Martin Edwards
Martin Edwards's latest crime novels are three Lake District mysteries: The Coffin Trail, The Cipher Garden and The Arsenic Labyrinth. The Coffin Trail was shortlisted for the Theakstons prize for best crime novel of 2006. He has also written a stand-alone novel of psychological suspense, Take My Breath Away.
Latest: Martin's story The Bookbinder's Apprentice has has won the 2008 CWA Short Story Award. Martin was presented with his award and a cheque for £1500 by Lesley Horton, Chair of the Crime Writers' Association, at the Awards Dinner held in London on 10th July. The judges described his story as ‘A subtle, insidious, and disturbingly creepy tale of how an Englishman in Venice finds himself offered the job of apprentice to a bookbinder with unusual methods.’ The Bookbinder's Apprentice was published in Best British Mysteries, edited by Maxim Jakubowski and published by Constable Robinson Publishing.
Martin now has a blog, see www.doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.com. He recently appeared on Legal tv talking about The Arsenic Labyrinth. This interview has now been uploaded to YouTube, see below to view it.
Previously he published seven novels about Liverpool lawyer and amateur detective Harry Devlin. The first, All the Lonely People, was nominated for the CWA John Creasey Memorial prize for best debut crime novel of 1991. He will be returning to the Harry Devlin series with Waterloo Sunset, due to be published in UK and US in 2008.
Martin was commissioned to complete the late Bill Knox's last novel, The Lazarus Widow, in 1999, and has also edited 15 crime fiction collections, including the CWA Golden Jubilee anthology Mysterious Pleasures. He has published over 40 short stories, many of which are collected in Where Do You Find Your Ideas? and other stories, which has an introduction by Reginald Hill. In 2005, he was shortlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger for Test Drive, one of three of his stories to appear in Best British Mysteries. He is a partner in a firm of solicitors and the author of eight non-fiction books and many articles.
"I was a fan of crime fiction long before I became - in 1991 - a published crime writer. My first series was set in contemporary Liverpool with a lawyer as detective but the tough urban setting is combined with complicated whodunnit plots of the sort that I used to enjoy when I read the likes of Christie and Sayers years ago. Creating an ingenious mystery puzzle is important to me, but I'm also focusing increasingly on characterisation and setting, both in the Lake District Mysteries and the forthcoming Harry Devlin. It seems to me that part of the appeal of a crime series is that it offers a very broad canvas on which to paint in the details, over the years, of both the characters of the stories and the society they inhabit."
Martin adds:
“I'm working on WATERLOO SUNSET, the latest Harry Devlin novel, but the first since 1999. It is due to be published in 2008, when Liverpool is European Capital of Culture (eat your hearts out, Milan and Barcelona...) Meanwhile, a German translation of THE COFFIN TRAIL is published by Luebbe in June.
I've recently completed a new edition of my legal book about equal opportunities in employment, and I'm also editing the latest CWA anthology, M.O.: crimes of method, which I hope will appear later this year.
My fascination with the history of the genre has resulted in an embryonic new section on my website, on 'collecting crime fiction'. And finally, I've just been appointed CWA archivist.”
Martin's website is developing into a popular resource for crime fiction fans, as it contains a large number of articles about the genre, together with information about collecting crime fiction and other topics. Check regularly for updates: www.martinedwardsbooks.com
Historian Daniel Kind is finding the winter months at Brackdale tough, especially so as his relationship with Miranda is also going through a dark time. Far from the bright lights of London and with the renovations behind schedule and over-budget, Miranda has a bad case of itchy feet. The fear that she may just get up and leave isn’t far from his thoughts.
She wouldn’t be the first: years ago a solitary woman called Emma Beswick left her cottage nearby and never came back. Her disappearance went unaccounted for, and the unresolved case always irked DCI Hannah Scarlett.
Someone knows something though; someone who keeps calling the local newspaper and dropping hints about Emma’s death. With the case reopened, Hannah and Daniel are drawn together again, and discover that one person will preserve the secrets of the past, whatever the cost.
Martin was interviewed on Legal tv by Raychel Harvey-Jones. That interview has now been uploaded to YouTube, but you don't have to go to that site to see it; here it is:
The Arsenic Labyrinth (Allison & Busby, first published: February 2007) ISBN 978-0-7490-8111-9
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In the peaceful village of Old Sawrey, set in the idyllic Lake District, a murderer strikes. Warren Howe, a husband and father of two, is brutally slaughtered with his own scythe by a mysterious hooded figure. The police manage to identify several suspects, but due to the lack of evidence they fail to make an arrest.
Years later an anonymous tip-off sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. With the help of a historian, and his information on the goings on in his unusual garden, Inspector Scarlett delves deeper and deeper in her quest for the truth, discovering old sins that are casting long shadows.
The Cipher Garden (Allison & Busby, first published: October 2005) ISBN 978-0-7490-8286-4
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Oxford historian Daniel Kind and his partner Miranda both want to escape to a new life. On impulse they buy a cottage in Brackdale, an idyllic valley in the Lake District. But though they hope to live the dream, the past soon catches up with them.
Tarn Cottage was once home to Barrie Gilpin, suspected of a savage murder. A young woman’s body was found on the Sacrifice Stone, an ancient pagan site up on the fell, but Barrie died before he could be arrested. Daniel has personal reasons for becoming fascinated by the case and for believing in Barrie`s innocence. When the police launch a cold case review, Brackdale’s skeletons begin to rattle and the lives of Daniel and DCI Hannah Scarlett become strangely entwined. Daniel and Hannah each find themselves risking their lives as they search for a ruthless murderer who is prepared to kill again to hide a shocking secret.
The Coffin Trail (Allison & Busby, first published: July 2004) ISBN 978-0-7490-8291-8
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Lawyer turned writer Nic Gabriel is intrigued when his friend Dylan Rees starts to tell him a cryptic story about the connections between several strange and sudden deaths. So he can’t resist the opportunity to meet up with his friend and hear some more. But at Dylan’s glitzy party, Nic can only watch in horror as his friend is murdered by the ex-girlfriend who had apparently committed suicide over him five years before. Stunned by the brutal attack, Nic vows to discover the meaning behind his friend’s enigmatic tale.
Meanwhile Roxanne Wake is thrilled to be starting her new job at Creed, the country’s leading human rights law firm. It is a dream opportunity for a young lawyer, but there is something worrying Roxanne and it isn’t just her lack of experience. Roxanne has got a secret, something she dare not tell her new employers – and she is determined to keep her past hidden at all costs.
Take My Breath Away (Allison & Busby, first published: May 2002) ISBN 978-0-7490-0518-4
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- Martin wrote the first series of crime novels to be set in Liverpool, which in 2008 will be the European Capital of Culture. The titles of books in the Harry Devlin series are:
- All The Lonely People
Suspicious Minds
I Remember You
Yesterday's Papers
Eve of Destruction
The Devil In Disguise
The First Cut is the Deepest
