The Arsenic Labyrinth

'The Arsenic Labyrinth is a fast-moving book...The plot is both solid and satisfying: sharp without being cynical, funny without drifting into pastiche, and serious without being stodgy...Martin Edwards has well and truly hit his stride in his Lake District novels'Eurocrime

‘A good mystery… interesting characters and excellent plot twists. Highly recommended.’Mystery Women

‘A beautifully crafted book. Events from the past are woven into fascinating contemporary rural mystery to make a satisfying whole. And for lovers of the classic whodunit, there’s a delicious twist in the tail’Ann Cleeves

‘Deceit, betrayal, the fickleness of the human heart…Edwards suggests that the labyrinthine quality of the human condition is a more baffling mystery than is the case of whodunit’Reviewingtheevidence.com

‘As ever, Edwards serves us a rich mixture of local history, strong characterisation and cunning plotting.’Morning Star

‘A superbly crafted story set in and around Coniston. The twisting plot concludes with a startling climax’Lake District Life

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'I would of had to of had a "duvet day" if I wasn't already off work as I couldn't put The Arsenic Labyrinth down! Meticulous research, (I never knew arsenic was so fascinating) believable characters and a wonderfully intricate plot make Martin Edwards' third Lake District novel another winner. The story revolves around two murders separated by fifty years but the victims are both found in The Arsenic Labyrinth. I defy anyone to guess who the murderers are and why the murders were commited! Martin Edwards kept me guessing until nearly the last page again!! The characters of Hannah,head of the Cold Case Team, and Daniel, an Oxford historian who has down sized to The Lakes play a large and ever intriguing role but the story also has some facinating and eccentric characters. I especially liked Alban Clough owner of Cumbria's Museum of Myth and Legend and Guy (is that his real name!?) From the first line "you'd never believe it to look at me now, but once upon a time I killed a man" to the last page I was hooked. It is hard to believe that Martin Edwards is a full time partner in a law firm and only writes in his spare time!If you have some spare time Mr Edwards could we have some more please?'Ms. El Spencer

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'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 again in a tale more satisfying than a bottle of vintage Krug. 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. 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. Edwards's grasp on the descriptive, too, is evermore vivid as the sights and 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. 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.'Chris H

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'Hannah Scarlett and her cold case team are forced into investigating the disappearance - or is it murder? - of Emma Beswick, by an investigative journalist. Hannah herself was part of the original investigation and felt that there was more to the case than they'd discovered. Daniel Kind - the Oxford historian who has moved to the Lake District, is also curious about the case and is looking for an excuse to contact Hannah again. His relationship with Miranda is going nowhere and he is looking for a new subject to write about. Full of troubled characters, both past and present, who all have skeletons rattling in their cupboards and marvellous descriptions of the scenery and atmosphere of the Lake District, this third book in the series is every bit as good as the last two. I read it over 24 hours and found I had to keep reading until I found who had been murdered and why. The ending is brilliant and definitely not what I thought it would be. I look forward to reading the next in the series.'Damaskcat

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