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Theodora Braithwaite #2
Unholy Ghosts
Please note this is a completely revised edition with corrected formatting.
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Deaconess Theodora Braithwaite is house-sitting for her friends in Norfolk. Ten days of blissful solitude. A chance to recharge.
She’s busy picking fruit in the August sunshine when a voice breaks her reverie. It’s the Archdeacon, and he comes bearing bad news.
Hereward Marr, the local vicar, has been found dead in his church. His neck broken in what appears to be a tragic accident.
But Hereward’s wife, Amy, is missing. Her abandoned car is discovered submerged in the Broads.
Everyone in the village knows Amy was unhappy in her marriage. Has she left of her own accord? Or has something more sinister happened to her?
Theodora knows there’s more to this story than meets the eye — and it’s up to her to prove it.
____________________
Deaconess Theodora Braithwaite is house-sitting for her friends in Norfolk. Ten days of blissful solitude. A chance to recharge.
She’s busy picking fruit in the August sunshine when a voice breaks her reverie. It’s the Archdeacon, and he comes bearing bad news.
Hereward Marr, the local vicar, has been found dead in his church. His neck broken in what appears to be a tragic accident.
But Hereward’s wife, Amy, is missing. Her abandoned car is discovered submerged in the Broads.
Everyone in the village knows Amy was unhappy in her marriage. Has she left of her own accord? Or has something more sinister happened to her?
Theodora knows there’s more to this story than meets the eye — and it’s up to her to prove it.
- GenresMystery
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 5, 1991
About the author
D.M. Greenwood
13 books14 followersDr D(iane) M Greenwood described herself as "a low level ecclesiastical civil servant". Coming originally from Norfolk in England, she took a first degree in classics at Oxford, then, as a mature student, a second degree in theology at London University. She taught at various schools before working for the diocese of Rochester. She was described by an ex-pupil as "a classics teacher of terrifying erudition and eccentricity". She retired as diocesan director of education for the diocese of Rochester in 2004. She published nine Theodora Braithwaite novels between 1991 and 1999. She was last heard of living in Greenwich with her lurcher bitch.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 14, 2015
Deaconess Theodora Braithwaite is taking a much needed break from her hectic job as a curate in one of London's poorer parishes. She is house sitting in Norfolk but when Hereward Marr, a local clergyman, is found dead she is unwillingly manipulated into helping with the investigation because she knows his wife slightly and it seems Amy has disappeared.
I liked the plot of this interesting clerical mystery and I thought the portrait of a small Norfolk village was very well done. Norfolk is, or was when this was written, very much like it is portrayed here. I lived in Norfolk for more than twenty years and I felt the author made it come alive. Feuds and allegiances are carried on very much based on class with everyone knowing their place in the hierarchy.
I loved the picture the author paints of the Church of England's activities too. Theodora is a likeable character and I could feel her irritation as her holiday was interrupted and then watched that irritation gradually disappear as her curiosity was aroused. I thought the character of Inspector Spruce was well done and I liked the way he does his best to understand the goings on in the Church.
If you like cosy mysteries with a village setting and a small cast of characters then you may enjoy this series. They can be read in any order and this is number two in the series.
I liked the plot of this interesting clerical mystery and I thought the portrait of a small Norfolk village was very well done. Norfolk is, or was when this was written, very much like it is portrayed here. I lived in Norfolk for more than twenty years and I felt the author made it come alive. Feuds and allegiances are carried on very much based on class with everyone knowing their place in the hierarchy.
I loved the picture the author paints of the Church of England's activities too. Theodora is a likeable character and I could feel her irritation as her holiday was interrupted and then watched that irritation gradually disappear as her curiosity was aroused. I thought the character of Inspector Spruce was well done and I liked the way he does his best to understand the goings on in the Church.
If you like cosy mysteries with a village setting and a small cast of characters then you may enjoy this series. They can be read in any order and this is number two in the series.
May 16, 2014
A clerical mystery
Deaconess Theodora Braithwaite is house-sitting in Norfolk when she is asked by the Bishop and the Archdeacon to look into the circumstances surrounding the death of the parish priest.
It helps if you know the ramifications and hierarchy of the Church of England, I think - in a way, this whole series is a kind of very English in-joke, gently satirical and occasionally acerbic about the niceties of High and Low. There are some exquisite overheard conversations, for instance, but also some musings on the spiritual life.
The series is firmly cast in the Golden Age detective story mould, with more than a touch of Barbara Pym. Pure pleasure for me, but I can imagine that some may find that the setting is too arcane. I am delighted that they have been lovingly reissued, without the typos that beset the earlier versions on Kindle.
Deaconess Theodora Braithwaite is house-sitting in Norfolk when she is asked by the Bishop and the Archdeacon to look into the circumstances surrounding the death of the parish priest.
It helps if you know the ramifications and hierarchy of the Church of England, I think - in a way, this whole series is a kind of very English in-joke, gently satirical and occasionally acerbic about the niceties of High and Low. There are some exquisite overheard conversations, for instance, but also some musings on the spiritual life.
The series is firmly cast in the Golden Age detective story mould, with more than a touch of Barbara Pym. Pure pleasure for me, but I can imagine that some may find that the setting is too arcane. I am delighted that they have been lovingly reissued, without the typos that beset the earlier versions on Kindle.
August 21, 2026
Unholy Ghosts is set in Norfolk, where Theodora has gone for a fortnight's holiday in Bishop Julian's rural cottage. Since her adventures in Clerical Errors she has spent time in Africa and six months serving as a curate in a poor area of London. The era is early 1990s.
The author, Diane Greenwood, is less didactic about the CofE in Theodora's second outing, although via Theodora, her general disdain for the CofE's senior clergy is again apparent; and there's still a lot of horsiness.
Greenwood deploys a variety of uncommon words in Unholy Ghosts, twice using 'minatory', the first time I've come across the word since finding it more than once in Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fenn stories; Crispin seemed to be unusually fond of 'minatory' and indeed, like Greenwood, was fond of using uncommon vocabulary.
There is a lightly humorous touch at times in this story, more so than in the first book. The solution of the crime relies rather too much on unlikely coincidences.
The story was better than the first one with a tighter plot. On the other hand, I felt that the ending was dispiriting.
The first book in the series would have been a slog for people not interested in Christianity or the Church of England, so I'm assuming that the second book will be read mainly by that sort of person. For that reason, I'll make criticisms that I wouldn't normally make.
Theodora, who I think is a mouthpiece for Greenwood's own views, sees herself as much more intellectually capable than the church's bishops. A vicar in the story who objects to the idea of women becoming priests/bishops admit to Theodora that his objection is based on his belief that women will "take the moral high ground all the time. We shall all feel such heels." Well, Theodora/Greenwood ultimately got her way, but the CofE has not noticeably become more intellectual, moral or even Christian. Quite the reverse. Theodora's/Greenwood's pose of intellectual/moral superiority has failed the proof of the pudding test.
An older unmarried female friend of Theodora, who is described, as "pious", like Theodora, thinks about her unmarried state: "How marvellous it was to be free; how appalling it would have been to have had to wash some man's socks and cope with his whinging children." I don't think it's unfair of me to say that there are several ways in which this is hardly Christian.
Theodora does not seem to like children. She goes into a museum to find 'a disproportionate number of... children too young to appreciate anything properly... Her heart sank... She pushed her way through the milling rabble...' Hmm. Some of the children, no doubt, will not appreciate the museum. A few, though, might find inspiration there that could change their lives and speaking of the few, Jesus said: "Many are called, but few are chosen". He also reminded us to "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me." Greenwood doubtless was much better read in the New Testament and in theology than me, but Jesus's words seem to have fallen on a pair of highly intellectual deaf ears. Now, if Theodora had been a bad-tempered, humanity-hating, atheistic old bat, her sentiments in such a novel would have been entirely proper. But she's not.
The author, Diane Greenwood, is less didactic about the CofE in Theodora's second outing, although via Theodora, her general disdain for the CofE's senior clergy is again apparent; and there's still a lot of horsiness.
Greenwood deploys a variety of uncommon words in Unholy Ghosts, twice using 'minatory', the first time I've come across the word since finding it more than once in Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fenn stories; Crispin seemed to be unusually fond of 'minatory' and indeed, like Greenwood, was fond of using uncommon vocabulary.
There is a lightly humorous touch at times in this story, more so than in the first book. The solution of the crime relies rather too much on unlikely coincidences.
The story was better than the first one with a tighter plot. On the other hand, I felt that the ending was dispiriting.
The first book in the series would have been a slog for people not interested in Christianity or the Church of England, so I'm assuming that the second book will be read mainly by that sort of person. For that reason, I'll make criticisms that I wouldn't normally make.
Theodora, who I think is a mouthpiece for Greenwood's own views, sees herself as much more intellectually capable than the church's bishops. A vicar in the story who objects to the idea of women becoming priests/bishops admit to Theodora that his objection is based on his belief that women will "take the moral high ground all the time. We shall all feel such heels." Well, Theodora/Greenwood ultimately got her way, but the CofE has not noticeably become more intellectual, moral or even Christian. Quite the reverse. Theodora's/Greenwood's pose of intellectual/moral superiority has failed the proof of the pudding test.
An older unmarried female friend of Theodora, who is described, as "pious", like Theodora, thinks about her unmarried state: "How marvellous it was to be free; how appalling it would have been to have had to wash some man's socks and cope with his whinging children." I don't think it's unfair of me to say that there are several ways in which this is hardly Christian.
Theodora does not seem to like children. She goes into a museum to find 'a disproportionate number of... children too young to appreciate anything properly... Her heart sank... She pushed her way through the milling rabble...' Hmm. Some of the children, no doubt, will not appreciate the museum. A few, though, might find inspiration there that could change their lives and speaking of the few, Jesus said: "Many are called, but few are chosen". He also reminded us to "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me." Greenwood doubtless was much better read in the New Testament and in theology than me, but Jesus's words seem to have fallen on a pair of highly intellectual deaf ears. Now, if Theodora had been a bad-tempered, humanity-hating, atheistic old bat, her sentiments in such a novel would have been entirely proper. But she's not.
December 14, 2019
I still like the character of Theodora Braithwaite and the moral seriousness with which people and their lives are treated, but this book is a little too deferential towards old county family ways even while it depicts their awfulness in great detail. For the second time, too many key characters are introduced too late in the story, and we only see the murder victim in retrospect through other people’s eyes.
June 8, 2017
Unholy Ghosts was a hit!
Thought this book started rather slowly but the rhythm set in and I was hooked. I'm an Episcopalian myself so that was my initial interest. And as always it is the characters that keep my interest. I must also say the plot twists were very good. I'll be reading the next in the series.
Thought this book started rather slowly but the rhythm set in and I was hooked. I'm an Episcopalian myself so that was my initial interest. And as always it is the characters that keep my interest. I must also say the plot twists were very good. I'll be reading the next in the series.
June 21, 2023
I greatly enjoy this series which I have only recently rediscovered through kindle. For readers who are themselves part of a church community there are moments of laughter at how well the Anglican Church has been portrayed, all showing some elements of truth.
August 4, 2023
A Good mystery and a Good Lesson
The best way to judge a man is to walk a mile in his moccasins.
Theodore does just that instead of enjoying her vacation. She follows the trail of a troubled client through an area fraught with un-laid ghosts.
The best way to judge a man is to walk a mile in his moccasins.
Theodore does just that instead of enjoying her vacation. She follows the trail of a troubled client through an area fraught with un-laid ghosts.
January 12, 2024
I really rather like deaconess Theodora Braithwaite, and I am old enough to recognise the period the books are set in, and the discussions about the role of women in the Church of England, which is not a major part of this story but simply helps place the period.
September 2, 2018
I like Theodora very much but I thought there was some shocking copy-editing, detail in the wrong place - the author very much let down by the publisher.
May 19, 2025
Too obscure churchy.
August 6, 2025
I again liked this ecclesiastical whodunit. A murder mystery.
April 4, 2012
This story was not as enjoyable as Greenwood's debut CLERICAL ERRORS. The characters were not as deep and it is hard to get a handle on Theodora Braithwaite the main protagonist. But the back story of the mechanics of how the people become part of the clergy, that is, it is more like a job than a calling in some instances. Clerics are given their livings or parishes in a relatively haphazard fashion and it appears that to get rid of some of the worst the only way is by murdering them.
In this particular case the minister was a sot, a slob, and a sour individual who never did a thing to endear himself to any one, Most of his congregation applauded the idea of his death if not the way it was accomplished. Although there a were those that though his end was appropriate . I hope in the next book maybe I will find that Braithwaite has some deep feeling about something other than her job.
In this particular case the minister was a sot, a slob, and a sour individual who never did a thing to endear himself to any one, Most of his congregation applauded the idea of his death if not the way it was accomplished. Although there a were those that though his end was appropriate . I hope in the next book maybe I will find that Braithwaite has some deep feeling about something other than her job.
May 25, 2011
This was an interesting crime novel. The victim was a priest and the book had a background of organised religion. It was not about faith, or a Christian book in the sense of trying to convince the reader of the value or otherwise of belief (whether in Christianity or other religions). It was rather about systems of privilege and resistance to change. As such, it was not a particularly plot driven story, although the plot was well worked out and progressed at a reasonable pace. It was an "old fashioned" crme book - the detectives relied on questioning suspects and working out motives rather than using scientific methods to solve the crime. I thoroughly enjoyed this and want to read the other 8 (I think) books by this author.
February 12, 2016
A little hard to get through
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews