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Death on the Downs

Simon Brett

2001293 pagesabout 4–7 hours
2001
first published
  • 2001Berkley Prime Crime · 293 pages · ENGISBN 9780425179536
  • 2002Thorndike Press · 439 pages · ENGISBN 9780786239887
  • 2007PAN BOOKS · 368 pagesISBN 9780330445269
  • 2001Macmillan · 336 pagesISBN 9780333765593
  • 2002Pan Books · 320 pagesISBN 9780330376976
  • 2007Pan Books Limited · 338 pagesISBN 9780330519595
  • 2003Thorndike Press · 442 pages · ENGISBN 9780754091608
  • 2002Berkley · 304 pages · ENGISBN 9780425186367

With her friend Jude away for an indefinite time and her dog with an injured foot, divorcee Carole Seddon forgoes her usual walk on the Feathering beach. Instead, she drives to the West Sussex town of Weldisham to walk on the Downs for her morning constitution. Just as she's about to head back to the car, it starts pouring and she takes refuge in an abandoned barn. While waiting for the rain to abate, Carole, sitting on some wooden planks, slips, jarring her seat into revealing fertilizer bags filled with human bones. She calls the police who realize they have a criminal case on their hands. Much to Carole's surprise she wants to find the identity of the remains and how they got in the barn. When Jude returns, she's as eager as Carole is to solve the case. The two friends, in their own way, begin to investigate. Carole and Jude are as different as two people can be yet their friendship is so real and dynamic it is electrifying. Their thought processes are very different yet they always end up agreeing with one another on a point of contention. The atmosphere of an English village gives DEATH ON THE DOWNS a delightful ambiance that the armchair traveler will enjoy.

How it feels

AtmosphereNoir

How it reads

Plot intensityEventful

When and where

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