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Lake District Mystery #5
The Hanging Wood
Twenty years after her brother Callum mysteriously vanished, Orla Payne is still haunted by his disappearance. The case was closed after her uncle’s suicide - the police believed he killed himself in the Hanging Wood out of guilt over murdering the boy, even though no body was ever found.
Daniel Kind recommends Orla contact DCI Hannah Scarlett, Head of the Lake District Cold Case Review Team, to see if she can discover the truth about what really happened all those years ago. Hannah doubts there is anything to be done on such a long-dead case, But when Orla is found dead, she reconsiders. Soon DCI Scarlett discovers that investigating the past can throw up some very dangerous truths indeed.
Daniel Kind recommends Orla contact DCI Hannah Scarlett, Head of the Lake District Cold Case Review Team, to see if she can discover the truth about what really happened all those years ago. Hannah doubts there is anything to be done on such a long-dead case, But when Orla is found dead, she reconsiders. Soon DCI Scarlett discovers that investigating the past can throw up some very dangerous truths indeed.
274 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
101 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Martin Edwards
357 books802 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 103 reviews
April 25, 2018
Despite this being the fifth book in a series I'd not read before, I found it still worked perfectly on its own without needing to know the back-stories of the central characters.
The apparent suicide of troubled, alcoholic Orla Payne is somehow linked to the disappearance of her brother Callum some 20 years earlier, followed by the suicide of her Uncle Phillip.
The novel is set in the beautiful, rugged countryside of the Northern Fells around Keswick, Ambleside and Derwent Water. The delightful desciptions of the landscape contrasted sharply with the ugliness of many of the more villainous characters: a lethal mix of fading aristocracy and nouveau-riche.
I liked the way both central characters, Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind both managed to arrive at the same solution to the central mystery coming at it from totally different directions. Still too late, alas, the prevent a truly shocking ending.
The apparent suicide of troubled, alcoholic Orla Payne is somehow linked to the disappearance of her brother Callum some 20 years earlier, followed by the suicide of her Uncle Phillip.
The novel is set in the beautiful, rugged countryside of the Northern Fells around Keswick, Ambleside and Derwent Water. The delightful desciptions of the landscape contrasted sharply with the ugliness of many of the more villainous characters: a lethal mix of fading aristocracy and nouveau-riche.
I liked the way both central characters, Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind both managed to arrive at the same solution to the central mystery coming at it from totally different directions. Still too late, alas, the prevent a truly shocking ending.
March 18, 2011
Sisters, brothers and Murder
A young boy went missing many years ago. His troubled sister never stops looking for her vanished brother even though others find her obsession distressing and even a sign of mental illness. She meets a young man who might have the key to unlock her past but is he helping or hurting her? She breaks into her estranged, bitter father’s farm, falls into his grain silo and dies. The interplay between upper and lesser classes plays out. Seemingly the only thing they have in common is wanting the investigation of boy’s murder to stop. Local cold case detective Hannah Scarlet is too tenacious to accommodate them. She senses there’s a connection between the sister and brother’s murders. This is the first book I’ve read from Edwards and though this is a series it still stood up alone. Watch for his Trollopean sense of fun with his people and place names.
This review was based on an egalley provided by the publisher.
3.5/5
A young boy went missing many years ago. His troubled sister never stops looking for her vanished brother even though others find her obsession distressing and even a sign of mental illness. She meets a young man who might have the key to unlock her past but is he helping or hurting her? She breaks into her estranged, bitter father’s farm, falls into his grain silo and dies. The interplay between upper and lesser classes plays out. Seemingly the only thing they have in common is wanting the investigation of boy’s murder to stop. Local cold case detective Hannah Scarlet is too tenacious to accommodate them. She senses there’s a connection between the sister and brother’s murders. This is the first book I’ve read from Edwards and though this is a series it still stood up alone. Watch for his Trollopean sense of fun with his people and place names.
This review was based on an egalley provided by the publisher.
3.5/5
December 13, 2016
Reasonably entertaining murder mystery. A few pinkish herrings along the way, a satisfying ending, and well written characters. The author is keen to promote the Lake District but it isn't comfortably part of the narrative and is quite embarrassingly clunky in places. If I was looking for a quick read, I might read others in this series but I don't feel compelled to hunt them down.
April 27, 2013
Another series I really love. A cold case team, led by Hannah Scarlett and an ex-Oxford Historian called Daniel Kind lead this series. Daniel is researching his new book and has taken himself to St. Herbert's Residential Library, on the grounds of the Mockbeggar Estate, where he meets Orla Payne who works in the library and hears her tragic tale of her brother, Callum, who at the age of 14 years, disappeared without a trace one Summer's afternoon, some 20 years earlier. Daniel urges Orla to contact Hannah Scarlett, as she feels her uncle was unjustly accused of her brother's death and hints that there is more to discover in the disappearance of her brother. On the day of a phone call pleading with the cold case team to treat her seriously, Orla falls to her death into a Silo tower on her father's farm, an apparent suicide. Hannah takes a closer look into the circumstances of Callum's disappearance and Orla's death and soon realises with some help from Daniel, there is indeed some secrets from the past that are suddenly coming to the surface. My only niggle is with Hannah and Daniel's relationship, or lack of same. They have been dancing around here now for far too long and I am getting impatient with their lack of progress. Apart from that, it's a great story with a good ending and the hope of yet another book in the future.
April 4, 2018
I'll have to find the earlier books in this series. This was a very unpleasant set of deaths set in a farming community in the Lake District.
A young teen disappeared twenty years before, his uncle committed suicide, and the conclusion was that the uncle had interfered with the boy and then killed him. That is the phrase they would have used at the time and it blurs what may have happened. The boy's younger sister eventually left the district but has now returned and tries to make the police believe that her brother is possibly still alive and that there has been no justice. She is unstable herself and commits suicide by diving into a silo full of grain. There is something very appealing about a pile of grain, more so even than a sand pile, but just as dangerous. So she committed suicide. Or did she? And what about the brother? And what about Aslan Sheik? They connect Aslan to the Narnia stories but don't mention that the word literally means "lion" in Turkish. An Armenian lady told me that when she saw her grandchildren and I watching the early film version. Anyway...
The idea of a residential library is so absolutely rivetting that I could scarcely get past it. I would like to visit the real place. In spite of being assured that there is a real one, I found the concept a little iffy. The whole story, however, worked pretty well and parts of it were ruly horrific.
Will look for others.
A young teen disappeared twenty years before, his uncle committed suicide, and the conclusion was that the uncle had interfered with the boy and then killed him. That is the phrase they would have used at the time and it blurs what may have happened. The boy's younger sister eventually left the district but has now returned and tries to make the police believe that her brother is possibly still alive and that there has been no justice. She is unstable herself and commits suicide by diving into a silo full of grain. There is something very appealing about a pile of grain, more so even than a sand pile, but just as dangerous. So she committed suicide. Or did she? And what about the brother? And what about Aslan Sheik? They connect Aslan to the Narnia stories but don't mention that the word literally means "lion" in Turkish. An Armenian lady told me that when she saw her grandchildren and I watching the early film version. Anyway...
The idea of a residential library is so absolutely rivetting that I could scarcely get past it. I would like to visit the real place. In spite of being assured that there is a real one, I found the concept a little iffy. The whole story, however, worked pretty well and parts of it were ruly horrific.
Will look for others.
January 22, 2015
Greg Wharf's evolution is one of the many reasons why I enjoy this Lake District series so much. Edwards' characterizations are layered and as you're drawn into the stories, you come to realize how much you care for these people. Daniel Kind and Hannah Scarlett are made for each other, but they're taking their sweet time in getting together, partly due in fact to Hannah's difficulty in ending her old relationship with bookseller Marc Amos. And Wharf? In so many other series, he would remain forever a "Jack the Lad," but in Edwards' hands-- although he still remains a wolf-- he's a wolf with surprising depth to his character. Methinks he's going to play a larger part in books to come, and I'm looking forward to the developments.
The Hanging Wood is a bit of a locked room mystery even though nothing of import actually takes place behind a closed door. It's the entire location that's locked down to outsiders. St. Herbert's Library, Mockbeggar Hall, the Hanging Wood, Lane End Farm, and the upscale caravan park all seem to form a little world, and when one of the characters states that not even poachers would go into the Hanging Wood, it was my clue that outsiders were not involved. The problem was in ferreting out which insider was responsible.
When Hannah and Greg begin investigating, they find an almost incestuous knot of people living there. Niamh Hinds divorces the farmer to marry someone working at the caravan park. Her son Callum stays with his father while Orla goes with her mother. The farmer's brother lives in the Hanging Wood. The daughter of the man who owned Mockbeggar Hall marries the owner of the caravan park. And so it goes. I actually deduced the identity of the killer before the reveal, but there was no way I could've understood the why of it all. This leads to one of my favorite scenes in the book in which Hannah is interrogating one person of interest in one place while Daniel is doing the very same thing at another location. On the surface, the scene is a comparison of interviewing styles, but it reveals so much more about the characters of Hannah and Daniel. Daniel's father was a police officer and Hannah's superior at one time. It's obvious that Daniel is familiar with police procedure. The scene also shows how very good these two are at what they do and that they belong together. A little romantic tension when those two aren't even in the same building. Good, isn't it?
That's just one scene. The Hanging Wood is an excellent entry in a superior series. Yes, you can walk right into the action in this book and not really miss anything, but I'd suggest that you start at the beginning so you can savor every little bit of the atmosphere of England's beautiful Lake District and the wonderful stories and characters that Martin Edwards has created.
The Hanging Wood is a bit of a locked room mystery even though nothing of import actually takes place behind a closed door. It's the entire location that's locked down to outsiders. St. Herbert's Library, Mockbeggar Hall, the Hanging Wood, Lane End Farm, and the upscale caravan park all seem to form a little world, and when one of the characters states that not even poachers would go into the Hanging Wood, it was my clue that outsiders were not involved. The problem was in ferreting out which insider was responsible.
When Hannah and Greg begin investigating, they find an almost incestuous knot of people living there. Niamh Hinds divorces the farmer to marry someone working at the caravan park. Her son Callum stays with his father while Orla goes with her mother. The farmer's brother lives in the Hanging Wood. The daughter of the man who owned Mockbeggar Hall marries the owner of the caravan park. And so it goes. I actually deduced the identity of the killer before the reveal, but there was no way I could've understood the why of it all. This leads to one of my favorite scenes in the book in which Hannah is interrogating one person of interest in one place while Daniel is doing the very same thing at another location. On the surface, the scene is a comparison of interviewing styles, but it reveals so much more about the characters of Hannah and Daniel. Daniel's father was a police officer and Hannah's superior at one time. It's obvious that Daniel is familiar with police procedure. The scene also shows how very good these two are at what they do and that they belong together. A little romantic tension when those two aren't even in the same building. Good, isn't it?
That's just one scene. The Hanging Wood is an excellent entry in a superior series. Yes, you can walk right into the action in this book and not really miss anything, but I'd suggest that you start at the beginning so you can savor every little bit of the atmosphere of England's beautiful Lake District and the wonderful stories and characters that Martin Edwards has created.
January 27, 2024
2.5 rounded up
The fifth in this series set in the Lake District which sees historian Daniel Kind and cold case detective Hannah Scarlett come together to solve an historical crime with current day repercussions.
These books are very much of the classic crime novel genre and the authors knowledge and love of the "golden age of crime" are evident in the writing. I must say having read these books in fairly quick succession I am enjoying the character development, but am starting to struggle with what feels like a very formulaic and predictable structure. That said they are easy and enjoyable reading with sound plots and likable characters.
The fifth in this series set in the Lake District which sees historian Daniel Kind and cold case detective Hannah Scarlett come together to solve an historical crime with current day repercussions.
These books are very much of the classic crime novel genre and the authors knowledge and love of the "golden age of crime" are evident in the writing. I must say having read these books in fairly quick succession I am enjoying the character development, but am starting to struggle with what feels like a very formulaic and predictable structure. That said they are easy and enjoyable reading with sound plots and likable characters.
Read
April 5, 2014This was a book whose premise seemed promising but that did not really impress me remarkably. A young woman whose older brother disappeared when they were growing up tries to interest the police in re-opening the investigation, but she's drunk and incoherent and wanders off to jump or fall or be pushed into her father's grain silo, which certainly gets the attention of the police. The book has its sensitive, atmospheric, and funny moments, but seemed uneven and forced, with mundane details and encounters that bored me rather than charming me. Perhaps this was due to the author losing his mother while writing the book, as other readers praise his overall oeuvre. We can't all write our best all of the time. In any case, this book seemed to veer about somewhat as far as mystery sub-genres go, never quite settling comfortably in one or succeeding in being more than one. I've read police procedurals that I quite enjoyed, but the police procedural side of this book tended to get on my nerves; the cold-case detective was all right as a character, but the other police, her ex-boyfriend, and above all her best friend, irritated me. In sum, I had the feeling that the author wasn't in top form here.
April 7, 2013
I enjoyed Martin Edwards' Harry Devlin series so when I saw this in the library I thought I'd give it a go. After a few pages I realised that I had read a previous book in this series but I could not recall what it was and I had to check Goodreads to see that I had read "The arsenic labyrinth" in 2009 and had given it three stars but had not written a review. "The hanging wood" has a decent plot and the person responsible for the crimes comes to a gruesome end. There were several twists and this should have been a book which I enjoyed but at the end I just did not feel that it was more than OK. I think my problem is that I did not like the main characters who are a police detective and a historian and somehow this got in the way of my enjoying an interesting story. Sadly I don't feel any desire to read the other books in this series now.
April 15, 2019
Although I'm very glad to have discovered this series, I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the others. There were so many characters between the resort owners, the resort employees, and the library staff, that I had trouble keeping them straight. If I could, I would give it 3 1/2 stars. I think it's better than 3, but not as good as the others that I rated 4.
I always learn something new with each of these novels. In this one, I learned about residential libraries, and 99 ice cream.
I fear Hannah is heading in the wrong direction with her personal life. Maybe she'll come to her senses in the next one!
I always learn something new with each of these novels. In this one, I learned about residential libraries, and 99 ice cream.
I fear Hannah is heading in the wrong direction with her personal life. Maybe she'll come to her senses in the next one!
May 22, 2020
Martin’s books always honour the crime classics with their devotion to tight plotting and atmospheric settings. For this latest in the Lake District series, though, there was too much of an emphasis on long chunks of dialogue which often repeated what had already been explained. When the ‘show, don’t tell’ element was embraced more and the action sped up, it returned more to the dynamic books from earlier in the series with his interesting cast of diverse characters finally given room to breathe properly.
April 29, 2014
This felt a bit hum-drum to me. The plot was ok, but some of the characters just seemed too one dimensional, not engaging, and made me not really care about them. Martin Edwards is a good writer, but I think that the Lake District setting is too small, too parochial, and this limits plot and character development. I got fed-up with chippy Hannah Scarlett and wet Daniel Kind. Time for me to move on, even if they won't.
© Koplowitz 2014
© Koplowitz 2014
June 6, 2011
To be short and sweet, I've enjoyed the series to date and I found this to be a strong entry. I'll definitely read the next book of Lake District mysteries. Good primary characters and action that grows out of the setting.
September 15, 2019
Took ages to get going. Second book of the series I've read and I still don't feel I've got that much sense of the main characters. Some of the little descriptive sentences seem out of place in that they seem to interrupt the flow rather than add anything relevant. Still, I read it to the end...
September 2, 2016
Over the top! I highly recommend the Lake District mystery series. This is book #5, and I completely enjoyed it and am looking forward to book #6 with anticipation.
May 17, 2025
I read the earlier books in this series before I started noting all my books on goodreads, but I remember them being 3.5-4 star reads. Unfortunately, this one just doesn't measure up. The plot is ok, although the solution is a bit too obvious and I felt that the story would have flowed better if a couple of the characters had been cut. The ending was also surprisingly gory for this author. But the thing that really put me off is the development - or lack of - to the main character's story.
In the first four books, I became increasingly annoyed with Hannah's toleration of philandering boyfriend Marc and her growing attraction for her friend Daniel, hoping with each addition to the series that there would be some progress. At the start of this novel, she is single, having separated from Marc, so I was in high hopes that she was finally going to start making some sensible life decisions. Unfortunately, the only development is There seems to be a tendency in recent crime novel series to give the main character a long-running 'problem' to deal with, whether it's a work crisis, missing relative or traumatic love life. I'm guessing the idea is to keep you reading the series to find out what happens next, but I just find it tedious. If your scene-setting and characterisation are good, you don't need to create these fake 'cliff-hangers' to keep your readers engaged, and they can actually be quite off-putting.
I was also not a fan of the way every female character was assessed on the basis of her looks, and the subtle condemnation of anyone who was overweight. It's not enough to put me off reading any of Edwards' other novels, but I wouldn't recommend anyone new to the series starting with this one.
In the first four books, I became increasingly annoyed with Hannah's toleration of philandering boyfriend Marc and her growing attraction for her friend Daniel, hoping with each addition to the series that there would be some progress. At the start of this novel, she is single, having separated from Marc, so I was in high hopes that she was finally going to start making some sensible life decisions. Unfortunately, the only development is There seems to be a tendency in recent crime novel series to give the main character a long-running 'problem' to deal with, whether it's a work crisis, missing relative or traumatic love life. I'm guessing the idea is to keep you reading the series to find out what happens next, but I just find it tedious. If your scene-setting and characterisation are good, you don't need to create these fake 'cliff-hangers' to keep your readers engaged, and they can actually be quite off-putting.
I was also not a fan of the way every female character was assessed on the basis of her looks, and the subtle condemnation of anyone who was overweight. It's not enough to put me off reading any of Edwards' other novels, but I wouldn't recommend anyone new to the series starting with this one.
July 30, 2017
The Hanging Wood by Martin Edwards is the 5th book of the Lake District mystery series set in contemporary England. DCI Hannah Scarlett is in charge of Cold Case Review Team in the Cumbria Constabulary. It was a bit of a demotion (or sidelining) due to office politics, but she enjoyed finally achieving justice for victims whose cases had gone unsolved far too long. Hannah has split up with bookstore owner Marc, enjoys her solitude most days, but almost succumbs to his pleas to resume their relationship. She's strongly attracted to retired academic Daniel Kind, son of Hannah's former mentor in the police force.
Orla Payne returns to the family farm after many years. She is considered a bit crazy for obsessing about her brother Callum, who disappeared long ago. She works at St. Herbert's Residential Library, an elegant old mansion, where Daniel Kind is writing a biography. Recent employee Aslan, who emigrated from India, has been Orla's latest obsession; she insists he is her brother returned home. Orla pesters the police with phone calls, but she's hardly intelligible due to drunkenness and/or mental confusion. When Orla's body is found in a grain silo on her father's farm, all assume it was suicide. Hannah feels bad that she could not help Orla when the younger woman called, clearly distraught, but Orla did not make sense, and abruptly ended the call.
When another death occurs, both Daniel and Hannah realize Orla Payne's past warrants investigation. Suspicious events tie the Payne and Madsen families: a supposed suicide twenty years ago of Orla's uncle, shortly after her brother Callum disappeared; a crippling injury in an automobile accident of the heir to Mockbeggar Hall; the intermarriage between Payne and Madsen families to secure wealth, Orla's violent father Mike...all events that turn out to be not quite what the families claim. It's challenging to keep track of characters, relationships and motives while Hannah and Daniel solve several mysteries.
Orla Payne returns to the family farm after many years. She is considered a bit crazy for obsessing about her brother Callum, who disappeared long ago. She works at St. Herbert's Residential Library, an elegant old mansion, where Daniel Kind is writing a biography. Recent employee Aslan, who emigrated from India, has been Orla's latest obsession; she insists he is her brother returned home. Orla pesters the police with phone calls, but she's hardly intelligible due to drunkenness and/or mental confusion. When Orla's body is found in a grain silo on her father's farm, all assume it was suicide. Hannah feels bad that she could not help Orla when the younger woman called, clearly distraught, but Orla did not make sense, and abruptly ended the call.
When another death occurs, both Daniel and Hannah realize Orla Payne's past warrants investigation. Suspicious events tie the Payne and Madsen families: a supposed suicide twenty years ago of Orla's uncle, shortly after her brother Callum disappeared; a crippling injury in an automobile accident of the heir to Mockbeggar Hall; the intermarriage between Payne and Madsen families to secure wealth, Orla's violent father Mike...all events that turn out to be not quite what the families claim. It's challenging to keep track of characters, relationships and motives while Hannah and Daniel solve several mysteries.
May 19, 2024
The fifth Lake District mystery from Martin Edwards featuring DCI Hannah Scarlett, a police officer in charge of cold cases, and Daniel Kind, the historian who moved to the district and who happens to be the son of Hannah's mentor.
Orla Payne is still haunted by her brother Callum's disappearance 20 years ago. Her uncle was a suspect, and after he committed suicide the case was deemed closed. But Orla isn't convinced her brother is dead, and when she returns to the area and starts to work in the residential library where Daniel is doing research, he steers her towards Hannah and her cold case team. When Orla's body is discovered shortly after, a probable suicide, Hannah decides to take another look at Callum's disappearance, to the annoyance of everyone involved.
An angry farmer with a violent temper. An ex-wife now married to the manager of a caravan park, which threatens the community's way of life. The daughter of the "old money" manor married to the "new money" caravan park owner. His brother with secrets of his own. And a mysterious stranger with a hidden past, all coming together as the reopening of the cold case raises some long-buried secrets.
Another middle-of-the-road mystery in an interesting locale, however unlike the previous three books the "Hanging Wood" of the title actually plays a role in the story, setting the scene for a big reveal. And the will-they-or-won't-they romance between Daniel and Hannah continues to threaten to overshadow the story, although it now seems like a new threat may be interrupting their eventual relationship.
Orla Payne is still haunted by her brother Callum's disappearance 20 years ago. Her uncle was a suspect, and after he committed suicide the case was deemed closed. But Orla isn't convinced her brother is dead, and when she returns to the area and starts to work in the residential library where Daniel is doing research, he steers her towards Hannah and her cold case team. When Orla's body is discovered shortly after, a probable suicide, Hannah decides to take another look at Callum's disappearance, to the annoyance of everyone involved.
An angry farmer with a violent temper. An ex-wife now married to the manager of a caravan park, which threatens the community's way of life. The daughter of the "old money" manor married to the "new money" caravan park owner. His brother with secrets of his own. And a mysterious stranger with a hidden past, all coming together as the reopening of the cold case raises some long-buried secrets.
Another middle-of-the-road mystery in an interesting locale, however unlike the previous three books the "Hanging Wood" of the title actually plays a role in the story, setting the scene for a big reveal. And the will-they-or-won't-they romance between Daniel and Hannah continues to threaten to overshadow the story, although it now seems like a new threat may be interrupting their eventual relationship.
July 3, 2019
I’m slowly working my way through Martin Edwards’s Lake District mysteries, featuring fictional historian Daniel Kind and DCI Hannah Scarlett. The Hanging Wood is the 5th book in the series.
The story revolves around the unsolved case of missing teenager Callum Hinds, twenty years before. It begins with the apparent suicide of the Callum’s sister, Orla Payne, in bizarre circumstances, resulting in Hannah Scarlett and her cold case team being given the opportunity to delve afresh into the mystery from two decades earlier.
An interesting cast of characters, mainly family members of the two victims, give the reader plenty of scope for speculation as to who knows what, who has something to hide and who is in league with whom. As is often the case with families in crime fiction, the relationships are complicated and invariably suspicious!
Daniel and his sister, Louise, move in connecting circles to the suspects and Daniel has his own take on the mystery, having briefly known Orla and spoken to her shortly before she killed herself. In the parallel police world, Hannah’s investigation uncovers its own intriguing truths and when the two layers come together, the result is a clever conclusion and shocking climax.
It’s been another enjoyable story and I’m already looking forward to reading the next!
The story revolves around the unsolved case of missing teenager Callum Hinds, twenty years before. It begins with the apparent suicide of the Callum’s sister, Orla Payne, in bizarre circumstances, resulting in Hannah Scarlett and her cold case team being given the opportunity to delve afresh into the mystery from two decades earlier.
An interesting cast of characters, mainly family members of the two victims, give the reader plenty of scope for speculation as to who knows what, who has something to hide and who is in league with whom. As is often the case with families in crime fiction, the relationships are complicated and invariably suspicious!
Daniel and his sister, Louise, move in connecting circles to the suspects and Daniel has his own take on the mystery, having briefly known Orla and spoken to her shortly before she killed herself. In the parallel police world, Hannah’s investigation uncovers its own intriguing truths and when the two layers come together, the result is a clever conclusion and shocking climax.
It’s been another enjoyable story and I’m already looking forward to reading the next!
November 24, 2025
When Orla Payne was a young girl her brother Callum disappeared from the caravan site they lived on and was never heard of again. Now Orla herself disappears but this time they find her body, inside a grain silo on part of the caravan site on land owned by a titled family who were now reduced in means. Hannah Scarlett has been assigned the case and is finding it difficult to get through to the people working for the family owned estate just to get them to answer questions is difficult and tiresome. However help comes in the form of a young man Daniel Kind who is researching a book and has use of the house's library where Orla worked as a volunteer, and he is able to provide Hannah with some answers. They get along well and somehow you want them to end up in a relationship with each other, Hannah's annoying husband has gone and she is getting divorced, and Daniel's wife has died. The plot is a long one and gets a little difficult to follow at one point but the ending was nearly satisfying! Think I want to read some more books with Hannah and Daniel in them!
November 26, 2025
Another great read from this author and keeps you gripped to the story lines within this book.
When Orla Payne was seven years old,her Brother Callum mysteriously vanished.
Twenty years later Orla is still racked with guilt over her brother’s disappearance and her Uncle’s suicide at the same time as her Brother disappeared.
Wanting to call DCI Hannah Scarlett and to reopen this case as a cold case,Hannah is not there to take the call which upsets her,the next day Orla is found dead at her Dad’s farm and everyone thinking suicide as Orla was a drunk,mentally disturbed and not in her right mind since her Brother disappeared.
At first DCI Hannah Scarlett has nothing to go on in opening the cold case but as normal something happens to make her think twice about opening the case again.
With money people about trying to save the Manor House and the people behind the caravan park doing great business and with hopes of expanding on to the grounds of the Manor House, all set within a village with many secret’s.
When Orla Payne was seven years old,her Brother Callum mysteriously vanished.
Twenty years later Orla is still racked with guilt over her brother’s disappearance and her Uncle’s suicide at the same time as her Brother disappeared.
Wanting to call DCI Hannah Scarlett and to reopen this case as a cold case,Hannah is not there to take the call which upsets her,the next day Orla is found dead at her Dad’s farm and everyone thinking suicide as Orla was a drunk,mentally disturbed and not in her right mind since her Brother disappeared.
At first DCI Hannah Scarlett has nothing to go on in opening the cold case but as normal something happens to make her think twice about opening the case again.
With money people about trying to save the Manor House and the people behind the caravan park doing great business and with hopes of expanding on to the grounds of the Manor House, all set within a village with many secret’s.
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October 17, 2016The Hanging Wood (Lake District Mystery #5)
by Martin Edwards (Goodreads Author)
3.69 · Rating Details · 451 Ratings · 58 Reviews
Twenty years ago, a teenage boy, Callum Hinds, went missing in England’s Lake District. His uncle was suspected of having done the boy harm and interviewed by the police. When he committed suicide close to his cottage in the Hanging Wood, everyone assumed it was a sign of guilt. But the body of the boy was never found.
Now his sister, Orla Payne, who never believed in their uncle’s guilt, has returned to the Lakes, and takes up a job in an atmospheric residential library, close to her father’s farm, the upmarket caravan park where her step-father works, and the Hanging Wood. She wants to find the truth about Callum’s disappearance, and--at the prompting of Daniel Kind--and, in a drunken call, tries to interest DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of Cumbria’s Cold Case Review Team, in the case. Hannah is reluctant, leading Orla to demand whether she cares about justice. Hannah does care, and when Orla dies in strange and shocking circumstances, she determines to find the truth about what happened to Callum--and to Orla. Hannah’s investigation brings her back into contact with Daniel, while she tries to resolve her troubled relationship with bookseller Marc Amos. But their personal lives have to be put on hold when another death occurs, and Hannah finds herself racing against time to prevent a shocking murder as the past casts long shadows on the sunlit landscape of the Lakes. (less)
by Martin Edwards (Goodreads Author)
3.69 · Rating Details · 451 Ratings · 58 Reviews
Twenty years ago, a teenage boy, Callum Hinds, went missing in England’s Lake District. His uncle was suspected of having done the boy harm and interviewed by the police. When he committed suicide close to his cottage in the Hanging Wood, everyone assumed it was a sign of guilt. But the body of the boy was never found.
Now his sister, Orla Payne, who never believed in their uncle’s guilt, has returned to the Lakes, and takes up a job in an atmospheric residential library, close to her father’s farm, the upmarket caravan park where her step-father works, and the Hanging Wood. She wants to find the truth about Callum’s disappearance, and--at the prompting of Daniel Kind--and, in a drunken call, tries to interest DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of Cumbria’s Cold Case Review Team, in the case. Hannah is reluctant, leading Orla to demand whether she cares about justice. Hannah does care, and when Orla dies in strange and shocking circumstances, she determines to find the truth about what happened to Callum--and to Orla. Hannah’s investigation brings her back into contact with Daniel, while she tries to resolve her troubled relationship with bookseller Marc Amos. But their personal lives have to be put on hold when another death occurs, and Hannah finds herself racing against time to prevent a shocking murder as the past casts long shadows on the sunlit landscape of the Lakes. (less)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2019
I’m usually a fan of the Lake District mysteries however I found this one very difficult to get into. To begin with I found there were far too many names of interlinked members of the main families. It would have been easier if a simple family tree had been included at the start!
I’m also finding the relationship between Hannah and Daniel a bit frustrating as the will they won’t they plot is getting a bit boring.
I will read the next one and hope I engage with it more easily from the start.
I’m also finding the relationship between Hannah and Daniel a bit frustrating as the will they won’t they plot is getting a bit boring.
I will read the next one and hope I engage with it more easily from the start.
February 3, 2023
This one seemed a bit off - all the characters seemed off kilter in this one, both the book-specific characters and the recurring characters. If you are looking for cosy: this isn't it, between the long-past child disappearance and the very gory death at the end - but the last few chapters also picked up the pace and were very well done.
September 3, 2017
Three and a half stars...my first Lake District mystery book and much, much darker than expected. Numerous (and gruesome) murders past and present are involved but the recurring characters are well drawn enough that I will probably try another book from this series.
February 21, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. The characters are all well developed and the plot unfolds well to reveal clues along the way. The mystery itself is interesting but a bit gruesome at the end. Well written.
March 15, 2020
“We all do denial when it suits us, don’t we?” - Hannah Scarlett, Pg. 343
“Justice is always messy, ask any lawyer.” - Hannah Scarlett, Pg. 345
“History is written by the survivors.” - Hannah Scarlett, Pg. 345
Very slow build-up but a very enjoyable read.
“Justice is always messy, ask any lawyer.” - Hannah Scarlett, Pg. 345
“History is written by the survivors.” - Hannah Scarlett, Pg. 345
Very slow build-up but a very enjoyable read.
August 1, 2020
A mystery that's a fast read. Martin Edwards has created some well-developed characters and a plot that has enough suspects to keep things interesting. Although part of a series, this one can be read without having read the other books.
August 9, 2020
~I really enjoyed this book which was written in an engaging and pacey way. It picks up from previous strands and encourages you to read the next in the series. That said, it could be red as a stand-a-lone book without losing any impact.
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