BLOTTO, TWINKS AND THE EX-KING'S DAUGHTER

Simon Brett’s droll delivery makes it clear that the dead body in the library is only a bother—except to two aristocratic siblings: Twinks, who loves solving mysteries, and Blotto, who prefers cricket and hunting but who will be nudged into heroism by his sense of family honor. Brett's blend of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse is taken to extremes with oddball descriptions and asides, which he himself reads with an appropriate blend of gusto and upper-crust hauteur. There's a plot in here somewhere, and listeners may even find themselves on the edges of their seats. But Brett's detective riffs and narration are aimed squarely at fans of comedy in the Wodehouse vein. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2010]