Books Reviews

The Serpent Pool – Book Review

By Angela Youngman Feb 23, 2011, 16:12 GMT

They halted close to the water\'s edge. This was their destination. This was the Serpent Pool. And here, six years ago, Bethany Friend\'s body had been found. The Lake District\'s cold case specialist, DCI Hannah Scarlett, is determined to uncover the truth behind an apparent suicide in the Serpent Pool some years ago. Why would Bethany, so afraid of water, drown herself? Hannah fears that her partner, bookseller Marc Amos, ...more

Sidelined into investigating cold cases, DCI Hannah Scarlett is seeking to discover the truth behind an apparent suicide in the Serpent Pool.  It seems an unlikely way in which Bethany would have committed suicide since she was frightened of water. 

As Hannah investigates, she begins to ask some awkward questions about her partner, bookseller Marc Amos.  Is he really all he seems?  What is the link between Bethany, Amos and his best customer who recently burned to death in an Ullswater boathouse? A well crafted story, it moves at a steady pace towards the final denouement.

You are kept guessing as to the murderer's identity and what it will mean for Hannah.  The descriptive sections bring to life the Lake District countryside among which this story is set. 

Personally, I felt that this story was not quite as engrossing as Edwards previous ones such as The Cipher Garden, but that is a matter of personal taste rather than a reflection of the quality of the story.