The Alphabet in Crime Fiction: Martin Edwards’ The Serpent Pool

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction community meme is making its 19^th stop on this scary safari through the alphabet. Thanks, as ever, to Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise for keeping us all together and safe, and for guiding the tour. My contribution for this stop at the letter “S” is Martin Edwards’ The Serpent Pool, published in 2010.

This novel begins with the murder of estate agent and book collector George Saffell just before New Year’s Eve. The police begin an investigation but at first it doesn’t get them very far. Meanwhile, DCI Hannah Scarlett has begun looking into another case: the six-year-old drowning death of Bethany Friend. At the time, it was believed that the victim might have committed suicide, and there is some evidence that she was unhappy. But Scarlett never really believed that theory, so she and her Cold Case Review team have re-opened this case as a possible murder.

While these investigations are going on, Scarlett’s personal life is also getting complicated. Oxford historian Daniel Kind has returned from a tour in the United States and is preparing for a presentation he’s going to give at an upcoming festival in honour of 19^th Century English writer Thomas De Quincey. Kind is writing a book about De Quincey and the festival’s organisers are delighted that he’s going to contribute his expertise. Scarlett’s attracted to Kind, and the feeling is mutual, but she’s got feelings for her partner, book dealer Marc Amos. They’ve bought a house together and Scarlett’s been hoping that their relationship would strengthen, so Kind’s return is awkward for everyone. Matters aren’t helped by Amos’ growing attraction to his new assistant Cassie Weston.

Then, shortly after New Year’s Day, Scarlett gets a call from Daniel Kind. His sister Louise has just told him that she stabbed attorney Stuart Wagg, with whom she’s been living. According to Louise, the two had a terrible argument and in a fit of rage, she grabbed some scissors and attacked Wagg. Stuart Wagg himself has disappeared, so there’s no victim, but Louise is convinced she’s a killer. Kind asks Scarlett to see if she can find Wagg and help Louise. Scarlett agrees, and before long, Wagg’s body is found. Oddly enough, though, he wasn’t badly wounded during the argument with Louise Kind, so she is not Wagg’s killer. On one hand, that’s a great relief to both Daniel and Louise Kind. On the other hand, it makes for another murder that the Cumbria Constabulary has to solve.

Scarlett’s good friend DCI Fern Larter is in charge of the Saffell and the Wagg cases and slowly she and Scarlett come to believe that those two cases are related to the Bethany Friend case that Scarlett and her team are investigating.  So the two detectives share their resources. As it turns out, the three deaths are related, and one of the threads tying them together is the work of Thomas De Quincey, so Daniel Kind’s assistance also proves to be very valuable. Once Scarlett and Fern discover what exactly links the cases, they’re able to get to the truth about the murders.

The Serpent Pool is a police procedural. So we follow along as Scarlett and Larter and their teams gather evidence, interview witnesses, compare notes and draw conclusions. We also get an “inside look” at life in the Cumbria Constabulary. For instance, Scarlett has a new assistant Greg Wharf, who’s not a local and who has to adjust to life in Cumbria just as the rest of the constabulary has to adjust to him. There’s plenty of discussion, too, about the politics and bureaucracy of murder investigations, and we get to see that

“The higher you climbed up the greasy pole, the further you were from what made you love the job in the first place.”

There are also some interesting and well-developed characters in the novel. There are, of course, Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind, for whom The Serpent Pool is their fourth outing. We learn more about both of them in this novel, and we can see how their characters are evolving. We also learn a little more of their backstories and that’s where the character of Louise Kind comes in. She’s got a loving relationship with her brother and through her eyes we get a new perspective on Daniel Kind. That’s especially true in the scenes where they discuss their childhoods. Louise is also an interesting character in her own right. She’s got her “blind spots,” as we all do, especially when it comes to personal relationships. But she’s by no means weak or ineffectual.

Fern Larter is an interesting character, too. She’s a hard-working DCI who’s not much of a one to stand on ceremony. She’s a loyal friend and a clear-thinking pragmatist who doesn’t take herself too seriously, although she does take her work seriously. She’s also got a fine sense of humour, and it’s especially in scenes involving Larter that we see those glimmers of humour throughout the novel. For instance, at one point, she and Scarlett are having breakfast together. Scarlett asks Larter what she’s learned about George Saffell’s background, and Larter refers to the wealth that George and his wife Wanda had:

“‘For good measure, there’s a villa in Spain, but so far I haven’t managed to wangle a trip out there to hunt for clues.’

‘You’re slipping.’ Fern’s ability to persuade the top brass that trips overseas were vital to her latest investigation was the stuff of legend. ‘How about New Zealand, for a word with the daughter? They say it’s a beautiful country.’

‘Lynsey came back to England for the funeral,’ Fern pouted…”

 

Once the two have determined that Lynsey Saffell had no motive, Scarlett asks:

‘The money motive, then. Any other sizeable legacies, apart from Wanda?’

‘The National Trust does very nicely, but I think it’s against their rules to murder people to raise funds.’”

Those bright threads of humour relieve the tension and serve as a welcome refreshing touch.

This novel takes place against a very effective Lake District setting. Edwards shares in several places the natural beauty of the area, and it’s made very clear that many of the people who live there love the place. Here, for instance, is what Daniel Kind says when Scarlett asks him if he wouldn’t rather have stayed in America:

“I love the States, but I’d never move there permanently. I can’t scrub the Lakes out of my system. And I don’t want to.”

 

In the scenery, the history of the Lakes District and the characters, Edwards places the reader distinctly in this area, and it serves the story very well. What makes Edwards’ treatment of the setting even more effective is that he doesn’t glorify it. The economic pressures and social changes that have deeply affected the Lakes District are clear in the novel. So is the unpredictable weather. This makes the area’s beauty even more distinctive and gives the reader the sense that this story wouldn’t have taken place anywhere else.

A solid police procedural with a taut mystery and a distinctive setting, The Serpent Pool also includes interesting characters and a dash of humour. It’s the fourth in Edwards’ Lake District series, but readers who start with this novel can easily follow the story and get to know the characters. But what do you think? Have you read The Serpent Pool? If you have, what elements do you see in it?