Charles Paris--An Amateur Corpse

These BBC Charles Paris mysteries, based on Simon Brett's original character, get progressively better due, in part, to excellent supporting characters. Here we have Charles's mum to thank for a most spirited production. Charles tries to free his old friend, Hugo, from a murder charge by finding the real culprit. Bill Nighy, sounding a bit dopey and hesitant at times, is the ideal Charles. Laugh-out-loud funny yet totally believable is Mum, Geraldine McEwan, who pretends to be ill to distract a cop as she awaits Charles, who's searching a house illegally. Even Charles becomes a bit concerned about her! Ringtones add to the merriment as listeners anticipate the latest in who's "bothering" Charles as he investigates in these humorous English mysteries. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine