The Arsenic Labyrinth

First Line: You'd never believe it to look at me now, but once upon a time I killed a man.

When a grifter returns to Coniston in England's Lake District and tips off a local newspaperman that he knows what happened to a woman who went missing ten years before, DCI Hannah Scarlett and her Cold Case Review Team re-opens the case.

Hannah's investigation takes her to the Museum of Myth and Legend and on to the remote and eerie Arsenic Labyrinth (a series of tunnels constructed to remove arsenic from ore). While Hannah is involved with her cold case, historian Daniel Kind is doing research for a new book on John Ruskin, whose neighbors built the Arsenic Labyrinth. It doesn't take Hannah long to discover that there are two mysteries to solve, show more and she enlists Daniel's aid. They have to hurry because someone out there has proven that they will kill to keep their secrets.

Edwards brings the Lake District to life in this series of crime novels, along with a sense of the small villages and the people who live in them. In places like this, history still matters although it may not seem so to much of the rest of the country, as one character laments:

"Perhaps it doesn't matter," he murmured. "These tales of the past, handed down through the generations. The sophisticates who live in our towns and cities have no truck with the tales and traditions of the countryside. Why should they, when they have broad minds and broadband?"

Even more than the story, the setting and the sense of history, the characters of Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind are the glue that holds everything together. They are so well-drawn, so obviously attracted to each other, that I'm sure I'm not the only reader who would like to shake some sense into each of them and push them together. The fact that they're both first-class investigators is icing on the cake.

If you're in the mood for an atmospheric mystery with a haunting setting, a touch of history, an involving mystery, and two excellent characters, by all means find yourself one of Martin Edwards' Lake District mysteries. Do you have to start at the very beginning? No, not at all. But with characters like Hannah and Daniel and a setting like England's Lake District, why deprive yourself? show less

The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards is the third book in his Lake District Cold-Case Mysteries and I believe, probably last one of the series that I will be reading. I find these quite slow moving and even after three books, I haven’t really warmed up to the main characters, Detective Hannah Scarlett and Historian Daniel Kind. Their slow dance around each other has been going on since book one and I am not really interested enough to continue reading to see if they ever actually do get together.

The mystery here is a combination of a woman who has been missing for 10 years and an even older murder, the bodies are uncovered but it appears that someone is quite desperate to keep the past hidden. The most interesting character is show more con-man Guy Koenig, who has connections to the missing woman and appears to be threatening to expose old secrets.

I originally started this series as I was intrigued by the Lake District setting but have found that this series cannot compare to either Anne Cleeves’ Shetland Island Mysteries or Elly Griffith’s Dr. Ruth Galloway Mysteries for atmospheric settings. The slow pacing, boring characters and lack of Lake District essence left me less than satisfied with this police procedural. show less

Set evocatively in Britain’s atmospheric Lake District, Martin Edwards’ The Arsenic Labyrinth blends character, scenery, murder and mystery in a complex labyrinthine plot. Events take place in and around a small town, nearby lake and mountain. A newspaper account revives a ten-year-old missing person case, and Hannah, head of the Cold Case Review Team, is pressured to resolve it. Meanwhile relationships shift and turn, perfection as elusive as love, and a wealth of surely-not suspects prove to hide many skeletons in their cupboards.

The large cast of characters might sometimes confuse a reader new to the series (like me), but the fascinating plot and genuine small-town feel of the place, together with enticing details of history of show more character, keep the pages turning and the mystery revolving. Eventually there’ll be more than one case to resolve , while love and family, desire and betrayal all run their course. It’s low-key, fascinating and satisfying—a thoroughly enjoyable read for lovers of mystery, the Lake District, or character-driven police procedurals.

Disclosure: I wasn’t in the Lake District when I bought it, but I wasn’t far away either. show less

The Third entry in the Lake District series. The book is set in England’s Lake District, and centres around DCI Hannah Scarlett’s Cold Case unit. A 10-year-old Missing Person case has come to the forefront when a local journalist begins pushing for a resolution to the old case of a missing local woman. The case begins to get complicated when another body is discovered that had been buried for about 50 years and found close to the area where Hannah is searching for Emma Bestwick. When a more recent death occurs on a lonely beach, Hannah realizes that there is far more to this old case than was thought. Hannah is made aware that local people will go a long way to keep their secrets safe. The final twist to the story was enough to show more surprise me. This is the third entry in this mystery series, and one that has caught my interest again. I read the other books quite some time ago, but am now going to continue on again with this captivating series. show less

Ten years have passed since Emma Bestwick disappeared in Coniston in the Lakes District, and also since Guy was last there. When a local journalist runs a story on Emma's disappearance, Guy can't resist telling someone what he knows. If anything Guy is a bit of a leech, a wastrel, a ladies' man, and he not only wants to salve his conscience, but also to capitalise on his secret knowledge.

DCI Hannah Scarlett, now head of Cumbria's Cold Case Review Team, remembers the Emma Bestwick case quite well, and is pressured not only by the press, but also by her opportunistic Assistant Chief Constable, to reinvestigate the case, or at least to take a look at the file.

Hannah is conscious too that after a recent failed investigation where she was show more left with egg on her face, and the press had a field day, success in re-opened investigation can only improve her public image. Just before Emma Bestwick disappeared totally without trace, she appeared to have come into some new wealth, but those she lived and worked with could not throw any light on where it came from, and it was assumed that she had left the district to start a new life, perhaps with a new man.

THE ARSENIC LABYRINTH is the third title in Martin Edwards' Lake District series featuring DCI Hannah Scarlett, and Daniel Kind, son of her old boss. I read the first book in the series, THE COFFIN TRAIL, and really enjoyed it, but haven't yet got to the second THE CIPHER GARDEN, and have decided I must track it down.

I like the way Edwards mixes knowledge about the history of the Lakes District (which I have visited 2 or 3 times), in this case the production of arsenic as a byproduct of copper mining, with the elements of whodunnit and whydunnit. The thread of the investigation is interwoven with human interest elements, the story of Daniel Kind and his partner Miranda seeking to live the quieter rural life in Tarnfold; Hannah Scarlett and Mark Amos struggling to maintain a satisfying relationship in the face of Hannah's work and his expanding bookshop business. There are many elements that the reader will recognise: the rise and fall of family fortunes over the generations, the struggle to make ends meet, gambling addiction, vulnerability, and greed.

THE ARSENIC LABYRINTH is on the face of it a variation of a cozy, a police procedural, but with some unexpected twists to the plot.

Read more about everything Martin is involved in at his site http://www.martinedwardsbooks.com/index.htm Follow his blog at http://www.doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.com/ show less

Pretty much a Hallmark mystery of the week, set in the Lake District. I have little doubt that it would work perfectly in that format, if only Candace Cameron Bure could swot up a British accent. One good thing: it doesn't have one of those atrocious Hallmark soundtracks. Another one: it's good to know that hormones can rage even in historians, archivists, folklorists, librarians and booksellers.

bit pedestrian and over complicated - maybe would have helped to have read the first in the series