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DCI Hannah Scarlett figures more prominently in the seventh of the Lake District Mysteries by Martin Edwards than Daniel Kind, and that is a switch from the general emphasis in the series. Daniel Kind is a historian who escaped earlier in the series from his hectic London life to the bucolic Lake District. DCI Scarlett heads up a cold case investigative group in his new home, and was originally the young protégée of Kind's father, Ben. As the series has progressed, Hannah has moved from the background, supporting Daniel in his historical inquiries related to past murders to a more central role in both Daniel's love life and murder solving.
In THE DUNGEON HOUSE, Hannah is investigating a three year old missing person's case involving the daughter of a Cumbrian accountant when she stumbles upon a decades old murder at the manor. The previous owner of the Dungeon House killed his daughter and wife, and then himself. Ben Kind had been involved in the investigation of that murder, and he had never felt that it was as simple as it was made out to be. Hannah believes in Ben's intuition, raising questions about the current occupant of the house. Then another young woman, the daughter of the new gentleman of the house, goes missing. There are further ties to the past murder at the Dungeon House, and Hannah finds herself investigating both current and past possible abductions as well as looking into that murder from years ago.
Without giving away too much of the plot, there are old dungeons and new, physical dungeons and dungeons of the mind, and they are all interrelated in this complex and engaging novel. There are tales of love and obsession dating back to that original murder, and of greed and guilt permanently disfiguring the characters. There is plodding procedural police work, and there are thrilling and suspenseful moments. The countryside is brought to life in loving detail. In short, there is something in this book for everyone. My only complaint might be that, since Daniel Kind is my favorite character in the series, I'd like to see him and the history he knows so well play a more central role. Perhaps that is something to hope for in the eighth book in the series, when it arrives.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, June 2015
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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