Hemlock Bay - the first review

 

Hemlock Bay is published tomorrow, the fifth in the Rachel Savernake series and probably my favourite to date. And I'm delighted to say that the first review in a major print publication has already appeared. Jeremy Black in The Critic has this to say:

'Set in 1931, Hemlock Bay (Head of Zeus, 2024, £22.00), the latest of Martin Edwards’ impressive Rachel Savernake series, begins in the mind of Basil Palmer, a buttoned-up chartered accountant, as he sets out to track down a victim he feels deserves murder. We move to Hemlock Bay, a new resort on the Lancastrian coast (not the most encouraging of ideas), where potential murderer, destined victim, and the Savernake household converge with a lively cast including a dodgy fortune teller, an ex-housemaid married to wealth, and, eventually a corpse. Some of the writing is arresting – ‘The Roses were bending under the weight of water. They looked as miserable as bullied children … even a surrealist is presumably observant … No murderer wants to rely on the English climate…’– but it is the plot that carries us along.' 

Meanwhile, Crime Fiction Lover says: 'it’s perfect for anyone who loves a puzzle mystery created in the Golden Age tradition' and the initial reaction on Goodreads is great. One particularly gratifying review from CPE shows a lot of understanding of what I'm trying to do; 'There is an element of humour...and if you have read the other books, you will know one doesn’t trifle with Rachel Savernake. These are the antithesis of cosy mysteries. These are highly crafted, carefully wrought, mysteries that have taken a long time to write. There is banter between the characters; there is humour; but there are no laughs. “Bleak” is the word that springs to mind, yet brilliantly written. If you want to read the best mystery writing of the 2020s, read Martin Edwards’s Rachel Savernake books – just don’t expect to feel cosy.'

One consistent thread of the reviews, even from those who don't quite 'get' Rachel, maybe because they haven't read Gallows Court (although each book is designed to be read independently, of course there is quite a lot of character backstory) concerns the quality of the writing. This is something I've always striven for. And I'm very happy when it seems to work out well. 

Fingers crossed that forthcoming reviews will be equally kind!