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 bring 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.
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Two Land Girls were clattering across the yard as Bunch Courtney emerged from the dairy, their voices gin clear on the frosted air. ONE
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(Penkhull Press, 6 August 2020, 250 pages, e-book, #ARC from the author and voluntarily reviewed)
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I'm a huge fan of the author and have read the other Bunch Courtney books. I was really looking forward to this. Listed Dead is everything I expected. I enjoyed the contrasts in the books between people losing their life in the war and the murderer Bunch is pursuing who targets wealthy young people from the same supper club at the Café de Paris in London. Bunch knows the first victim and with her usual stubbornness shoehorns herself into the investigation much to Chief Inspector Wright's chagrin. The lifestyle of the murder victim is a harsh contrast to the life of the military forces and even regular people at the time. This doesn't make their murders any less awful. It's clear they've been target because of their wealth and self-centred attitudes. Someone is sending a clear message. Bunch is a consulting detective with the police for the first time. Like all good murder mysteries there are twists and turns, misdirection and an ever growing list of suspects. I enjoyed the fraught relationship between Bunch and Inspector Wright. This is a compelling and immensely enjoyable read.
