The Cipher Garden (Lake District Mystery)
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Book Description
This is the second Lake District Mystery featuring DCI Hannah Scarlett and historian Daniel Kind and follows the events of 'The Coffin Trail', recently short-listed for the Theakston prize for best UK crime novel of 2006.
In the peaceful Lakeland village of Old Sawrey, murder strikes. Warren Howe, landscape gardener and Lothario, is murdered with his own scythe. When it comes to identifying suspects, the police find they are spoiled for choice. But it becomes impossible to fasten guilt on anyone.
Years later, Hannah Scarlett, head of Cumbria's cold case review team, receives an anonymous tip-off suggesting that Warren was killed by his wife. Yet Tina Howe had an alibi for the crime. As her investigation progresses, Hannah finds herself rattling Old Sawrey's skeletons, with deadly results.
Meanwhile, Daniel Kind is baffled by the mysterious lay-out of his overgrown cottage garden. He is convinced there is a meaning to the design of the old grouns, and turns for advice to Warren Howe's former partner, Peter Flint - who now lives with Tina Howe.
The case brings Hannah and Daniel closer together, but as they wrestle with their consciences as well as with the puzzles, a ruthless killer is preparing to strike again. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Author
Many readers of 'The Coffin Trail' were fascinated by the relationship between Hannah and Daniel, and 'The Cipher Garden' takes that relationship a step further. This is a more complex novel in structural terms. As well as seeing events from the perspectives of Daniel and Hannah, the reader is taken into the heart of the family of the late Warren Howe, by seeing the case from the point of view of his daughter Kirsty. This gives the story an extra layer as well as providing the opportunity for what I hope readers will find a stunning twist. 'The Cipher Garden' is a book I'm really proud of and the reaction from readers and reviewers has been enormously gratifying.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Daniel Kind shaded his eyes against the sun as it streaked the surface of the reed-fringed tarn with gold. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Daniel Kind shaded his eyes against the sun as it streaked the surface of the reed-fringed tarn with gold. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Cipher Garden, the second Martin Edwards novel in his Lake District Mystery series, is as compelling a Crime Fiction novel as is likely to be found. A lot darker than its predecessor, The Coffin Trail, Edwards has managed to encapsulate the mysterious beauty of The Lakes and has imbued them with even more macabre majesty, through tight descriptive prose, credible scenarios and manifestly believable characterisations.
Warren Howe, a husband and father of two, is brutally slaughtered with his own scythe by a mysterious hooded figure. He had been on a garden-landscaping job, digging an excavation trench into which the killer would soon throw his bloodied, lifeless body. The police identify several suspects but, due to the lack of evidence, they fail to make an arrest.
Years later an anonymous tip-off sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett and, despite her superior’s discouragement, she follows her instincts and pursues the case. Hannah’s investigations lead her to suspect Howe’s widow, Tina, but she has an alibi that seems to put her out of the frame and only when historian Daniel Kind’s discoveries about the unusual garden attached to his new home emerge, does the crucial link Hannah’s investigation carry her forward. As Hannah and Daniel delve deeper in their quest for the truth, they discover that in this village old sins cast long shadows.
Here, the characters of Kind and Scarlett are much more rounded and natural. Their chemistry is tinged with a tension that invigorates their individual personalities so that the reader yearns for them to be drawn closer together. Alone, they are two people set in their own separate worlds. Together, they are a team made in heaven.
The plotline is fast, gripping and, at times, disturbing, which openly demands pages to be turned. There are also more of the delicate insights to the beauty and background of The Lake District itself; The Cipher Garden unearths more history of the region than an entire ream of Tourist Information pamphlets could ever manage, which never slows or detracts from the storyline in any way.
If a Crime Fiction fan is looking for something supremely well written, deeply intriguing and darkly sinister, then there is nobody who could possibly be disappointed with this latest offering from Martin Edwards.
Warren Howe, a husband and father of two, is brutally slaughtered with his own scythe by a mysterious hooded figure. He had been on a garden-landscaping job, digging an excavation trench into which the killer would soon throw his bloodied, lifeless body. The police identify several suspects but, due to the lack of evidence, they fail to make an arrest.
Years later an anonymous tip-off sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett and, despite her superior’s discouragement, she follows her instincts and pursues the case. Hannah’s investigations lead her to suspect Howe’s widow, Tina, but she has an alibi that seems to put her out of the frame and only when historian Daniel Kind’s discoveries about the unusual garden attached to his new home emerge, does the crucial link Hannah’s investigation carry her forward. As Hannah and Daniel delve deeper in their quest for the truth, they discover that in this village old sins cast long shadows.
Here, the characters of Kind and Scarlett are much more rounded and natural. Their chemistry is tinged with a tension that invigorates their individual personalities so that the reader yearns for them to be drawn closer together. Alone, they are two people set in their own separate worlds. Together, they are a team made in heaven.
The plotline is fast, gripping and, at times, disturbing, which openly demands pages to be turned. There are also more of the delicate insights to the beauty and background of The Lake District itself; The Cipher Garden unearths more history of the region than an entire ream of Tourist Information pamphlets could ever manage, which never slows or detracts from the storyline in any way.
If a Crime Fiction fan is looking for something supremely well written, deeply intriguing and darkly sinister, then there is nobody who could possibly be disappointed with this latest offering from Martin Edwards.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The second of Martin Edwards' "Lake District" novels is every bit as good as the first. So much so that I bought the third (most up to date novel at this moment) along with The Cipher Garden knowing that I would be reaching for it as I neared the end of this second tome. Martin Edwards gives us something of the old fashioned English Murder Mystery, blended in with some very weird and wonderful fashions of death, supported by his delightful descriptions and histories of the beautiful "Lakes", and surrounding areas.
Edwards doesn't really do high body counts, which says an awful lot about his craftsmanship as a storyteller. Most modern crime novels rely on body after body piling up, supplying us with a touch of blood lust, so it is a great delight to pick up one of these books knowing that you are going to be heartily entertained, rather than shocked.
My only CRITICISM regarding Martin Edwards is DISMAY that this very talented author is not streaking to the top of the BEST-SELLER lists. Spoil yourself and then sit back and read a terrific yarn.
Edwards doesn't really do high body counts, which says an awful lot about his craftsmanship as a storyteller. Most modern crime novels rely on body after body piling up, supplying us with a touch of blood lust, so it is a great delight to pick up one of these books knowing that you are going to be heartily entertained, rather than shocked.
My only CRITICISM regarding Martin Edwards is DISMAY that this very talented author is not streaking to the top of the BEST-SELLER lists. Spoil yourself and then sit back and read a terrific yarn.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Lecherous landscape gardener Warren Howe was murdered. Cut to pieces with a scythe and his body dumped in the trench he was digging in a client's backyard. There was no shortage of suspects among his many conquests and their unhappy husbands, but no one is charged with the crime. Now, the cold case team led by DCI Hannah Scarlett, receives an anonymous letter accusing Howe's wife Tina of the murder, and they reinvestigate. Cold case investigations stir up all kinds of memories and fears, and this one is no exception, especially when Nick Lowther, Hannah's Sergeant, who was on the original investigating team, seems to be involved with one of the prime suspects. Hannah's friendship with Daniel Kind, the son of her old boss and mentor, is also becoming more important to her, and Daniel becomes involved in the murder investigation as he researches the history of his garden at Tarn Cottage and the hidden message in its design. This is a fantastic follow up to The Coffin Trail, the first in this series of mysteries. Hannah and Daniel are increasingly drawn to each other, and their relationship is the emotional core of the book. The investigation is full of surprises and the Lake District - including a visit to Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm - is a lovely setting for murder and mayhem.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Cipher Garden
I read this straight after finishing Martin Edwards' first book and couldn't put it down. I like the sub-plot of Hannah and Daniel's relationship, which adds to the enjoyment. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Christina DK
EZW
This is a brilliant sequel to The Coffin Trail, the first in the Lake District series by Martin Edwards. Read more
Published 4 months ago by EZW
Another fine crafted thriller from one of the best in the business
I have read a number of Martin Edwards books. Every one bears the hallmark of a master craftsman at work. The Cipher Garden is no exception. In fact it is one of his best. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Zuma
Garden of Delight
Gardener and philanderer Warren Howe has enthusuastically sown all manner of seed around his small Lake District community, and its no surprise, therefore, that there is a... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Nora Bartley (Wirral)
Cold Case Mysteries
I found this book hard to put down. The characters are very life-like and believeable and Martin Edwards keeps characters busy and seems to run more than one story at a time... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ffion
Excellent British Mystery
THE CIPHER GARDEN is the second in Martin Edwards' new series set in the Lake District. The main characters are Daniel Kind, historian and DCI Hannah Scarlett head of the local... Read more
Published 24 months ago by K. Meek
Imaginative variant on the locked-room mystery
The second book in Martin Edwards's Lake District series is a variant on the classic "locked room" mystery, although events take place in the beauty of the north-west of England... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Maxine Clarke
Two fascinating mysteries skilfully unfolded
This is the second book featuring Daniel Kind, an Oxford Don and historian who at the behest of his new partner Miranda, gives up his London life and settles in Cumbria. Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2010 by Lizzie Hayes
Intelligent, exciting crime novel
When I heard about Martin Edwards' series of crime novels set in the Lake District I was pretty sure I would like them. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by hat
A very simplified mystery
A very simplified mystery more involved with the characters personailities and relationships than the actual mystery.
Published on 14 Nov 2009 by Mrs. Pamela A. Longley
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