Martin Edwards' rock solid Lake District mystery series has one of those will-he-won't-she relationships that are practically irresistible when the characters involved are as winning as historian Daniel Kind and Detective Inspector Hannah Scarlett. The two of them have been dealing with inappropriate partners, misread cues, and conflicting workloads for six books now. I'm happy-- but hesitant-- to report that there may be a light at the end of their tunnel.

It's not going to be easy. Daniel is very nervous about not wanting too much too soon from Hannah, and Hannah is still trying to drill it into her former partner's head that the party is over while simultaneously dealing with crippling staff reductions on the police force.

Both Daniel and Hannah are complex, interesting characters, but I have to admit that I think The Frozen Shroud's story let them down a bit. For one thing, too many personal problems were settled with happy coincidences, and for another, it was too easy for me to deduce whodunit.

Be that as it may, I still enjoyed reading the book as the next chapter in the lives of two characters I've grown to care for very much, as well as for its creepy atmospheric setting. I'm looking forward to book number seven. ( )

From Amazon:

Death has come twice to Ravenbank, a remote community in England's Lake District, each time on Halloween. Just before the First World War, a young woman's corpse was found, with a makeshift shroud frozen to her battered face. Her ghost - the Faceless Woman - is said to walk through Ravenbank on Halloween. Five years ago, another woman, Katya Moss, was murdered, and again her face was covered to hide her injuries. Daniel Kind, a specialist in the history of murder, becomes fascinated by the old cases, and wonders whether the obvious suspects really did commit the crimes. He spends Halloween at a party in Ravenbank - only to find death returning to this beautiful but isolated spot. Once more, the victim is a woman, once more her damaged face is shrouded from view.

My Thoughts:

I just couldn't get serious about the main protagonists since they are all a bit dim-witted when it comes to their own emotions. The story line was too simple, and the ending overly obvious. The book is the type of book that I would usually find very appealing...several murders, the promise of a ghost story...but The plot is too far-fetched for even me, and my suspension of dis-belief was sadly sagging. Didn't really hate it but can't bring myself to say I liked it either...so 2.5 stars. ( )

Interesting mix of real and imagined Lake District locations and clever plotting. However I struggled to keep up with all the characters from the three different periods in time covered by the plot. ( )

The blurb from Fantastic Fiction is very similar to the one on the dustjacket of the book. Both show evidence that the author changed his mind about the name of one of the characters - in the book Katya Moss is actually called Sheenagh.

There are three murder victims - Gertrude the original Faceless Woman, Sheenagh the next one, and then five years later, another. All are murdered on Halloween and the author exploits other similarities in the cases. For DCI Hannah Scarlett the coincidences are just too great, and she wonders whether the same person is responsible for at least the two most recent murders. Daniel Kind though is interested in the historic cold case of the death of Gertrude.

Martin Edwards is an accomplished storyteller and keeps the readers on their toes with coincidences and red herrings. It is a book that makes you think as you weigh up the evidence for yourself.

Running through the background is the on-again off-again relationship between the detective Hannah and the historian Daniel. And almost a character is a sensitive portrayal of the Lake District. Many thanks too to Martin for his acknowledgment at the end of the book of the small amount of information I was able to contribute about Sheenagh's possible Australian background. ( )

The Frozen Shroud is a book I could not put down. Set in the Lake District of England in a small town called Ravenbank and people whose families have lived there for many generations. The three people who were could not have been done by the same person because the first one happened 50 years ago and the other two were within the last five years. The main cast of characters are all from different walks of life and different ways that they live . The story-line is well-written and I can't wait to read more by Mr. Edwards.
Thanks to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book and I recommend it highly. ( )