This is the second book featuring Daniel Kind, an Oxford Don and historian who at the behest of his new partner Miranda, gives up his London life and settles in Cumbria. And of CI Hannah Scarlett who heads the Cold Case Review team, and her partner Marc who runs a second hand bookshop.
Whilst there are signs that Miranda is missing London greatly, Daniel is settling in well to country life- currently tackling the garden, which he finds somewhat perplexing as it has paths that lead nowhere, and is in all a most unusual garden. Being a historian he decides to delve back into its origins and sets out to trace the original owners of the house and designers of the garden, in an effort to elicit some meaning to the seemingly randomness of the garden layout.
Meanwhile an anonymous letter leads Hannah Scarlett to review the case of the unsolved murder of landscape gardener Warren Howe, who was killed with his own scythe.
The life and complexity of village life is portrayed well, as is the beauty of the Lake District - I wanted to pack a bag and head up there immediately. Both mysteries, that of the murder, and the mystery of the strange garden are handled well, moving at a believable pace, as Daniel pours over old tomes, and Hannah re-interviews all the original suspects in the killing of Warren Howe.
I was unable to put the book down, fascinated as the solutions to both mysteries
were skilfully and intelligently unfolded. I look forward to the next in the
series
-------
Lizzie Hayes
Martin has written a series about Harry Devlin with seven books in it so far
and a number of stand alone titles - the most recent is The Cipher Garden (2005).
He has also edited a number of anthologies of crime stories - Crime on the Move:
The Official Crime Writers Association Anthology 2005 is the latest.