Brett, Simon. Mrs. Pargeter’s Plot. 1996. Mrs. Pargeter No. 5. Worldwide Library, 1999.
Mrs. Pargeter wants to build her dream house, so she has hired an old contractor buddy of her late husband. The contractor, Concrete Jacket, was the man you would call if you ever needed to build a place to hide the loot. Like a lot of her husband’s ex-colleagues, Mr. Jacket has lately gone straight, but he ends up in the jug when a body turns up in Mrs. Pargeter’s new wine cellar. She gathers her whole Damon Runyon crew to get Concrete back on the job. The comedy in this one is more slapstick than usual. Ex-con Fossil Face’s disastrous attempts to develop a sense of humor and make amends to those he wronged are hilarious. 3.5 stars. ( )

A good read, with most of the same colorful characters helping one of their own framed for murder.... plus Fossilface O'Donohue, who has gone from bad to worse with an off beat sense of humor and aknack for making "restitootion" for previous misdeeds", Clix, Blunt, and a wily marmoset.

Entertaining and light.... ( )

Always fun. Mrs. Pargeter needs to reach out to ex-colleagues of her dead husband to help prove "Concrete Jack", who is helping build her new home, is not responsible for the dead body in the foundation. He's being framed, doesn't want to talk. Another ex-con's plans to pay back "restitootions" to past victims is backfiring on him. Also, there's the monkey... ( )