The Room of the Dead is the second in the author’s Betty Church Mystery series. True to form, I’m reading the series out of order, having read the first and third books – Betty Church And The Suffolk Vampire and The Ghost Tree – before this one. However, at least I can reassure readers new to the series that The Room of the Dead works perfectly well as a standalone. There are brief references to events in the first book, but nothing that would spoil your enjoyment of this one.

The book sees the return of the mostly hapless collection of individuals who constitute the Sackwater police force: Constable ‘Dodo’ Chivers (as barmy as her name suggests), Constable Box, Constable Bank-Anthony (‘Bantony’), Constable Rivers, identical twins Constables Lysander and Algernon Grinder-Snipes, Sergeant Briggs (‘Brigsy’) and the perpetual thorn in Betty’s side, Inspector Sharkey (referred to as ‘Old Scrapie’, although not within his hearing).

You’ll have deduced by now that the author has a penchant for giving his characters unusual names such as Simnal Cranditch and Garrison Orchard. And if you’ve read any of the author’s other books you’ll be prepared for the frequent puns, wordplay and quirky chapter titles. As a John Buchan fan, my favourite was ‘The Twenty-Nine Steps’, although where the other ten went I’ve no idea!

When it comes to solving cases, once again Betty demonstrates she has more brains in her little finger than all of her officers put together. And she’s going to need all that brain power as the investigation gets increasingly complex. Fans of the author’s Gower Street Detective series, will be pleased to see March Middleton, Betty’s godmother, turn up to lend a hand and demonstrate the miraculous powers of observation and deduction she learned from the Gower Street detective himself, Sidney Grice. I love Betty as a character and was delighted at – hold the front page – a hint of romance in the air… or among the sand dunes to be more precise.

The Room of the Dead is engagingly silly at times and some readers may tire of the frequent fun poked at the Suffolk accent, but it’s entertaining nonetheless and the solution to the mystery turns out to be slightly darker than you may have expected.

A lovely balance of wit and suspense this book had me hooked from the start. Without giving away the plot, the murderer was a complete surprise yet totally believable. I cannot wait for the next instalment.

Betty Church and the Room of the Dead is an unusual crime story and a delight. Kasasian writes with a unique quirky humour, very clever plotting and a good mystery. The setting in the Second World War in Suffolk feels true to the time; the backdrop of the war and weather feel completely authentic. I particularly enjoyed the elements and scenes of life in the 40s and 50s. The description of the pipe smoker’s accoutrement is perfect - that was my father! Probably what I like best is the way the author develops his characters as he did with his previous series. Characters feel real real (even though a little bizarre at times) as they do not stand still and remain stuck in their behaviours. They grow and learn as we do ourselves.

So an excellent read that stays with you long afterwards.

Spoiler alert! Best scene: When Dodo explains why she talks the way she does and Betty tells her to stop. Oh a pricking of the eyes here.

#netgalley #BettyChurch #TheRoomoftheDead

After the excitement of the Suffolk vampire, life in sleepy Sackwater has settled once again into its usual mundane monotony for Inspector Betty Church and her colleagues. The highlight of the day being trying to find lost slippers. But when a body is found on Sackwater’s beach and people begin to go missing, then life for Betty, like the war, begins to move on apace.

I was introduced to Betty Church through the audiobook of Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire. This meant I was able to read this second book with Emma Gregory’s wonderful array of character voices in my head.

It is true the incompetence of Betty’s fellow police officers beggars belief. Indeed, the story does at times feel like quite a pantomime. But that’s the fun of this series and you need to approach the book with the frame of mind of pulling up a ration-free mug of tea and plate biscuits, then sit back to luxuriate in the well plotted story.

The way the characters were developed in the first book means that meeting them again is like meeting old friends who would disappoint you if they didn’t do what they do. Much in the same way you crave for Private Frazer in Dad’s Army to rumble “We’re all doomed” at least once an episode with impeccable timing. No matter how many times you watch the vintage BBC comedy and know what’s coming (yes I can speak the lines with the characters), there are still nuances of performance or set design to look forward to. There is very much a Dad’s Army feel about the Betty Church series and is why they should be enjoyed for the same reasons no matter how many times you read the books.

If you’re struck down, as I have been recently by summer flu, you need a comfort read to distract you while you cough and sniffle your way through your bedbound day. The Room of the Dead was as soothing as a hot toddy.

However, comedy will only work if the delivery is impeccable. The reason the two Betty Church novels work so well is the competence and quality of M R C Kasasian’s writing. It takes a very assured author to pull off pure slapstick and Kasasian is all that. One minute you’re chuckling at Betty’s rapier wit internal commentary, then your suddenly plunged into the stress of a potentially life-threatening situation. At times, the two can even occur concurrently.

It helps that the much put upon Betty arrived in the first novel pretty much fully formed and acts as the fulcrum for the whole show. The word indomitable does come to mind, but this is wonderfully offset by things never going quite right for the poor woman, yet she keeps going. It probably doesn’t help that Betty is living in the shadow of her godmother the truly indomitable March Middleton of The Gower Street detective series. But if you have read those you can see a very different March in the Betty Church series and understand, given her abrupt and intolerant guardian, the legendary detective Sidney Grice, how she developed into the woman consulted by heads of state. I have a feeling that come the 1960s Betty will be in the similar position.

I was also struck with the authentic feel of the time (which now is at the beginning of the war, before Dunkirk). I spent a great deal of time gleaning insights into this time from my grandparents and parents, all of which resonates with Betty’s world. There is a wonderful attention to detail which says Kasasian has done his homework.

As this series is set, for the moment in the second world war (think Foyles War), there is terrific room for manoeuvre and developing characters amongst some very well thought out murder mysteries.

Book two in the Betty Church mysteries. Life goes on for Betty and colleagues following the success of the Suffolk vampire case as day to day cases trickle in. It's not long, however, before Betty has a mystery to solve when a body is discovered on Sackwater beach. An enjoyable and quirky mystery with delightful characterisation. A worthy addition to the series.

This is my first Betty Church book, having read the March Middleton/Sidney Grice series, so was looking forward to a ripping yarn!

The book is set in Sackwater during the Second World War, its fairly quiet until a bomb drops on a house, and then a body is found the beach.

There are some interesting characters in the book, not least Betty, who has only one arm, her 'sister' and a very odd relationship with her parents. I don't know if I missed out by not reading the first book as some names are mentioned, with context, but I didn't get a full picture, it didn't stop me from enjoying the story though.

I was unsure of the dialect/language at first and it did take me some time to get used to it, once it did the story flowed.

Quite a shocking ending and not one I was expecting. Book was well written and an interesting read

Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for giving me the chance to read the book in return for an honest review.

This is the second book to feature Betty Church, a woman working against the odds as a Police Inspector in rural Suffolk during World War II. She's faced with a serious number of challenges: the loss of her arm, the fact she is a woman working in a mostly male profession, attacks from the Germans, her rivalry with the other Inspector in Sackwater and the sheer incompetence of her team. When a bomb lands on the town and a body turns up on the beach, she is thrown into a highly unusual investigation.

What really drew me to the book (as with the first) was the humour. Betty may be in a dire situation, but the writer never fails to see the funny side of situations and characters. The police team at Sackwater are a disaster, but they are all well-drawn and quirky and really quite endearing, from the useless and cowardly Gutter-Snipe twins to the totally dippy Dodo. As with the first book, the humour is central to the appeal of Betty and her group of misfits and eccentric locals, but it also doesn't get in the way of a well-plotted crime novel. There were times when I wondered where the book was going or how everything fitted together, but it just works.

I also really like the way that Betty herself is presented as the heroine of the book. She's not perfect and she makes mistakes, but she is totally credible and likeable too. She may be exasperated at her situation and her colleagues, but she takes everything in her stride and gets things done. It really made me think about those brave and hardworking women who kept the Home Front going while the men were at war; although done in a humorous way, Betty is never allowed to forget that it's the war that has given her the opportunity to work in a position and profession not usual for her gender and I love the fact that she is infinitely more competent than all the male officers!

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys quite cosy crime novels, especially those with humorous charm and a historical setting. Those fans of Kasasian's previous books about Gower Street will also be heartened to see March Middleton take a cameo role here. I would not say that reading the first book in the series is essential to enjoying this one, but you would be missing a treat if you didn't start at the beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think anyone would find something to like, especially if you have a slightly off beat and silly sense of humour (as I clearly do!)

I fell in love with this series when I read the first instalment and was looking forward to reading the second one.
I had high expectations and can say that they were met.
I love to meet again the quirky cast of characters, I laughed and found the book engrossing and entertaining.
Now I look forward to reading the next book by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Head of Zeus for an advance copy of The Room of the Dead, the second novel set in wartime Suffolk to feature DI Betty Church.

After the Suffolk Vampire it’s all quiet in Sackwater and Betty is getting bored but a bomb, then a dead body on the beach, then several missing people put paid to the boredom.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Room of the Dead which is a wry take on wartime life in a small town that made me laugh. As an added bonus it has a good mystery with a most unusual solution. The novel is told exclusively from Betty Church’s first person point of view and it suits both the plot and her character as it allows the reader great insight into the way her mind works and maintains the suspense of whodunnit, why and how. It was great fun trying to guess these elements but the author keeps a tight hold of his cards and I was clueless until the reveal.

Betty Church is an inspired creation being very much of her times. She is doubly handicapped being a woman and only having one arm so the point is that without the war she wouldn’t be a police inspector. The police in Sackwater would be lost without her, however, as she seems to be the only one with a modicum of capability. She runs a tight ship and the men seem in awe, if not frightened of her. Having said that the bar is not very high. It is fun to read about her efforts to manage her woefully incompetent staff and try to imagine how much fun the author had trying to dream up ever increasing levels of stupidity for them.

The Room of the Dead is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is the second outing with Inspector Betty Church in Sackwater. The setting is the Second World War where the war has not quite reached Sackwater. There is very little crime until the first bomb dropped changing lives forever. The characters in Sackwater are so individual and original. They are definitely of their time period. The great humour comes from the special relationship Betty has with her police constables. All are special and would not be allowed in any other force. When the crimes become more complicated can these individuals shine.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.