SIMON BRETT – Star Trap.  Charles Paris #3.  Gollancz, UK, hardcover, 1977. Scribner’s, US, hardcover, 1978. Berkley, US, paperback, 1981. Dell, US, paperback, 1986.

   This is the third mystery case tackled head-on by Charles Paris, an aging British actor who’s something of a tosspot, and a guilt-ridden womanizer to boot, but if you enjoy stories that take you behind the scenes of show business and can appreciate immoderate doses of clever sardonic wit, make it a point not to miss any of them.

   In this one he’s asked by an important investor in a new West End musical to investigate a series of suspicious accidents happening to some of the cast.  Midst the excitement and pressure of a hit show being put together, Paris’s purely amateur sleuthing adds considerably to the charm.

Rating: B

– Slightly revised from The MYSTERY FANcier, September/October 1978.