The Girl They All Forgot: A Lake District Mystery

In the tantalizing opening of Edgar winner Edwards’s intriguing eighth mystery featuring Det. Chief Insp. Hannah Scarlett (after 2015’s The Dungeon House), cold case specialist Hannah asks an unidentified person why they killed Ramona Smith. Flash back 21 years. Smith, a barmaid, has vanished. Though her body hasn’t been found, the police, led by Det. Insp. Ben Kind, the father of Hannah’s lover and colleague, Daniel, are convinced she’s been murdered. Kind charges Gerry Lace, but Lace is acquitted at trial. Lace later dies by suicide by walking into the sea, leaving behind a note blaming his death on police harassment. Twenty years later, on the anniversary of that tragedy, Lace’s son, Darren, kills himself in the same way at the same spot on the coast. This new tragedy reattracts attention to the Smith case, a puzzle that Hannah must unravel, even if that means proving that Kind got it wrong. Edwards makes engagement easy through crisp prose and thoughtful characterizations. This skillful combination of procedural and whodunit will prompt newcomers to seek out earlier series entries. Agent: James Wills, Watson Little (U.K.). (June)