The Room of the Dead: A Betty Church Mystery

Set in 1940, Kasasian’s uneven sequel to Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire finds Church, an inspector in East Suffolk who lost a hand in the line of duty in London, still adjusting to life as a rare female police officer and plagued by sexist and unintelligent male colleagues. She’s given a couple of questionable deaths to investigate, starting with that of a vicar, Reverend Heath, whose unusually calm wife suggests he may have just accidentally fallen on the knife that killed him. A second death is more obviously a murder; retired clockmaker Eric Bone’s head was bashed in with a rock. A subsequent search for several missing children leads to Church making a difficult professional choice that may put off some readers, as will a character naming a pet after Adolf Hitler. The book also doesn’t make enough of its wartime setting. Church remains a dull lead, the humor falls flat, and the plot meanders before an unsatisfying reveal. Fans of Kasasian’s Grice and Middleton series will be disappointed. (Oct.)