Listed Dead

Bunch Courtney Investigation #3

by Jan Edwards

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.

Genres: Historical, Crime

250 pages, Paperback

Published August 6, 2020

About the author

Jan Edwards - winner of the Arnold Bennett Book Prize with Winter Downs - Bunch Courtney Investigation #1.

She also has the Winchester Slim Volume prize and British Fantasy KEW award. Plus a joint British Fantasy Award for best Small Press (Alchemy Press).

Her latest book. In Her Defence - Bunch Courtney Investigation #2 is available now in paper and kindle formats!

Her short fiction can be found in crime, horror and fantasy anthologies in UK, US and Europe.

Jan edits anthologies for The Alchemy Press and Fox Spirit Press, and has written for Dr Who spinoffs with Reel Time Pictures as well as a short story in the accompanying book.

More details available at : http://janedwardsblog.wordpress.com/

Newsletter signup https://www.facebook.com/Janedwardsbo...

Reviews

[Cathy Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listed Dead is the third in the Bunch Courtney series and told from her perspective in the third person. There’s much more insight into the Courtney sisters’ background, the environment in which they grew up and the family dynamics in this book. Things have changed drastically for Bunch since the start of the war. The family home, Perringham House, has been requisitioned by the military and Bunch is left to run the estate with the help of Land Girls, while living at the Dower House with her Granny Beatrice.

When a body is discovered in a fatal car wreck close to Perringham House Bunch goes to investigate, hoping it’s no-one from the estate. She knows there’s something suspicious about the accident when she finds Chief Inspector Wiiliam Wright at the scene. The victim is familiar to Bunch as a friend of her sister’s, one of a group of young pleasure seekers who got together several years ago to form a supper club. When a second member of the club is found dead, Bunch finds herself acting as a police consultant (once she and Wright overcame the issue of her title) finding out what she can about the victims and those members of the club who are still around.

I enjoyed the interaction between Bunch and Chief Inspector Wright and their joint investigation. They make a good team and there’s scope for more of a relationship. Bunch is familiar with the lifestyle of the privileged younger set, who want to live as they did before the war and which couldn’t be further from the lives of ordinary people and those serving in the military. Her knowledge of people and places help, but as she invites gossip from friends and contacts someone is not happy with her interference. There’s a darker undercurrent to this story than previously and the trail leads Bunch into life threatening situations.

The writing and characterisations are realistic and authentic for the time, as is the atmosphere which is re-enforced by a strong sense of place. Bombing raids, rationing, air raid shelters and blackouts are becoming part of everyday life all across the country, although the cities are hit the hardest, most notably London. The descriptions of the air raids, the shelters and life generally was very evocative.

Bunch is an extremely likeable protagonist, resourceful, determined and quick to notice things. Not much would cause her to deviate once her mind was made up. A very enjoyable read.

[Barry Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not read the first three books in this series and wondered if that would be a problem connecting with this one. I have to say it didn't hinder my enjoyment of Listed Dead, in fact past details that I needed to know were added succinctly without paragraphs of information dumping.

I imagine that any author writing a novel set in the 1940's the temptation to craft the narrative to fit the writing style of the period is strong, however Jan Edwards resists this urge and the writing is modern and fresh rather than dated. This alone makes the dialogue and 40's idiosyncrasies stand out making them more relevant.

The premise is: 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 plot develops at a steady pace until you reach midway and then it motors on taking you on a speedy journey with Bunch; a thoroughly likeable protagonist, until she reaches the denouement. There's a nice balance of touches of history from 1940 and believable dialogue that helps to maintain the period uppermost in your mind.

This is a well written story that will appeal to many readers and despite being a crime/thriller novel it's a good one for people who enjoy cross genre books. If you like your characters fully fleshed out with a touch of realism and a jolly good yarn, then this is a book you'll enjoy. Hence the 5 stars.

[Elizabeth Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell from the title that this volume of investigations by Bunch Courtney and Chief Inspector Wright involves more than one fatality. Not only are people losing their lives in combat or in city air raids but now there is a murderer about, working through a list of rich young people whose supper club meets up at the Café de Paris in London. When the first deaths occur close to Bunch’s home, she discovers she knows the victims so she will be indispensable, assisting William Wright with his investigations. He doesn’t seem keen for her to follow up leads but that is probably because she is putting herself in great danger.
The lifestyle of these self-centred young people contrasts with the suffering of the military forces and also with the ordinary folk, but it reflects the social structure of the Sussex countryside before the war. Now in 1940 there is another dimension and people like Bunch put many hours of hard work into the war effort. She juggles care for her Land Girls who run the estate, worry about her sick mother and determination to find the murderer. Her relationship with William moves between close companionship and detachment reflecting the complex social rules and busy working life they have.
This series gives an interesting picture of the home front during World War Two and the difficulties experienced when people’s homes and land were taken over by the military authorities. We feel the fear and danger of a London air raid and the attempt to continue country life as it had been pre-war. In Listed Dead, Bunch finds herself in several frightening situations as she gradually works out the complex mystery. A most enjoyable read.

[Steph Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A body is found in a car after a fatal crash in the Sussex countryside not far from Bunch’s home. Another death soon after has the police looking for a connection. A crumpled list was found with one of the victims, and the names were familiar to Bunch as most were debs in the same season as her or Dodo, her sister.
This time, due to her knowledge of the locality and people involved, Bunch is called upon as a police consultant and teams up with with Chief Inspector Wright. She is feisty and fearless, which makes for a cracking character.
Bunch keeps her eyes open and her ear to the ground, visiting the people on the list who are all members of the ‘Supper Club’. They meet up at the Café de Paris regularly. She was better placed to find out any gossip that may shed light on the goings on, although not all of them welcomed her intrusion. She actually gets to dress up a bit and visit the Café de Paris herself.
Rose (Bunch) Courtney’s childhood home, Perringham House, has been taken over for the war effort. Bunch and her grandmother and staff are still living in the Dower House within the grounds. Her mother is not well, but carries on with her life as if nothing is wrong spending most of her time at the house in London.
I love Bunch’s relationship with William Wright, the teasing and banter. I look forward to where it goes next.
The author’s descriptive writing took me into a world gone by. I loved the details of the war years. During the bombing raids in London and the darkness of walking the city streets during blackout it felt all too real.
There were plenty of twists and turns in this murder mystery, secrets from the past, gossip and lies.
The author’s attention to detail made for a great read.
I usually read fast-paced crime fiction set in the present day, so this was different for me. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to the author for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

[Heather Copping · Rating 4 out of 5]

1940s England and on the South Downs the locals are worried not only about nightly bombings but also a possibility of an invasion. For Bunch Courtney she has something else on her mind, a car crash nearby, with a fatality, may not be what if seems. Now there is another suspicious death, this time a young woman who is known to Bunch. Chief inspector Wright calls upon Bunch for her help.
Things get more complicated when it appears that there is a list of people and the two who died were on this list and Bunch likes nothing better than to get her teeth into something and that's just what she does.


This is the first book that I have read by Jan Edwards featuring Bunch Courtney and I enjoyed reading it. I am sure it will appeal to anyone who is a fan of Father Brown and love to read stories with an underlying mystery and set in wartime Britain. The characters are very lovable, Bunch is a real upper class 1940s lady and her mother and grandmother even more so. She has this ongoing but very subtle relationship with Chief Inspector Wright whom she always refers to as Wright.

[Alyson Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third story in the series featuring The Honourable Rose Courtney, Bunch to her friends and family, set in Sussex. It is now November 1940 and the war has Britain firmly in its grip. The family home, Perringham House, is inhabited by army personnel and Bunch herself is still at the Dower House with her formidable Granny Beatrice. This is a time when people from all classes are experiencing a much harder way of life. Older men are coming out of retirement to take the places of those signing up, women such as the Bunch's Land Girls are doing harder manual work and ladies like Bunch and Granny are busy running the estate and volunteer groups. Blackouts, bombing raids and rationing are now the norm, with everything having to be planned and carefully budgeted for, and it is sad to think the people in this story have no idea that there will be five hard years to come. Many of them remember the earlier Great War and still bear the physical and mental scars, or have already been invalided out of this one. The last story left more devastation for the family and they are trying to get on with life again. The story begins with the news that a car has crashed locally killing the driver. Bunch rushes over to the scene, fearful that it could be one of the estate’s former employees but has a shock when she finds Brighton policeman DCI William Wright in charge. He would be far too important for a traffic accident and she immediately senses something is up. Believing the man to be part of the horsey set Wright asks Bunch if she recognises the victim and she finds he is a friend of her sister Dodo. Bunch promises to see what she can find out about the dead man. It transpires that he, Dodo, and a whole group of others who all “came out” at the same time formed a supper club meeting at London’s famous Café de Paris. Marriage and the war had somewhat depleted the numbers but some of them still met and remained friends. When another of their group is also found dead and a supper club list of names is discovered with some crossed out, Bunch and Wright once again join forces to investigate. Some of the group prove hard to trace through official channels due to their wartime postings, and Bunch and Granny’s contacts prove invaluable at hunting out all the gossip, only some secrets are best kept hidden and Bunch finds herself in grave danger. The pace of life in both the Sussex countryside and wartime Britain might be slower but this doesn’t prevent there being a thrilling action packed ending. The wartime setting is vital to the story, since it affects everyone's behaviour and way of thinking, and this makes for an excellent mystery. The class divide is still heavily in place, beautifully demonstrated at times, and the author has clearly done a great deal of research into the era. The characters are really coming to life as we get to know many of them better, and Bunch and DCI Wright are proving to be excellent team. I can’t wait to see what they face in the next story. 5*

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this, the third instalment in the Bunch Courtney Investigates series, Bunch becomes an consulting detective with the local constabulary for the first time, and gets to work in an official capacity with the tantalising Inspector Wright, who has some mysterious work of his own to pursue.
We learn more about the milieu in which Bunch and her younger sister Dodo grew up; the background of the narrative is the interwar social whirl of the Bright Young Things, and the marriage mart in which young women from an aristocratic background come out into society and mingle with eligible bachelors. But there is a darker undertow to this world, a mixture of drug-addiction, cruelty and sexual obsession that contradicts the image of carefree hedonism.
The story starts with a car accident that turns out to be anything but, and a second body is soon discovered. Claude Naysmith, the crash victim, was a naval officer, and Penelope James, the second to die, also has a connection with the armed forces.
The narrative teases the reader with a number of different leads, motives and perpetrators for the crime. Once again there is a hint at possible right-wing sympathies amongst the group of suspects, who appear to be linked on more than one level.
It is deeply satisfying to follow Bunch and Inspector Wright as they work together - and sometimes at odds - to solve the case. At the same time, Bunch has to deal with the reluctant homecoming of her socialite mother, Theadora, who has been told by a Harley Street specialist that she must stop drinking or risk imminent death. Bunch, her father Sir Edward and her redoubtable paternal grandmother all try to support for the recalcitrant Theadora, who had never recovered from the loss of her two sons to the Spanish flu pandemic.
The war forms much more than a backdrop to the story. Bunch has to run the gauntlet of the blackout, the beginning of the Blitz and the crowded underground in London, where it seems attempts are made on her life. Once again, the details have been researched with great care and thought, giving a flavour of authenticity to the period setting sometimes missing from historical crime fiction. A date at the underground bar at the Cafe de Paris is haunted by the fate of that doomed venue.
The Sussex landscape and setting is evoked with love and a real feel for the sense of place. There is a thread of melancholy running through the story, with the losses of the current war and the last, and the deaths of the murder victims keenly felt. None of these people are mere ciphers, even those who appear in the narrative only as corpses.
Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It has a compelling quality that meant I wanted to keep reading through to the end to discover whodunit - and why. I was not disappointed.
*Thank you to the author and Penkhull Press for this digital advance review copy. As always, my opinion is my own.*

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

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[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in the series, and just getting better. Read for the in-depth look at life in and around the Sussex countryside (and a country estate, complete with Land Girls) during WWII as much as for the mystery and its investigation. Although that's done with a deft hand, too. Bunch is a strong, likeable heroine and her story is worth getting invested in.

There's a lot happening here, lots of threads to explore (and people -- you might need a score card). The author handles it well, but you do need to pay attention to who's who and what's what.