The Frozen Shroud (Lake District Mysteries, 6) Paperback – April 2, 2013

Four Stars Minus This is the sixth book in a series of police procedurals set in the Lake District of England. As usual, the tone is atmospheric, and the weather is dreadful. Cold Case Detective Hannah Scarlett becomes involved when a murder echoes one from 5 years before. The twist here is that the victim is Hannah’s best friend. The first book in the series introduced Hannah and began to establish a continuing (hot and cold) relationship between Hannah and Oxford historian Daniel Kind who informally assists in her investigations. Daniel’s late father was Hannah’s boss and mentor on the force, which is fine, but she had quite the crush on him as well, which introduces a slight cringe factor to this potential romance. There are not many continuing characters and I find it hard to warm up them. In any event, the series is solid if not great. It had been quite awhile since I read the earlier books, but that was not a problem. The mystery is not very complex. The pacing is deliberate. Nothing is overly gruesome or vulgar. This is not one of top tier series of British mysteries such as those by Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, or Peter Livesey.

I knew from his Liverpool based Harry Devlin novels that Martin Edwards was a top-class mystery writer, and I bought this book to see how his latest series set in the Lake District measured up.The Lakes must be one of the most capriciously photogenic settings available to a writer: the weather changing the landscape from picture postcard to maliciously brooding in an instant. Edwards' descriptive prose perfectly captures this dichotomy to the effect that Lakeland becomes like an additional character in the drama.Hannah Scarlett, cold case detective, and Oxford historian Daniel Kind, circle the mystery of the Frozen Shroud murders, bringing their respective skills to bear in an attempt to solve not only the present-day murders but also the century old slaying which the murderer seeks to replicate. Hannah and Daniel also circle one another, apparently unable to acknowledge the mutual attraction. The reader is rooting for them on both counts.The narrative and plotting flow easily despite the twists and turns, and whilst there is a satifactory amount of blood around, in the classic tradition the author does not insist on drenching us in gore. Wry dialogue and an interestingly disparate clutch of suspects round things off nicely.Definitely recommended.

The Lake District mysteries are so good, so atmospheric, so enjoyable. Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind have become like old friends as I have moved through all six of the Lake District books in sequence. That is what I recommend. The plots are intricate but believable in their insight into human nature and show the quirks of both the light and dark side. I recommend these books freely and hope for number seven soon.

All of the Lake District Mysteries have been great reads. This one did not disappoint. Moved along at a nice pace, not easy to figure out (a pet peeve of mine when the murderer is obvious in the front or middle of the book!), and left me wanting the series to continue on. The characters were well fleshed out and the plot was quite plausible - not far-fetched. All in all, I was rather sad to have it end. Very enjoyable read. Highly recommend this author.

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, and they never disappoint. There is a nice mix of suspense, a puzzling mystery, and characters that are very well drawn, believable as real people; you grow to care what happens to them. Looking forward to the next one ...

Despite the potential in the setting and plot, this mystery was disappointing. A large part of the problem had to do with the characters who were for the most part one-dimensional and/or stereotypical.At times it was even difficult to differentiate between them since their voices seemed identical. None of them were appealing or interesting. As for the inspector, what was behind her failed relationship with one man and reluctance to form one with another? Another problem was the supposed police procedures which were were laughable. Surely an inspector would not divulge so much information to witnesses and possible suspects? I had an idea about the identity of the murderer fairly soon and was so sure with the third murder that I just skipped to the end to see if my idea was correct. It was.

The author keeps up a good story line and verbally paints pleasant pictures of the Lake District. He creates an enjoyable, relaxing bit of mind candy for those of us who like the escape of British murder mysteries. What other descriptors can I apply? Engaging, creative, suspenseful, colourful.

Cannot get serious about the main protagonists since they are a bit dim-witted when it comes to their own emotions. The story line was a bit simple, and the ending obvious. However, since I was recovering from a bad cold, it was easy to read and of course, since I love the Lake District and could spend eternity there, I enjoyed all the wonderful descriptions of the beautiful scenery. Not bad, but not great!

Ravenbank is a small community on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District. A faceless woman is reputed to haunt the place especially on Halloween. She was murdered a century ago but there was also a similar murder five years ago. Both crimes were apparently solved by the convenient deaths – one suicide and one accident – before the prime suspects can be charged. When history appears to repeat itself historian Daniel Kind, finds himself involved with both the past murders and the present one.DCI Hannah Scarlett meanwhile, is dealing with her break up from long term partner Marc Amos and fears her successful cold case team is under threat in budget cuts. When personal connections drag her into the investigation into the current murder she comes into contact again with Daniel and starts to wonder about the possibility of a relationship with him.I enjoyed this well written and atmospheric crime novel and I thought the author really brought the Lake District background to life. I like both Hannah and Daniel as characters and I think the way their relationship is being built up slowly is very well done and convincing.The plot is complex, blending past and present and showing that received versions of historical events are not always correct and sometimes the death of suspects isn’t the end of the story. If you like crime stories which blend past and present and which have a well realised geographical background then try this series. This is volume six in the series. They can be read in any order but it is interesting to see the relationship developing between Hannah and Daniel if you read them in the order in which they were published starting with ‘The Coffin Trail.’

I was wrong at each turn of this devilishly complex tale! The construction of this heartbreaking story of lost friendship, tragic love and merciless killing enveloped in a velvet covered iron fist - although there is hope at the end of the tunnel for our main characters- I hope!!

This is the first book in the series that I have read. I found it a bit slim in the plotting as there wasn't a current time murder until half way through (about 49%) so most of the first half was taken up with scene setting and most of the second half was taken up with Hannah's love life (just like the first half). The characterisation was, I guess, spot on as I didn't like most of them and couldn't identify with any of them as I have nothing in common with middle class luvvies. I feel this novel harks back to a different, more gentle age of crime writing. This is not a bad book and obviously Mr Edwards has plenty of fans I just prefer something a bit more visceral and gritty.

I do enjoy Martin Edwards series of novels set in the Lake District and this one for me didn't disappoint. It's a spooky tale, very imaginative although it was clear to me from early on who the murderer was. That aside I really enjoyed it. I think the characters which are involved in the series make the story enjoyable whatever the storyline is around them. They have developed well over the years and never become boring or static in their progress within the investigations. I love the way M Edwards sets the scene and takes you on a journey through one of the most picturesque landscapes in Britain. Another sucess and I LOOK FORWARD TO HIS NEXT.

This is one of a series of novels set in the Lake District with a few regular characters. You don't need to 've read the others to pick up on the relationships here, the main one being between a female detective who heads up the Cold Case team and a historian/TV presenter. When I say relationship I mean a working/friendly one although there is a constant sense of "will they get together or not".As ever with Martin Edwards' detective novels, the plots involve looking back into the past as well as exploring very current tensions in the community. You learn a lot about the characters but I love the way you learn this slowly. I hate it when I guess the murderer and with this book I didn't until about five seconds before I saw it on the page!I would certainly recommend this as a great read.