This the second book in the second Lakeland Mystery series, was not nearly as good as the first book in the series. I was terribly disappointed with it. I did finish the book hoping it would get better, but unfortunately it didn't. It was a hot mess actually. The author threw everything but the kitchen sink into the convoluted solving of this mystery. And the end, rather than being a shocking twist, was "cringeworthy" at best. I guess I won't be reading any other books in this series. ( )

The Cipher Garden by Martin Edwards is the second in a series of books set in the Lake District of England. DCI Hannah Scarlett is thinking of having her team re-open the investigation into the murder of landscaper Warren Howe as both an anonymous note and a record of rather sloppy policing during the first investigation has her wondering if they will be successful the second time around. Meanwhile, historian Daniel Kind is interested in the history of his garden and ends up on the fringe of this case.

Daniel and Hannah are fighting a mutual attraction to each other, but by this second book, this very dragged out plot is wearing thin. They both have other partners and instead of a feeling off attraction, I felt this is more of a plot device to bring these two together and give Daniel a reason for being involved in the case. The various storylines here all seem to be about obsession and it’s effects on the past, present and future.

I found this a rather mediocre mystery and I am also not too taken with the main characters. I do like the both the setting of these books and the authors style of writing. I have one more of these books on my shelves, but unless it shows a dramatic improvement over this book, I will probably stop reading the series at that point. ( )

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

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Daniel Kind, the history detective and police detective Hannah Scarlett circle a cold case like fighters in a ring who are hesitant to engage. They poke and prod at the problem taking way too long to get the ball rolling. The characters are like able and the location worth reading about but it overshadows the story. ( )

I award this second book in Martin Edwards series of Lake District mysteries four stars on account of its fast paced, page-turning qualities. It has all the plausibility of an episode of Midsumer Murders, together with the sort of high-level randiness one associates with 1980s best sellers. It sets out to be no more than good entertainment and succeeds. (I wish that didn't sound like such a back-handed compliment!) ( )