the wait to find out.

I received an ARC of this book which I enjoyed very much. A classic whodunit that kept me guessing until the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good, intriguing mystery!

I have read previous books in Simon Brett's Fethering mysteries so was delighted that Net galley gave me the opportunity to preview The Liar in the Library. I enjoyed being reacquainted with Jude and Carole two neighbours who like to play amateur detective. They are totally different characters. Jude is warm and carefree and Carole is buttoned up and a worrier. In this case Jude finds herself a suspect as she was the last person to see the victim. All in all an easy enjoyable read.

This is book 18 in the Fethering series but the first one from this author that I have read. I have listened to some of Simon Brett's BBC radio productions in the past and enjoyed them so I thought I would give one of his books a try. I found this book to be a fun, cozy mystery. The characters are all very unique but some of them took me a little time to warm up to. I even liked the villain, but only until he was exposed for his crimes at the very end. Mr. Brett's vivid characterizations is what I had enjoyed the most in the radio programs and the characters here are equally vivid. Jude and Carole rule the show of course, but they are so different. I was surprised by the number of avenues of investigation these two explored. Fethering turns out to be a quite charming village but it is not immune to the challenges of our times like drug addiction and a reduction in library funding. This was a fun little mystery and I was not disappointed.

I thought I would like this book more than I did. I'm all for modern reworkings of classic Christie style tales but I lost count of the number of times 'golden age' crime novels were mentioned! Was just a bit too self conscious for me

Thank you Net Galley & Black Thorn for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

When I requested this book for review, I did not realize that it was part of a series. Having not read any of the other books in the series, I was still able to follow the story and keep up with the characters, however there were some background pieces of information I could tell that I was missing.
There are very strong themes of the "Golden Age of Crime Writing" throughout this book. The classic crime writers, plots, and troupes are discussed in the book, as well as being played out through the mystery at hand. A good mystery to cozy up with on the weekend.

I have been reading this cozy series for a while now and it remains a solid, satisfying series. Carole and Jude are at it again with their amateur detecting, this time directly involving Jude. You could read this as a stand alone, but I like to read things in order and would recommend starting at the beginning of the series.

I enjoyed The Liar in the Library, a very clever murder mystery with entertaining characters. This is the first Fethering book I have read by this Author. Although this is book #18 it can be read as a stand alone. Jude and Carole are amateur sleuths. Jude finds herself right in the middle of a murder and is the #1 suspect, Carole helps Jude deduce the crime. Looking forward to reading more from this Author.

I give The Liar in the Library 4 stars for its entertaining read.
I would recommend this book to Mystery Fans.
#TheLiarInTheLibrary #NetGalley

An interesting mystery. Jude and Carole are neighbors and they investigate together, but I wouldn't call them friends. Jude was in the library to see an author, who was an old friend. After his talk, the author wants to get to know Jude better. She gives him a slap and then walks home in the rain. The next morning, she is greeted with the news that the author is dead and she is the prime suspect. After a warning from the police, Jude asks Carole to continue the investigation into his death. They find so many suspects. Their motives were varied, jealousy, envy, revenge and outright hatred. So many people claimed they didn't know him, but Jude and Carole find out that he was more well known than they thought. Not for the right reasons either. All in all, a good mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley and Black Thorn for an advance copy of Liar in the library for an honest review.
I hadn’t read a Simon Brett book before but I found it a very satisfying read that felt almost familiar.
I could image iThe Fethering novels being made into a tv series.
I’m assuming many of the characters are well known to previous readers, but I didn’t find that an obstacle to my enjoyment of the book..
As a librarian of 36 years I particularly enjoyed the lament on the closure of libraries by the character of Di .It definitely struck home with me,
I will be recommending this to others and I’ll be reading more from Simon Brett.

I did not realize this was part of a series but I still enjoyed it. I now want to go back and start at the very first. Brett writes boldly and with practiced definition of characters. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Black Thorn and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.