Listen free for 30 days
-
A Reconstructed Corpse
- Narrated by: Simon Brett
- Series: Charles Paris, Book 15
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £13.49
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Dead Room Farce
- A Charles Paris Mystery
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Paris' old friend Mark, who runs a recording studio in Bath where Charles is making a talking book, has a drinking problem that amounts to a death wish. But it's not the drink that kills Mark, it's somebody in the cast of Charles' play who has a dirty little secret that Mark must not be allowed to reveal...
-
-
Enjoyable romp
- By Kirstine on 14-01-09
-
The Case of William Smith
- By: Patricia Wentworth
- Narrated by: Diana Bishop
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who was William Smith? And why was Mavis Jones so horrified to see him? For seven years William had worked as a woodcarver for the local toyshop, ignorant of his true identity. The war had robbed him of his memory, and no one expected him to ever find the answer. So when he took his work to Evesleys Ltd, why was his life instantly in danger? When William makes the frightening discovery that there are people determined not to let his memory return whatever the cost, Miss Silver is called in to investigate.
-
-
A Perfect Patricia Wentworth Audiobookk
- By Highlight on 16-05-15
-
Railway to the Grave
- By: Edward Marston
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yorkshire 1855. When Colonel Aubrey Tarleton walks into the path of a speeding train, he is crushed to death on the track. The famous Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, is immediately put on the case to determine why such a well-respected man would have resorted to suicide. Tarleton's wife had recently gone missing, but was the colonel responsible for her disappearance? It's up to Colbeck and his trusty sergeant Victor Leeming to uncover the truth.
-
-
Another brilliant Railway Detective novel.
- By B. A. Chapman on 04-06-22
-
The Birthday Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 1
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective. Jenny Starling is catering the 21st birthday party of upper-class twins Alicia and Justin. She arrives at their parents' country house and is immediately met by the police. A young man has drowned in the pond. Was it an accident or murder? But the birthday party goes ahead. Then, just after midnight, everyone gathers for a champagne toast...and one of the guests falls down dead. The police are baffled, and there is a whole party full of suspects.
-
-
Poorly written self-insertion (aka a Mary Sue).
- By EGM on 01-07-20
-
Charles Paris: Dead Room Farce
- A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation
- By: Simon Brett, Jeremy Front
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy, full cast, Suzanne Burden
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A three-month run of a new farce is not to be sniffed at by a jobbing actor. Especially when there's the distinct possibility of a West End run. Which is why Charles Paris is standing on stage. However, by the time the troupe reaches Bath a darker mood has set in and Charles' old friend Mark has a drink problem that amounts to a death wish. But it's not the drink that kills Mark - it's somebody in the cast who has a secret that Mark must not be allowed to reveal....
-
-
Bill Nighy well what can you say..
- By StevieBee on 27-05-18
-
Mrs Pargeter's Principle
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Simon Brett
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst his many bequests, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve, she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise.
-
-
Please make more available!
- By Bookshake on 28-09-16
-
Dead Room Farce
- A Charles Paris Mystery
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Paris' old friend Mark, who runs a recording studio in Bath where Charles is making a talking book, has a drinking problem that amounts to a death wish. But it's not the drink that kills Mark, it's somebody in the cast of Charles' play who has a dirty little secret that Mark must not be allowed to reveal...
-
-
Enjoyable romp
- By Kirstine on 14-01-09
-
The Case of William Smith
- By: Patricia Wentworth
- Narrated by: Diana Bishop
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who was William Smith? And why was Mavis Jones so horrified to see him? For seven years William had worked as a woodcarver for the local toyshop, ignorant of his true identity. The war had robbed him of his memory, and no one expected him to ever find the answer. So when he took his work to Evesleys Ltd, why was his life instantly in danger? When William makes the frightening discovery that there are people determined not to let his memory return whatever the cost, Miss Silver is called in to investigate.
-
-
A Perfect Patricia Wentworth Audiobookk
- By Highlight on 16-05-15
-
Railway to the Grave
- By: Edward Marston
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yorkshire 1855. When Colonel Aubrey Tarleton walks into the path of a speeding train, he is crushed to death on the track. The famous Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, is immediately put on the case to determine why such a well-respected man would have resorted to suicide. Tarleton's wife had recently gone missing, but was the colonel responsible for her disappearance? It's up to Colbeck and his trusty sergeant Victor Leeming to uncover the truth.
-
-
Another brilliant Railway Detective novel.
- By B. A. Chapman on 04-06-22
-
The Birthday Mystery
- Jenny Starling, Book 1
- By: Faith Martin
- Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective. Jenny Starling is catering the 21st birthday party of upper-class twins Alicia and Justin. She arrives at their parents' country house and is immediately met by the police. A young man has drowned in the pond. Was it an accident or murder? But the birthday party goes ahead. Then, just after midnight, everyone gathers for a champagne toast...and one of the guests falls down dead. The police are baffled, and there is a whole party full of suspects.
-
-
Poorly written self-insertion (aka a Mary Sue).
- By EGM on 01-07-20
-
Charles Paris: Dead Room Farce
- A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation
- By: Simon Brett, Jeremy Front
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy, full cast, Suzanne Burden
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A three-month run of a new farce is not to be sniffed at by a jobbing actor. Especially when there's the distinct possibility of a West End run. Which is why Charles Paris is standing on stage. However, by the time the troupe reaches Bath a darker mood has set in and Charles' old friend Mark has a drink problem that amounts to a death wish. But it's not the drink that kills Mark - it's somebody in the cast who has a secret that Mark must not be allowed to reveal....
-
-
Bill Nighy well what can you say..
- By StevieBee on 27-05-18
-
Mrs Pargeter's Principle
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Simon Brett
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst his many bequests, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve, she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise.
-
-
Please make more available!
- By Bookshake on 28-09-16
-
Corporate Bodies
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Paris, an out-of-work actor, takes a star gig is as a forklift driver in a Delmoleen Company corporate video. Something about Delmoleen is deeply troubling to Charles. That "happy family" facade may be just that. Mockery, jealousy, lust, envy, they all seem to be pervasive. Still, the work is easy and the money is good; it's even fun learning to manipulate a forklift. But it's a responsibility too, as Charles soon discovers: a forklift can be made into a potent murder weapon
-
Death and the Decorator
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Simon Brett
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having decided to redecorate Woodside Cottage, Jude has engaged the services of local man Pete, who has painted and decorated the homes of Fethering residents for many years. Pete is currently working on Footscrow House, a large Victorian building being converted into holiday flats. Whilst at 'Fiasco House', Jude and Pete make a surprising discovery behind a wall panel: a woman's handbag! The casual discovery becomes serious when the police identify the handbag's owner as Anita Garner, a young woman who vanished in suspicious circumstances 20 years earlier.
-
The Clutter Corpse
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Simon Brett
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ellen Curtis runs her own business helping people who are running out of space. As a declutterer, she is used to encountering all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in the course of her work. What she has never before encountered is a dead body. When Ellen stumbles across the body of a young woman in an over-cluttered flat, suspicion immediately falls on the deceased homeowner's son. No doubt Nate Ogden is guilty of many things - but is he really the killer? Discovering a link between the victim and her own past, Ellen sets out to uncover the truth.
-
-
A disappointment from one of my favourite authors!
- By Anna on 03-06-20
-
The Shape of Water
- Inspector Montalbano, Book 1
- By: Andrea Camilleri
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The goats of Vigàta once grazed on the trash-strewn site still known as the Pasture. Now local enterprise of a different sort flourishes: drug dealers and prostitutes of every flavour. But their discreet trade is upset when two employees of the Splendour Refuse Collection Company discover the body of engineer Silvio Luparello, one of the local movers and shakers, apparently deceased in flagrante at the Pasture. The coroner's verdict is death from natural causes - refreshingly unusual for Sicily.
-
-
Great Start to the series
- By Gerry Lynch on 24-01-18
-
The Corfe Castle Murders
- Dorset Crime, Book 1
- By: Rachel McLean
- Narrated by: Jan Cramer
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet DCI Lesley Clarke. She’s a straight-talking city copper who doesn’t suffer fools gladly…and she’s been transferred to rural Dorset. After being injured in a bomb attack, Lesley is presented with a choice - early retirement, or a period of respite in a calmer location. But things don’t stay calm for long. Before she’s even started her new job, Lesley is dragged into investigating a murder at one of England’s most iconic landmarks, the imposing Corfe Castle.
-
-
Really good listen
- By pti on 26-11-21
-
Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
-
-
Great start to a series
- By Anfisa on 11-02-17
-
Summer's Lease
- By: John Mortimer
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s high summer when Molly Pargeter drags her amiably bickering family to a rented Tuscan villa for the holidays. Molly is sure that the house is the perfect setting for their three-week getaway, but soon she becomes fascinated by the lives of the absent owners and things start to go horribly wrong.
-
-
Excellent on all Counts
- By Kindle Customer on 16-02-20
-
Dry Bones That Dream
- The 7th DCI Banks Mystery
- By: Peter Robinson
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was 2:47 a.m. when Chief Inspector Alan Banks arrived at the barn and saw the body of Keith Rothwell for the first time. Only hours earlier two masked men had walked the mild-mannered accountant out of his farmhouse and clinically blasted him with a shotgun. Clearly this is a professional hit - but Keith was hardly the sort of person to make deadly enemies. Or was he? For the police investigation soon raises more questions than answers. And who, exactly, is Robert Clavert?
-
-
twist and turns in every chapter.
- By Frankwalker on 22-01-22
-
Dunster
- By: John Mortimer
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dick Dunster and Philip Progmire have been friends from their schooldays. They have also been adversaries. Progmire’s thespian longings, nurtured since he was a university actor, are now submerged in his work as an accountant with Megapolis Television. Dunster is also at Megapolis, engaged on an exposé of war criminals, focussing on a blown-up church and the massacre of the whole population of a small town during the Italian campaign.
-
-
Mortimer at his best.
- By Mr. R. Thomas on 06-01-18
-
Death of a Ghost
- By: Margery Allingham
- Narrated by: Francis Matthews
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The unrivalled Albert Campion returns to solve another shocking murder - classic crime fiction at its very best. J.S. Lafcadio, the painter, is dead. He wanted lasting fame and he left instructions to his wife for one painting to be exhibited every year after his death. Eight years later in Little Venice, a group of friends and family gather to view the painting. They are treated instead to a murder....
-
-
Albert Campion - Ghost Buster!
- By Roger on 26-07-15
-
Under the Hammer
- By: John Mortimer
- Narrated by: Bill Wallis
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maggie Perowne is head of Old Masters at Klinsky's auction house in London. Ben Glazier is an art expert. Ben, not as young as he was, is inescapably in love with Maggie, but she has an unfortunate taste for such dubious men as the Hooray Henry in the wine department. Together Ben and Maggie form a crack team that blends integrity and professionalism with a keen eye for uncovering the mysterious circumstances surrounding priceless works of art.
-
-
a crime in each chapter.
- By Mrs. K. I. Richards on 20-11-15
-
Black Plumes
- By: Margery Allingham
- Narrated by: Francis Matthews
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Slashed paintings and a mysterious death, an accused fiancé and the reappearance of a long-dead husband - Black Plumes is another classic crime drama from Margery Allingham. 'Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light.' - Agatha Christie.
-
-
Margery Allingham's best!
- By R on 16-09-16
Summary
Charles Paris’ acting career plumbs new depths when he takes the part of a possible murder victim in ‘Public Enemies’, a true-crime television series. Finding himself in a bizarre world somewhere between police procedure and showbiz, Charles is inexorably drawn into the investigation... especially after the dismembered limbs start turning up.
The viewers of ‘Public Enemies’ get caught up in the macabre jigsaw puzzle of death; it is ghastly, of course, but it does make good television. As the programme’s ratings soar, so the egos behind the scene become ever more inflated, and Charles ever more determined to solve the mystery.
More from the same
What listeners say about A Reconstructed Corpse
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- crochetdiva
- 17-01-22
A very enjoyable listen
I love the books by Simon Brett, and the fact that he narrates them himself. . The book is very well written, with believable characters. Once again, I had to listen in one sitting.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- FEA12
- 16-01-22
Why hasn't anyone televised these mysteries?
The Charles Paris amateur sleuth mysteries are excellent, just as entertaining as, for instance, Agatha Raisin, and far better than the leaden detectives in Midsomer Murders. I'm amazed they haven't already been televised - an opportunity for some new aspiring production company perhaps? Meanwhile Simon Brett does a wonderful job reading his own work.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Norma Miles
- 11-10-21
"One face, one voice, one habit and two persons."
Charles Paris, the hard drinking middle aged actor with very little work is given the role of standing in for a missing person on a television crime program, Public Enemies. Not exactly the pinnacle of achievement, rated only worthy of a n extra's pay, but it is work. But tensions fun high in police loss ranks as well as the production team and pretty soon n Charles starts a bit of sleuthing of his own.
I am a great fan of Simon Brett's Charles Paris series: a mystery to solve, the theatrical background and the person of Paris himself (although not as endearing a character as that portrayed by Bill Nighy in the BBC full cast adaptations).. Always good fun and and an easy read. This book is read by the author who gives a creditable performance.
A bit OTT, perhaps, but worth a listen.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anniebligh
- 04-11-12
Dont let my rating fool you
I love Simon Brett's stories. Just some are better than others.
Having an often 'just resting between parts' actor as our hero is good fun. So too are many of the one liners . Usually there is at very least a smile or an " I must remember that one".
This time Charles is working on a TV set for a crime show where he gets to meet a few coppers and learns of their departmental politics, as well as surviving the self important crew fom 'Bob's Your Uncle Productions'.
And as much as I also enjoy the Charles Paris BBC plays, I like Simon Brett reading his stories too.
If you emjoy British humour and quirky murders, chances are you would enjoy Simon Brett as an author .All up a very pleasant change of pace after a work out on adrenaline inducing stories.