I loved Sidney Grice and March Middleton in the Gower Street detective series, so couldn't wait to read MRC Kasasian 's new book Betty Church And The Suffolk Vampire. It's filled with the same humour and has a cast of crazy characters, with a gruesome murder or two thrown in for good measure.
It's 1939 and Betty Church - one of the few female police officers - finds herself back in Sackwater the place she grew up, investigating a string of murders where the victims have puncture wounds to the throat which the locals believe is the work of the Suffolk Vampire. I loved this.

Thanks Head of Zeus and netgalley for this ARC.

M.R.C. Kasasian started a cool new series with ties to his Gower Street series. Loved Betty Church! No nonsense, in control with quirky crazy cast makes this a new series I can't wait to read more.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Heads of Zeus for an advance copy of Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire, a police procedural set in 1939.

Reluctant to leave the police after losing part of her arm Betty Church's only option is to transfer from the Met to The Suffolk town of Sackwater where she grew up. To soften the blow, after the intervention of her Godmother, the famous investigator March Middleton, she is promoted to Inspector. Sackwater is not a hotbed of crime until the murders start and Betty is in the case of her life, hunting a killer the locals believe is a vampire.

I enjoyed Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire which is a fun read with some dastardly crimes thrown in. Sackwater Central is not a model of police efficiency, in fact it has been referred to as a "dumping ground", so the efficient Betty has her work cut out trying to weld a motley bunch of incompetents into effective crime fighters. She is not perhaps as efficient in this as she would like but it is fun watching her try.

The plot is extremely silly but it is well conceived and imaginative. My one complaint is that it is a bit long so the initially amusing inept police officers become a one trick pony and tiresome by the end. With most of the novel taken up by Betty's efforts to deal with this ineptitude the crime element gets a bit lost in the chaos. And yet there are some comedic gems in amongst it all, not least Betty's withering put downs which had me laughing out loud at times.

With a first person narrative the novel centres on Betty, a woman in a man's world. She is capable and well able to look after herself, despite the oddballs who surround her. I found the rules regarding women police officers that she has to work with very indicative of the times if they are true, like no night shift in case they incite carnal desires in the men! The author manages to make fun of this and many other examples. Betty Church is a wonderful creation and I'd like to read more about her. 3.5*