not so interesting; reminded me that he is not one of my favorite mystery authors ( )

child of soap actor kills man she fears may be new stepfather

Although I've read many of Robert Barnard's excellent mysteries, this is the first of his Charlie Peace series I've sampled. I hadn't even realized Peace was Black! In this book, an anonymous letter sends him to make inquiries about whether the death of a TV soap opera star was really an accident. A lot of the book is spent setting up the various characters in the TV show (it's one of those British evening soaps like EastEnders or The Archers) and their relations with each other and their families; this part is just as much fun to read as the actual "mystery" segments, which really begin when another of the soap's characters is killed and the suspects are legion. I saw the ending coming from a fair ways away, but in this case, getting there was more than half the fun. Strongly recommended. ( )

An interesting plot, but the audio version is made all the more confusing by the fact that there are two sets of characters: the actors in the soapie, and the characters themselves. Some of the actors prefer their soapie personas.

I think the author struggled with this duality. The plot idea was a good one but juggling with about 20 personalities must have been a real challenge. The plot gets an extra twist when one of the people thought to have been killed in the arson attack reports for work as usual and the reader has to cope with some huge very red herrings.

Gordon Griffin the narrator does an admirable job with the voice differentiations required.

The detective in THE KILLINGS ON JUBILEE TERRACE is Charlie Peace, although interestingly Fantastic Fiction does not include it in the Charlie Peace series - surely an oversight.. ( )

A universally disliked soap opera actor is killed in Leeds, and Inspector Charlie Peace investigates. A pleasant, low-key puzzle, with behind-the-scenes look at a long-running soap. ( )