DEATH ON THE DOWNS

Caught in a rainstorm while on a solitary stroll on the West Sussex Downs, Carole Seddon takes refuge in a dilapidated barn, where she discovers human remains packed inside a pair of blue fertilizer bags. Together with her free-spirited friend, Jude, Carole sets out to solve the mystery of the bones. Their quest takes them to various Weldisham pubs, to the home of a missing teen, and to a New Age health retreat, as the pair sift through village gossip and local history to find the identity of the body and discover how it got there. With a largely female cast, it's surprising that DEATH ON THE DOWNS is read by a man. But Geoffrey Howard gives a sensitive reading to Brett's novel, the second in his Fethering series, resulting in a mystery as riveting as it is charming. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]