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Lake District Mystery #2
The Cipher Garden
Warren Howe is surprised by a hooded visitor while working in a garden in Old Sawrey, a lovely village in England's Lake District. Soon it is Warren who is dead—murdered with his own scythe. The police identify several suspects but lack the evidence to make an arrest.
Years later, an anonymous tip sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. Warren's wife Tina is accused of killing her husband, although she had an alibi. Hannah's sergeant, Nick Lowther, involved in the original investigation, seems disturbed by her determination to look again at the old crime. And Daniel Kind, the historian, wants to uncover the secret of the strange garden at his own cottage. Enlisting the help of Warren's former business partner, garden designer Peter Flint, he is drawn into the mystery of the murder.
Daniel and Hannah find old sins cast long shadows as they search for the truth. Then there is another horrifying death. Now Daniel and Hannah must piece together the clues that lead to a shocking revelation. But by the time the puzzle is solved, Hannah's life has changed forever.
Years later, an anonymous tip sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. Warren's wife Tina is accused of killing her husband, although she had an alibi. Hannah's sergeant, Nick Lowther, involved in the original investigation, seems disturbed by her determination to look again at the old crime. And Daniel Kind, the historian, wants to uncover the secret of the strange garden at his own cottage. Enlisting the help of Warren's former business partner, garden designer Peter Flint, he is drawn into the mystery of the murder.
Daniel and Hannah find old sins cast long shadows as they search for the truth. Then there is another horrifying death. Now Daniel and Hannah must piece together the clues that lead to a shocking revelation. But by the time the puzzle is solved, Hannah's life has changed forever.
277 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
195 people are currently reading
462 people want to read
About the author
Martin Edwards
358 books818 followersMartin Edwards has been described by Richard Osman as ‘a true master of British crime writing.’ He has published twenty-three novels, which include the eight Lake District Mysteries, one of which was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Prize for best crime novel of the year and four books featuring Rachel Savernake, including the Dagger-nominated Gallows Court and Blackstone Fell, while Gallows Court and Sepulchre Street were shortlisted for the eDunnit award for best crime novel of the year. He is also the author of two multi-award-winning histories of crime fiction, The Life of Crime and The Golden Age of Murder. He has received three Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association and two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America and has also been nominated three times for Gold Daggers. In addition to the CWA Diamond Dagger (the highest honour in UK crime writing) he has received four other lifetime achievement awards: for his fiction, short fiction, non-fiction, and scholarship. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, a former Chair of the CWA, and since 2015 has been President of the Detection Club.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
November 18, 2012
The Cipher Garden by Martin Edwards is another in his 'Lake District' mystery series. Historian-cum-amateur detective Daniel Kind is drawn into another crime from the past after trying to discover the 'secrets' of the garden at his new cottage. Coincidently this links with the unsolved murder of Warren Howe, which is being investigated by DCI Hannah Scarlett. Hannah and Daniel are attracted to each other (in a very drag-it-out, let's pretend it's not happening kind of way) and some of the back story concerns this rather irksome will-they-won't-they get it together sub-plot.
There are quite a few characters, but nearly all of them are already connected and it took me a while to remember who was who. The central mystery doesn't turn out to be that mysterious and even allowing for a lazy former police detective, it's implausible to think that this case wouldn't have been solved first time around. Kind and Scarlett are interesting, if a bit wet, but most of the other characters are flat two dimensional stereotypes.
I generally like Edwards's work; he's a good stylist and the sense of place and descriptions keep this book just the right side of readable. It's an undemanding read, told in a slow pace and is fairly well written. But the style on show here is fairly pedestrian and I lost interest after a while. Don't expected a gripping read.
© Koplowitz 2012
There are quite a few characters, but nearly all of them are already connected and it took me a while to remember who was who. The central mystery doesn't turn out to be that mysterious and even allowing for a lazy former police detective, it's implausible to think that this case wouldn't have been solved first time around. Kind and Scarlett are interesting, if a bit wet, but most of the other characters are flat two dimensional stereotypes.
I generally like Edwards's work; he's a good stylist and the sense of place and descriptions keep this book just the right side of readable. It's an undemanding read, told in a slow pace and is fairly well written. But the style on show here is fairly pedestrian and I lost interest after a while. Don't expected a gripping read.
© Koplowitz 2012
May 10, 2016
Loved it, loved it, loved it! It had everything that I enjoy. It's a murder mystery set in England. There are many complicated relationships that keep getting more and more interesting. Finally, the ending completely surprised me. It just doesn't get any better than this! I am already signed up for Book #3 in the Lake District mystery series.
March 4, 2016
First time I read this author and being completely honest I really struggled to get through it. The pace of the book was very slow and I could not engage with the characters very well. This does not compare particularly well to other top authors of this genre.
April 17, 2025
As I mentioned in my review of the first book in the series (The Coffin Trail), I'm not a huge fan of protagonists with baggage. We all know that Hannah and Daniel's respective relationships are not the most solid. We know where things are heading eventually. And, while I know that real life is messy, I don't really need my escapist mystery literature to measure up to real life. How much cleaner if we could skip the angst and doubts and the mess of getting out of relationships that aren't working and just have Hannah and Daniel meet up (single) in the debut novel and work their way towards a relationship of their own. Then we could all just focus on the main point of a mystery novel--the mystery, the clues, the suspects, and looking for a solution. This would be my main complaint about more modern mysteries, so many "mystery" authors bury their plot so far beneath the drama and angst in their detective's life that it's difficult to care about the actual mystery.
Sorry, Martin, I didn't mean to get on my soapbox.
Fortunately, Martin Edwards, doesn't bury his plot. And he writes a darn good mystery. So I can more easily forgive the baggage that Hannah and Daniel are dragging about. It also helps that Martin completely pulled the wool over my eyes this time. In the first novel, I spotted the culprit thought I didn't get the motive right. This time I was totally at sea. And sometimes that's a very good place to be. I don't mind being fooled when it's done by an expert and Martin is certainly that. ★★★ and 3/4 (rounded up here)
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Sorry, Martin, I didn't mean to get on my soapbox.
Fortunately, Martin Edwards, doesn't bury his plot. And he writes a darn good mystery. So I can more easily forgive the baggage that Hannah and Daniel are dragging about. It also helps that Martin completely pulled the wool over my eyes this time. In the first novel, I spotted the culprit thought I didn't get the motive right. This time I was totally at sea. And sometimes that's a very good place to be. I don't mind being fooled when it's done by an expert and Martin is certainly that. ★★★ and 3/4 (rounded up here)
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
January 8, 2024
Book two in this series set in the Lake District sees historian Kind and detective Scarlet teaming up to solve another cold case. An easy and enjoyable read.
February 21, 2024
Second in the series, and I'm really enjoying it; no sophomore slump here. As with the first book, I had no idea who the killer was or what the relationships and interactions were that led to the crime, although the clues were there. Author Martin Edwards does a fine job of plotting out the story and providing enough suspects to keep the reader guessing.
The relationship between Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind interests me; one would think that a Detective Chief Inspector would play her cards a little closer to her chest and be less willing to share and collaborate with a citizen outsider, even one as astute (and, let's face it, nosy) as historian Daniel Kind. But the fact that the very professional Hannah is drawn to him and open to his theories indicates a lack of support in her own life, which is indicated by her backstory and the seemingly stale relationship she has with her partner, bookseller Marc Amos. That Daniel has growing qualms about his own relationship with his girlfriend Miranda makes him and Hannah seem like kindred spirits. I'm looking forward to seeing where Edwards takes them in the next installment, The Arsenic Labyrinth.
The relationship between Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind interests me; one would think that a Detective Chief Inspector would play her cards a little closer to her chest and be less willing to share and collaborate with a citizen outsider, even one as astute (and, let's face it, nosy) as historian Daniel Kind. But the fact that the very professional Hannah is drawn to him and open to his theories indicates a lack of support in her own life, which is indicated by her backstory and the seemingly stale relationship she has with her partner, bookseller Marc Amos. That Daniel has growing qualms about his own relationship with his girlfriend Miranda makes him and Hannah seem like kindred spirits. I'm looking forward to seeing where Edwards takes them in the next installment, The Arsenic Labyrinth.
March 18, 2016
According to my 50-page rule I will now give this book a miss. If a mystery writer hasn’t been able to spark my interest after 50 pages it’s probably a hopeless case.
So far this has been just a lot of wisecracking police banter, people attracted to other people’s partners, troubled pasts and definitely too much of the “human touch”. And all of that written in a very basic style.
Though I seem to have outgrown Agatha Christie’s mysteries there is one thing to be said for her : Insted of wasting 50 pages to create an atmosphere she pulled the reader right in. Once she got Poirot’s egg-shaped head and moustache out of the way she got down to business and provided the reader with red herrings, plot twists that kept them guessing and nearly always a surprising dénouement.
So far this has been just a lot of wisecracking police banter, people attracted to other people’s partners, troubled pasts and definitely too much of the “human touch”. And all of that written in a very basic style.
Though I seem to have outgrown Agatha Christie’s mysteries there is one thing to be said for her : Insted of wasting 50 pages to create an atmosphere she pulled the reader right in. Once she got Poirot’s egg-shaped head and moustache out of the way she got down to business and provided the reader with red herrings, plot twists that kept them guessing and nearly always a surprising dénouement.
June 30, 2015
Dull, plodding book with two-dimensional characters and a couple of flimsy mysteries. The question of the cypher garden is settled in about 4 pages, and then completely forgotten. The murder mystery itself, when it finally gets resolved, is pedestrian. The two investigators spend forever playing the "will they, won't they" dance, while bemoaning their respective partners. Most of the book is taken up with this wishy-washy half-romance. If you want to read a romance novel, I'm sure there's better out there. If you want to read a detective novel, there's definitely better out there. Finally, for a book set in some of the most magnificent scenery in the UK, there's almost no description of that scenery- that would at least have lightened some of the tedium.
September 16, 2010
I can't really say I read this one. I skimmed it to find out if the main characters had ditched their lovers and gotten together yet. Then I skimmed the next two books while standing in the library to find out same. Answer: NO! Who would be willing to wade through FOUR books while waiting for this critical change to happen? Not me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2017
I have had this one on my shelf for a while but after several attempts to get my hands on the first of the series had failed, I decided to make a read this one anyway.
I was glad that I started one of my character maps early on because the characters of the village were introduced thick and fast. Without my diagram with its connecting arrows I dont think that I would have got the players in the story and their complex relationships past and present, clear in my mind as quickly. I realised , a little too late, that in my chart, I had missed one of the useful features - Ages. Would this have help me? I dont think so as there was enough information given.
I did not manage to figure this one out even so .
With the second death the degree of urgency in what had been a very easy paced read, went up a notch .
I think that the Police were a bit slow not to follow up more strongly on all of the reasons when a group of three became two, as lies had obviously been told. Finally, maybe I missed something but I wonder if the Cipher of the Garden was ever fully explained other than with a vague and unproved idea?
All that aside, an enjoyable read and I will certainly be reading this author again.
I was glad that I started one of my character maps early on because the characters of the village were introduced thick and fast. Without my diagram with its connecting arrows I dont think that I would have got the players in the story and their complex relationships past and present, clear in my mind as quickly. I realised , a little too late, that in my chart, I had missed one of the useful features - Ages. Would this have help me? I dont think so as there was enough information given.
I did not manage to figure this one out even so .
With the second death the degree of urgency in what had been a very easy paced read, went up a notch .
I think that the Police were a bit slow not to follow up more strongly on all of the reasons when a group of three became two, as lies had obviously been told. Finally, maybe I missed something but I wonder if the Cipher of the Garden was ever fully explained other than with a vague and unproved idea?
All that aside, an enjoyable read and I will certainly be reading this author again.
March 6, 2021
A fairly solid, fairly slow-paced, very English murder mystery slash police procedural (lite). It reminded me a little of Ann Cleeve’s first book (Crow Trap) — very slow burn, not a heightened sense of suspense, but a fairly well-honed ability to write setting & characters in a manner that allows suspension of disbelief and immersion into the story.
This was my first book by Edwards but it most likely will not be my last (let’s be real — I do get distracted often by other “shinies” but I had no dislikes strong enough to put this author on my “banned” list!).
This was my first book by Edwards but it most likely will not be my last (let’s be real — I do get distracted often by other “shinies” but I had no dislikes strong enough to put this author on my “banned” list!).
November 16, 2025
Slow going on this book. I just kept putting it aside. I understand that this series keeps getting better, so I will read the next book. I’m starting not to like some of the characters, and I’m hoping at least one is going to be bumped off or abscond to London. But then I know there will be a lot of angst spread out among several of the other characters. Sometimes I just want to read a murder mystery, not wallow in a soap opera.
July 6, 2019
Second book in the series, featuring DCI Hannah Scarlett and historian Daniel Kind, in another cold care review of a brutal murder of a philandering landscape gardener.
November 8, 2023
The love story was almost an exact repeat of the first book. Characters hadn’t evolved at all. The ending was disappointing. I did enjoy all the Lake District references though.
May 10, 2021
The Cipher Garden is book two in the Lake District Mysteries by Martin Edwards. DCI Hannah Scarlett received a tip about a cold case. However, before she found the answers, another death accrued. The readers of The Cipher Garden will continue to follow DCI Hannah Scarlett to find out what happens.
When I pick The Cipher Garden to read, I did think I would enjoy it. However, that was not the case. The Cipher Garden did not engage me with either the plot or the characters. I found the way Martin Edwards portrayed his characters were confusing to me. I did like the way Martin Edwards described the settings of The Cipher Garden that did complement the book's plot.
I did not enjoy reading this book. However, I will recommend the book. Another reader might enjoy reading this book.
I recommend this book.
When I pick The Cipher Garden to read, I did think I would enjoy it. However, that was not the case. The Cipher Garden did not engage me with either the plot or the characters. I found the way Martin Edwards portrayed his characters were confusing to me. I did like the way Martin Edwards described the settings of The Cipher Garden that did complement the book's plot.
I did not enjoy reading this book. However, I will recommend the book. Another reader might enjoy reading this book.
I recommend this book.
September 18, 2010
Actually, I'd give this a 4 1/2 stars, but no halves are available in Goodreads. This is the second in a series set in the English country side and starring a cold-case detective and historian who have feelings for each other but are also in relationships with others. The characters are very well realized, and the setting is brought to life. The story line here has to do with obsession and its effects on both those who are obsessed and those who are the objects of the obsession. A husband and wife who lost their only son, a man obsessed with sex (and our victim), a girl obsessed with an unavailable man...Edwards weaves all their stories together to bring us to a complicated but satisfying ending. There are two more in the series, and I'm looking forward to them immensely.
November 30, 2011
On the basis of a very flimsy tip. DCI Hannah Scarlett, as head of the cold case team, decides to reopen the case of Warren Howe, murdered with his own scythe several years previously. Daniel Kind, a historian and former Oxford don, is also interested in the case as well as discovering the secret of the strange garden at his cottage. The murder mystery is a bit thin. However, the book was very unsatisfying in repeatedly referring to the strangeness of the garden, but never giving the slightest description of what makes it a cipher.
April 28, 2014
Second in the series and better than the first-just. As I splurged on all the books in the series I will read them all but they are a disappointment and not nearly as good as I hoped they would be. I'm always on the look out for a new crime author who has been prolific but these are very slow going, predictable and eminently guessable. If you're on holiday and someone has left one by the pool then read it or pick it up in a charity shop or kindle freebie then fine-otherwise don't bother
March 20, 2015
3.5 stars
This is the 2nd book in the series and I really enjoyed it. What I like about the author is that I really don't have a clue until right at the end when the killer is revealed. I like the way he draws the characters and shows their flaws as it makes them seem very real.
I'm looking forward to trying the other books in the series.
This is the 2nd book in the series and I really enjoyed it. What I like about the author is that I really don't have a clue until right at the end when the killer is revealed. I like the way he draws the characters and shows their flaws as it makes them seem very real.
I'm looking forward to trying the other books in the series.
January 11, 2017
These aren't 'mystery' novels - they're textual soap-operas - and sexual soap-operas. Edwards can't get a couple of paragraphs away from a sexual reference.... The 'story' drags on, and on, and on with irrelevant agonizing and psychological drama, but no advancement to the actual plot. Don't understand the hype, popularity or regard for this 'Lake District' series. It's dreck in my view.
January 19, 2012
THe story took a long time to really get going and I guessed the murderer. Not as good as The Coffin Trail but I would still read the next one as I like the main characters and it will be interesting to see what happens to them next.
February 26, 2012
Interesting cold case mystery set in Lake Country of England. I'm a softie for a setting of small British villages and tangled webs that characters weave.
May 21, 2016
I laked this one (got the pun there?). Ready for arsenic intoxication now.
August 30, 2022
I am having a hard time keeping track of all the characters...
April 16, 2024
A library find. April 2024 Second read.
Well plotted!
Interesting characters!
Written well!
A few unnecessary cuss words!
Enjoyable read!
Well plotted!
Interesting characters!
Written well!
A few unnecessary cuss words!
Enjoyable read!
June 21, 2018
This is the second book I’ve read in Martin Edwards’ Lake District series and I enjoyed it as much as the first.
Daniel Kind is contentedly settling into life away from the rat-race with his partner Miranda in their remote cottage. (I’m not convinced Miranda is in it for the long term, though. I keep expecting her to announce she’s had enough and is returning to the excitement of London!)
The story revolves around a cold case - the murder of landscape gardener, Warren Howe, who was slashed to death with his own garden scythe in a client’s garden and, it appears, had more enemies than seeds in a packet of hardy annuals.
At the same time as DCI Hannah Scarlett, Daniel’s late father’s colleague, is investigating the case, Daniel is trying to make sense of his own garden’s strange design and his enquiries into the history of the cottage and a previous owner find him crossing Hannah’s path as she tries to unravel the myriad of lies and conspiracies surrounding Howe’s bizarre killing.
As in Edwards’ previous Lake District novel, Daniel finds himself drawn to seek out Hannah’s company and while he tells himself it’s only because she knew his father, even he is beginning to realise he could be straying on to dangerous emotional ground.
Meanwhile, Hannah and her team pick away at witness statements, interviewing Howe’s family and associates who are evasive, often uncooperative and who slowly reveal connections between themselves that weren’t apparent at the time of the original investigation. While you sift through the many possibilities as to who will eventually emerge as the perpetrator, I defy you to work out who it is ahead of the final twist of events.
Excellent story. Great ending.
Daniel Kind is contentedly settling into life away from the rat-race with his partner Miranda in their remote cottage. (I’m not convinced Miranda is in it for the long term, though. I keep expecting her to announce she’s had enough and is returning to the excitement of London!)
The story revolves around a cold case - the murder of landscape gardener, Warren Howe, who was slashed to death with his own garden scythe in a client’s garden and, it appears, had more enemies than seeds in a packet of hardy annuals.
At the same time as DCI Hannah Scarlett, Daniel’s late father’s colleague, is investigating the case, Daniel is trying to make sense of his own garden’s strange design and his enquiries into the history of the cottage and a previous owner find him crossing Hannah’s path as she tries to unravel the myriad of lies and conspiracies surrounding Howe’s bizarre killing.
As in Edwards’ previous Lake District novel, Daniel finds himself drawn to seek out Hannah’s company and while he tells himself it’s only because she knew his father, even he is beginning to realise he could be straying on to dangerous emotional ground.
Meanwhile, Hannah and her team pick away at witness statements, interviewing Howe’s family and associates who are evasive, often uncooperative and who slowly reveal connections between themselves that weren’t apparent at the time of the original investigation. While you sift through the many possibilities as to who will eventually emerge as the perpetrator, I defy you to work out who it is ahead of the final twist of events.
Excellent story. Great ending.
March 27, 2020
"Warren Howe is surprised by a hooded visitor while working in a garden in Old Sawrey, a lovely village in England's Lake District. Soon it is Warren who is dead -- murdered with his own scythe. The police identify several suspects, but lack evidence to make an arrest.
"Years later, an anonymous tip sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. Warren's wife Tina is accused of killing her husband, although she had an alibi. Hannah's sergeant, Nick Lowther, involved in the original investigation, seems disturbed by her determination to look again at the old crime. And Daniel Kind, the historian, wants to uncover the secret of the strange garden at his own cottage. Enlisting the help of Warren's former business partner, garden designer Peter Flint, he is drawn into the mystery of the murder.
"Daniel and Hannah find old sins cast long shadows as they search for the truth. Then there is another horrifying death. Now Daniel and Hannah must piece together the clues that lead to a shocking revelation. But by the time the puzzle is solved, Hannah's life has changed forever."
~~front flap
This is an interesting series -- enough threads from one book to the next combined with a totally new mystery. It could have a wee bit more of the landscape of the Lakes -- which are so beautiful and serene. But it's nice for all that. I did have a flash about the identity of the killer, but not based on clues but just a hunch. It's nice when that happens. And then there's always the possible love angle -- will they each be shed of their unsuitable partners and find each other? Or not?
"Years later, an anonymous tip sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. Warren's wife Tina is accused of killing her husband, although she had an alibi. Hannah's sergeant, Nick Lowther, involved in the original investigation, seems disturbed by her determination to look again at the old crime. And Daniel Kind, the historian, wants to uncover the secret of the strange garden at his own cottage. Enlisting the help of Warren's former business partner, garden designer Peter Flint, he is drawn into the mystery of the murder.
"Daniel and Hannah find old sins cast long shadows as they search for the truth. Then there is another horrifying death. Now Daniel and Hannah must piece together the clues that lead to a shocking revelation. But by the time the puzzle is solved, Hannah's life has changed forever."
~~front flap
This is an interesting series -- enough threads from one book to the next combined with a totally new mystery. It could have a wee bit more of the landscape of the Lakes -- which are so beautiful and serene. But it's nice for all that. I did have a flash about the identity of the killer, but not based on clues but just a hunch. It's nice when that happens. And then there's always the possible love angle -- will they each be shed of their unsuitable partners and find each other? Or not?
December 6, 2025
Daniel Kind, a renown author, is trying to make sense of the strange layout of the garden in his new cottage in the lake district, his partner is not so happy about being dragged to live in the back of beyond whilst she is into publishing in London and she needs to be there. So I think you can see where this relationship is going in the future. DCI Hannah Scarlett heads up a cold case department and she worked alongside Daniel's father, a dad he never really knew as his parents divorced when he and his sister Louise were young.
Hannah has been sent some evidence, letters claiming some people killed bad man Warren Howe, who had been sliced apart by one of his own scythes when he was out working on the fell. Hannah finds that there were a lot of people who couldn't stand the man and were happy he was no longer around. This story is quite a complicated one involving the dead man's remarried wife and his son and daughter, and several other women who seemed to have swapped partners with ease and one who had married a man many years younger than her which had an usual and surprising twist at the very end of the book!
I enjoyed this book and if you read anything by Martin Edwards you know you are in it for the long haul! His books are full of plots within plots which themselves are within even more plots! You may need a pen and paper to keep up!! But his writing is sound, his knowledge of people and events and history is sound, just sit back, drink of your choice in hand and let yourself be immersed in his latest book...
Hannah has been sent some evidence, letters claiming some people killed bad man Warren Howe, who had been sliced apart by one of his own scythes when he was out working on the fell. Hannah finds that there were a lot of people who couldn't stand the man and were happy he was no longer around. This story is quite a complicated one involving the dead man's remarried wife and his son and daughter, and several other women who seemed to have swapped partners with ease and one who had married a man many years younger than her which had an usual and surprising twist at the very end of the book!
I enjoyed this book and if you read anything by Martin Edwards you know you are in it for the long haul! His books are full of plots within plots which themselves are within even more plots! You may need a pen and paper to keep up!! But his writing is sound, his knowledge of people and events and history is sound, just sit back, drink of your choice in hand and let yourself be immersed in his latest book...
January 29, 2024
The second Lake District mystery from Martin Edwards featuring DCI Hannah Scarlett, a police officer in charge of cold cases. This time the police get an anonymous tip that Tina Howe killed her husband Warren many years ago, a case that was never solved. The only problem is that Tina has an alibi provided by her children, she was many miles away taking pictures. But Hannah and her team start asking questions, and pretty soon the whole town is riled up once again in the mystery.
We have scheming business partners, hidden crushes, lying suspects, paternity secrets, and infidelity a plenty. Warren was definitely not a good man, though a fine gardener, and the destroyed lives he left in his wake give the police plenty of suspects. And Hannah's sergeant Nick Lowther is a bit too close to the case, forcing Hannah to act alone. Of course she turns to Daniel Kind, the historian who moved to the district with his girlfriend and who happens to be the son of Hannah's mentor. As Hannah and Daniel drift ever closer and are busy fighting their feelings for each other, will they be able to find the killer before he strikes again?
This was a decent story, but way too many relationships, both in the past and present (and maybe future?) that bog down the action. The cipher garden is an interesting oddity but doesn't really play a big part in the story.
We have scheming business partners, hidden crushes, lying suspects, paternity secrets, and infidelity a plenty. Warren was definitely not a good man, though a fine gardener, and the destroyed lives he left in his wake give the police plenty of suspects. And Hannah's sergeant Nick Lowther is a bit too close to the case, forcing Hannah to act alone. Of course she turns to Daniel Kind, the historian who moved to the district with his girlfriend and who happens to be the son of Hannah's mentor. As Hannah and Daniel drift ever closer and are busy fighting their feelings for each other, will they be able to find the killer before he strikes again?
This was a decent story, but way too many relationships, both in the past and present (and maybe future?) that bog down the action. The cipher garden is an interesting oddity but doesn't really play a big part in the story.
August 12, 2021
The Cypher Garden
Written door Martin Edwards.
ISBN 978 0 7490 8135 5
This edition published in 2010 by Allison & Busby Limited
Originally published in 2005
Front cover design by Christina Griffiths
Cover photo by M Jeffcoat Photography/Fotolia.
Start: 31/7-2021
Finish: 12/8-2021.
The Main characters:
Daniel Kind, pensioned Victorian History teacher.
His wife, Miranda Kind.
Hannah Scarlet, SIO (Senior Investigating Officer).
Nick Lowther, detective sergeant of the Cumbrian Constabulary.
Lindsey Waller, Detective Constable.
Louise, Daniel’s sister.
Les Bryant, DSI (Detective Superintendent).
Warren Howe, murder victim.
Kirsty Howe, daughter of Warren Howe.
Sam Howe, son of Warren Howe.
Tina Howe, widow of Warren Howe.
Peter Flint, owner of a landscape company formally with Warren Howe.
Gail Flint, wine supplier and wife? Of Peter Flint.
Bel Jenner, owner of the Heights Restaurant and widow of Tom Danson.
Oliver Cox, Chef at the Heights and partner of Bel Jenner.
Veselka, one of the Croatian waitresses, Danica is the other.
Marc Amos, bookshop owner and Hannah’s partner.
Terri, Hannah’s best friend.
Leigh Moffat, cafeteria owner next to the bookshop.
Roz Gleave, cook and cookbook writer.
Chris Gleave, her husband.
Written door Martin Edwards.
ISBN 978 0 7490 8135 5
This edition published in 2010 by Allison & Busby Limited
Originally published in 2005
Front cover design by Christina Griffiths
Cover photo by M Jeffcoat Photography/Fotolia.
Start: 31/7-2021
Finish: 12/8-2021.
The Main characters:
Daniel Kind, pensioned Victorian History teacher.
His wife, Miranda Kind.
Hannah Scarlet, SIO (Senior Investigating Officer).
Nick Lowther, detective sergeant of the Cumbrian Constabulary.
Lindsey Waller, Detective Constable.
Louise, Daniel’s sister.
Les Bryant, DSI (Detective Superintendent).
Warren Howe, murder victim.
Kirsty Howe, daughter of Warren Howe.
Sam Howe, son of Warren Howe.
Tina Howe, widow of Warren Howe.
Peter Flint, owner of a landscape company formally with Warren Howe.
Gail Flint, wine supplier and wife? Of Peter Flint.
Bel Jenner, owner of the Heights Restaurant and widow of Tom Danson.
Oliver Cox, Chef at the Heights and partner of Bel Jenner.
Veselka, one of the Croatian waitresses, Danica is the other.
Marc Amos, bookshop owner and Hannah’s partner.
Terri, Hannah’s best friend.
Leigh Moffat, cafeteria owner next to the bookshop.
Roz Gleave, cook and cookbook writer.
Chris Gleave, her husband.
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