The Cipher Garden: A Lake District Mystery

After "The Coffin Trail", the first of Edwards Lake District mysteries, I found myself interested in the further adventures of the principals and curious to know where the author was going with them. I was not disappointed with this one and in fact thought it better done than the first in so far as the depth of character development. I would not call this a police procedural like the excellent Deborah Crombie series since the primary character is not a police person, but a historian with a lot of curiosity plus an attraction to the local detective inspector. Bottom line for me is they are entertaining and should definitely be read in order

Martin Edwards is a modern day mystery writer who is not averse to using classing detective story elements in his work. He has a good plot, a professional and amateur detective investigating, a very clever red-herring right at the beginning, and a few other surprises of the Golden Age genre along the way. A master gardener was murdered several years previously without the murderer ever caught. Then an anonymous letter to the police accuses the victim's wife of the murder. And other anonymous letters also appear. The way it all coalesces and develops is the story told by a modern master who never forgets he is a contemporay writer nor the legacy of classic detective fiction.

Though Detective Chief Inspector Hannah Scarlett knows her current assignment is an exile for screwing up the Rao trial and she would rather not be head of the Cold Case Review team, she is proud of the good stats supporting their efforts. A tip-off comes in that claims Tina Howe killed her spouse a "plantsman" Warren using his scythe as a grim reaper in the garden of customer Roz Gleave. Hannah notices the reaction of her Detective Sergeant Nick Lowther of relief. Though they have little new to go on, Hannah decides to reopen the investigation, which she notices upsets Nick, who was part of the original investigation. At the same time, the police begin making new inquiries, historian Daniel Kind decides to look into the strange garden by his cottage. He hires landscaper Peter Flint, Warren's partner, to obtain insight. As the police homicidal case and the historian's curiosity connect, Hannah and Daniel seek the truth even as a fresh murder occurs to keep everything concealed. The Howe cold case investigation is one of the best police procedurals of this always exciting series as a still in exile DCI Scarlett wonders why DS Lowther fails to use his poker face to hide his feelings with every newly discovered clue. While probing for clues, Hannah wonders who Nick is protecting and whether he and others suppressed evidence when they first investigated the case. Fans will appreciate this particular who-done-it because of the moral dilemma that the heroine expects to eventually face at the end of the inquiries. Harriet Klausner