Medium – Audiobook
About the Book – The third (and currently last) in the Betty Church series of books, ‘The Ghost Tree’ is split across two time frames – Betty’s childhood in 1914 and her ‘current’ time at the beginning of the second world war. Betty’s childhood is shaped by the loss of her best friend, Etterly, in 1914, who goes inside ‘the ghost tree’ whilst her friends are playing rounders, and never emerges. In the current time line, a skeleton is found of a young girl, and Betty is convinced that it is the body of Etterly. However, not everything is as it seems, and Betty must delve deep into memories of her past to try and find the truth behind her friend’s disappearance.
My Rating – for this year, whilst I will be including my Goodreads rating, I will also be giving a more precise rating (as Goodreads doesn’t allow half stars!). I’ve rated this 4.5/5.
My Thoughts – I have really enjoyed listening to the Betty Church books and have found them both interesting and entertaining. I really enjoy the characters of Betty and Dodo, together with the tongue in cheek style of writing used by the author. I have to say, though, that I think this one is my favourite of all three of the books. I found the split storyline a really good way to get to know characters, especially Betty, better. The storyline as a whole was immersive and had a number of threads to it which came together in the end to a bittersweet but satisfying ending.
I also liked the fact that the author went into more depth to make the characters more three-dimensional and interesting – especially in terms of Toby Gregson and Constable Box – both of whom are quickly becoming my favourite male characters in the story. So, why 4.5 stars? The author has set up beautifully for a new book that will lead straight on from the this one – however, that does mean that he has left a number of questions that could have done with being explored in this book. He also leaves a key bit of action out at the end of the story which may be in the next one, but made the book feel like it just stopped. Hopefully, there will be a new Betty Church book soon!
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