Simon Brett Crime Author

 Been listening to some radio plays recently, and realised that I had read the books that they were based o.  They are light detective stories, written by Simon Brett.  Simon was born in Surrey in 1945, and has written many detective novels. 

Simon was born in 1945 and went to Oxford.. on leaving, he went into the BBC and worked on radio drama.
He has  worked as a producer and script writer for the BBC for many years. He was involved with the Peter Wimsey dramas, and mixing with the actors for this gave him the idea for a detective who was an actor...

I have particularly enjoyed his Charles Paris stories.  Charles is a not too successful actor,  who gets involved in detecting crimes, usually murders.  His books started in the 1970s and give a picture of the theatre and TV acting through the last 20 odd years.  Charles is a bit of a drinker, talented but not very successful as an actor and separated from his wife Frances but they never get to the point of divorce.  He investigates murders among the theatrical community, and in doing so, we learn a bit about acting for the BBC, in the theatre and in the occasional film..  The first few are set in the 1970s and give a vivid picture of London and the theatre world just after the Sexual Revolution and the pill coming along, with lots of affairs and thespian jealousies... In later years, he has written more but allowed Charles to remain middle aged, rather than aging normally.  

He also has another series set in the earlier 20th century about an upper class pair of twins, who also investigate, (Blotto and Twinks) but I dont enjoy them as much as Charles Paris.  Other series are set in Middle England, in the traditional small village in the country, including "Mrs Pargeter" and the Fethering Mysteries.   He is well worth a read....