Series recommendation: The Charles Paris Mysteries

Charles Paris is an actor who always seems to stumble across corpses in his working life, whether he's on stage, filming a corporate video or doing voiceovers. In that respect, he's rather like Miss Marple.

The books are written by Simon Brett, who has also written some excellent comedy series for BBC Radio 4, such as After Henry, No Commitments and Smelling of Roses, all with very strong roles for women. 

However, the best way to enjoy a Charles Paris Mystery is to listen to the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the 20-book series. Adapted by Jeremy Front, brother of actress Rebecca Front, they star Bill Nighy. And I mean 'star'. Bill Nighy's voice on this series illustrates the meaning of the word 'louche' (verrufen, berüchtigt). If lounge lizard (Salonlöwe) were a paid profession, I'm sure Bill Nighy would have been top of the heap of lounge lizards. And the repartee (schlagfertige Antworten) between Charles and his agent Maurice are a sheer delight. Who cares about the plot when you've got these two people to listen to? 

Here is a YouTube account with quite a few of the BBC Radio 4 adaptations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMDaP-lICHU&list=PLt7u2F9iZsrn0w1_npLWDQpllita6DPzs

If you want to hear them in order of book publication, take a look at this Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charles_Paris_Mystery

If you want to give  your ears a real treat, I urge you to listen to these wonderful radio series. Great fun.

Here's a pic of Bill Nighy (Charles - to the left) and Jon Glover, who plays his agent Maurice.