What The Critics Said

'This novel is so very readable...All humanity is between its covers: love, lust, jealousy, pride, greed, ambition, self-delusion.'

Law Society Gazette

'A terrific book. It has everything, a great sense of location, believable, complex characters, a crime to solve, full of tension and well paced to keep you wanting to know more, and so atmospheric...The complex plot kept me guessing to the end of this gripping murder mystery.'

Books Please Blog

'An engrossing read... What I love best about the series is the setting – Edwards pulls the reader deep into a beautiful but bleak part of England. And he also presents us with a raft of convincing characters...Edwards provides us with intelligent and well-plotted crime fiction, plus an ending you won't see coming. He'll always be welcome on my shelf!'

Reviewing the Evidence

"The best to date. Once I started I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended."

Mystery Women

'This was an exciting and very well-written crime novel. Martin Edwards is in great shape!'

DJs Krimiblog

'Excellently written detective story, just the right amount of tension, characters that hold your interest, and a plot that will keep you guessing to the end. First rate.'

Books Monthly

'Those who like a good crime read will be hooked from the very first page of this complex mystery...The characters are well drawn and delightful, the Lake District setting surreal and beautiful!'

Lancashire Telegraph

'A good story with a tense and exciting end...It’s always a thrill to read a good crime novel and discover that it’s part of a series. The Serpent Pool, advertised as a Lake District Mystery follows The Coffin Trail, The Cipher Garden and The Arsenic Labyrinth. Books to seek out.'

Shots Magazine

'The Serpent Pool is the fourth in the author's excellent Lake District series, and I think the best yet... The novel is infused with many small but telling observations about society, literature, the book business and police work, at the same time building up a sense of tension as we realize that an old mystery is continuing to have dramatic impacts...I highly recommend the Lake District series...as well as being an excellent set of page-turners replete with authentic local colour, the books have the added benefit of being written with intelligence by a talented author who is clearly very knowledgeable and cultured, with a mature, gently ironic view of the world. I congratulate Martin Edwards on this superb contribution to what I think is one of the very best crime-fiction series being written today.'

Eurocrime

'A real nail-biter of a denouement will keep fans of Martin’s books very happy – the tension really builds in the second half. Definitely one to save for a weekend, or an indulgent day off. With a good fire and a nice cup of tea to ward off that chilly Lakeland fog I can promise you will be in for a good read.'

Geranium Cat Blog

'This series has become a gem in thoughtful, contemporary crime novels. For readers who enjoy a strong sense of place with the past a location in its own right, and who seek interesting, clearly drawn characters as much as a gripping story, these books tick all the boxes...The Serpent Pool is the darkest of the four Lakes novels and possibly the most rewarding.'

Crime Time

'If you like good, solid, intelligent detective fiction, you will not be disappointed in this. Go get it!'

Harriet Devine's Blog

'Here’s a satisfying read. A beautiful, atmospheric background, an interesting protagonist... [and] an ending where the reader is kept hanging on his or her seat in suspense.'

Tangled Web

'With evocative descriptions of everything from landscape to cocktail parties, expert plotting, an engaging protagonist and strongly delineated characters, 'The Serpent Pool' is old-fashioned, well-made crime fiction at its best, and the dénouement will have you choking on your Kendal mint cake.’

Laura Wilson

'Character, atmosphere, plot and pace — this series has it all, and fans of Stephen Booth and Peter Robinson would do well to check it out. Like its predecessors, this one has a wonderfully convoluted plot, further complicated by a subtle chemistry between Hannah and Daniel that neither is ready to acknowledge.’

Denver Post

'Compelling reading...I recommend it.'

Jilly Sheep Blog