Tangled Web UK Review February 2007
The Arsenic Labyrinth Lake District Mystery, No. 3. by
Martin Edwards
pbk out April 08
(Allison Busby)
at £6.99
Historian Daniel Kind is finding the winter months at Brackdale tough, especially so as
his relationship with Miranda is also going through a dark time. Far from the bright lights of
London and with the renovations behind schedule and over-budget, Miranda has a bad case of
itchy feet. The fear that she may just get up and leave isn't far from his thoughts. She
wouldn't be the first: years ago a solitary woman called Emma Beswick left her cottage
nearby and never came back. Her disappearance went unaccounted for, and the unresolved
case always irked DCI Hannah Scarlett. Someone knows something though; someone who
keeps calling the local newspaper and dropping hints about Emma's death. With the case
reopened, Hannah and Daniel are drawn together again, and discover that one person will
preserve the secrets of the past, whatever the cost.
Like fine wine, Martin Edwards's series of novels set in the Lake District improve with
age. The Arsenic Labyrinth, the third in the series following the highly acclaimed The Coffin
Trail and The Cipher Garden, sees the lives of former historian Daniel Kind and DCI Hannah
Scarlett become entwined in a tale more satisfying than a bottle of vintage Krug.This,
genuinely, is one terrific read. Intriguing, fast-paced and, at times, disturbing, The Arsenic
Labyrinth sees the central characters of Kind and Scarlett as more rounded, more genuine
individuals who continue to grow with steadfast assuredness. In short, The Arsenic Labyrinth
is Martin Edwards at his very, very best and is a complex though never confusing thriller that
should be read by anyone with a love of excellent writing. Edwards's grasp on the descriptive
is so vivid, the scents of The Lakes become ever more evocative so that one can almost smell
the bracken, feel the mist and sense the knives being stabbed into backs by the locals, as
gossip and innuendo increases on every page.
(
Chris High
Chris High - Author Multi-media Promotion Service www.chrishigh.com)
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