-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Lake District Mystery
by Martin Edwards
DCI Hannah Scarlett is determined to uncover the truth behind Emily Friend’s mysterious drowning in the Serpent Pool. But Hannah’s distracted by a new sergeant with a troublesome reputation, a new house, and new cause to doubt her partner--second hand bookseller Marc Amos. One of Marc’s best customers has been burned to death in the converted boathouse filled with priceless books. Then Hannah meets Louise Kind, sister of the historian Daniel Kind, who has just returned from America to work on a book about Thomas De Quincey and the history of murder. How are all of these elements related?
Publishing simultaneously in hardcover and paperback.
"The musty, sedate world of old books provides the backdrop for a series of gruesome murders in Edwards's absorbing fourth Lake District mystery." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. [A]n excellent choice for discerning readers who want an unusual and challenging puzzle mystery that will keep them guessing until the final pages. Wow!" - Library Journal
"Apart from an over-the-top denouement, [Edwards] provides a credible pairing of cozy and cerebral storytelling." - Kirkus Reviews
"Certainly the most labyrinthine of the Lake District novels, but perhaps also the best." - Booklist
This information about Serpent Pool was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Martin Edwards is the author of at least a dozen novels. He has edited 16 crime fiction anthologies and written a book about homicide investigation. He is a well-known reviewer and commentator on the genre.
If you liked Serpent Pool, try these:
by Jessica J.. Lee
Published 2025
A prize-winning memoirist and nature writer turns to the lives of plants entangled in our human world to explore belonging, displacement, identity, and the truths of our shared future
by Nell Greenfieldboyce
Published 2024
An astonishing debut from the beloved NPR science correspondent: intimate essays about the intersection of science and everyday life.
by Adam Nicolson
Published 2023
Adam Nicolson explores the marine life inhabiting seashore rockpools with a scientist's curiosity and a poet's wonder in this beautifully illustrated book.
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
