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Trouble is brewing for the Hoggetts and their friend Chief Inspector Macdonald in Lunesdale, deep in the Lancashire fell country. By the jagged cliffs and chilling depths of a secluded quarry pool, strange noises disturb the night, and after an architect surveying the area is nearly hoisted into the cold waters by an unseen assailant, suspicions of a cold current of crime running through the area become a matter for the police.

First published in 1949, this classic of Lake District crime fiction pairs Lorac’s evocative depictions of her beloved Lunesdale with a twisting and intelligent puzzle for Chief Inspector Macdonald.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1949

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About the author

E.C.R. Lorac

74 books177 followers
Edith Caroline Rivett (who wrote under the pseudonyms E.C.R. Lorac, Carol Carnac, Carol Rivett, and Mary le Bourne) was a British crime writer. She was born in Hendon, Middlesex (now London). She attended the South Hampstead High School, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London.

She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

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5 stars
25 (32%)
4 stars
33 (43%)
3 stars
14 (18%)
2 stars
4 (5%)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Fiona.
87 reviews5 followers
December 12, 2025
A really delightful and engaging book. I particularly enjoyed the various (and clearly inaccurate!) theories postulated by assorted characters as they each twirled the facts to fit their own bias.

Exceptionally well told.
Profile Image for Naomi.
414 reviews21 followers
December 31, 2025
Really a 2-star mystery, but I'm feeling generous so I'm giving it a third star for sheer atmosphere/setting, and a fourth for one of the cleverest titles I've ever seen (read to find out why.)
Profile Image for S Richardson.
294 reviews
January 7, 2026
Good.

As always. I find having to write a specified number of words very tedious, when I have said all that needs saying in the first three of them.
Profile Image for Lady D.
118 reviews8 followers
January 12, 2026
i didn't really get it. I'll read it again the the future but the still water name was clever
136 reviews
November 28, 2025
An atmospheric mystery set in the Lake District. Well worth reading. Lorax is up to her usual standard.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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