Listed Dead (A Bunch Courtney Investigation) by Jan Edwards @Jancoledwards @penkhullpress #BookReview

Listed Dead

(A Bunch Courtney Investigation, Book 3)

Jan Edwards

Penkhull Press

Having read, and loved, Winter Downs and In Her Defence (books 1 & 2 in the Bunch Courtney Series) I was very much looking forward to reading Listed Dead and I have loved it just as much, if not more than the first two. This series just gets better and better! I always think this is partly due to getting to know the main characters better as a series progresses. Listed Dead is full of interesting characters most of whom I have grown quite attached to.

Bunch Courtney herself is such a brilliant character! I love how nosy she is (in the best possible way) and how eager she is to help with the solving of local crimes especially apparent murders. I love how passionate she is for these people to get the justice they deserve and how direct she can be with people. I also love how she sometimes puts her foot in it. Her relationship with her mother is an interesting one. I feel quite sorry for Theadora in a way, although I can fully appreciate how difficult she must be to live with. Grief is a complicated emotion.

I absolutely LOVE Granny Beatrice! She is just awesome.

I love the relationship between Bunch and Chief Inspector Wright, and I look forward to seeing it develop further (fingers crossed!). They make a great team professionally, despite their occasional disagreements, and I think they would make a great couple. They bounce off each other well, when discussing cases, and often realise many truths together. In Listed Dead they find themselves investigating two deaths within a very short time frame. Both victims are known to each other but there isn’t initially any obvious reason as to why they would have been targeted. Bunch knows them also so can’t resist doing her own digging to find out as much information she can to help. Much to the despair of her family!

This book is full of suspense and intrigue. A twisty, turny murder mystery which ticks all the boxes for me!

The beautifully descriptive language transported me right back to November 1940 (although this was quite a bit before my time, obviously!). I love the setting and I love the language of that time. Words such as ‘ninny’ and ‘nincompoop’ are just fab, and I love that people are often referred at as ‘old chap’ or ‘old thing’ even though they’re not remotely old. I could totally imagine everyone in their 1940s dress with their 1940s hairstyles. Generally, a very classy look, I think. I love it!

Oh, and I especially love that Bunch’s new pooch is called Bella! 😊

Another thoroughly enjoyable book in a thoroughly enjoyable series which I highly recommend!

Many thanks to Jan Edwards for my review copy.

Via AmazonUK

November 1940. The Battle of Britain has only just ended and the horror of the Blitz is reaching its height.
Two deaths in rapid succession on the Sussex Downs brings Bunch Courtney and Chief Inspector Wright together once more. What could possibly link a fatal auto accident with the corpse in a derelict shepherd’s hut? The only clue the pair have is a handwritten list of the members of a supper club that meets at London’s Café de Paris. Two of those on that list are now dead and the race is on to solve the mystery before any more end up on the mortuary slab.