For some reason there's something particularly appealing about cold case mysteries, or at least about novels that show them being solved. In fact two mysteries are solved in Martin Edwards' latest Lake District Mystery, the seventh in this successful series. One is the unsolved disappearance, three years earlier, of a teenage girl, and the other -- well, the other was never seen as a cold case at all until it became clear that the parents of the girl and of another teenager who has just gone missing had been some of the key players in a family killing back in the 1990s. Questions start to be raised about that one too, and uncomfortable facts start to emerge.
In charge of the investigation of the first missing teenager, Lily Elstone, who disappeared without trace three years earlier, is DCI Hannah Scarlett. Hannah starts to get intrigued when it turns out that Shona Whiteley, the second girl to go missing, is the daughter of Nigel Whiteley, who still lives in the house where his uncle Malcolm murdered his wife and daughter before shooting himself some twenty years before. In addition, Lily's father is the accountant who worked for both Malcolm and Nigel. Could all three incidents be connected in some way? (No prizes for guessing the answer).
What's rather intriguing about this novel is that Edwards inserts another character into the mix, who gets involved in the investigation in interesting and often confusing ways. This is one Joanna Footit, erstwhile girlfriend of Nigel and best friend of his young cousin Amber, who was killed in the 1990s episode. Since then, Joanna's life has been difficult, owing to a series of unsatisfactory relationships and some mental wobbliness. As the 'Now' section of the novel begins, she has heard about the disappearance of Shona and decided it's time to return to the Lakes and perhaps offer some comfort to Nigel. Despite her obvious problems -- on top of everything else, she was involved in a car crash in the 1990s in which her close friend was killed -- I found her an appealing character. As Hannah comments, 'People call her an oddball, but that's unfair. She sees the good in others. Sometimes when there isn't any, unfortunately', which seems about right. Joanna starts some investigations of her own, which threaten to rather complicate what the police are up to, but in the end... Well, you'll have to wait and see.
Joanna's investigations aside, this is a good solid police procedural, with Hannah and her team chasing up clues and being slightly at odds with the main branch of the police, who are working on the current disappearance. Hannah has always been an attractive character, and we've watched her go though a lot of ups and downs, and been tantalised by her 'will they-won't they' relationship with the gorgeous historian Daniel Kind (who, in my imagination, looks exactly like Daniel Craig). Well, now they have! Which was a bit of surprise - but nothing is simple, and the status of their relationship is left very much in the air.
The setting of these novels naturally adds a lot of appeal. I know the Lake District quite well, as I lived near there for twenty years, so I love reading about it, but it will be equally enjoyable if you've never been there. This novel moves the setting slightly, from the better-known part of the area around Windermere and Ambleside, over to the West coast of Cumbria. Most of the action takes place in the seaside town of Ravenglass, an attractive little place with a long and fascinating history. If you're not familiar with the area, this novel will probably make you long to visit -- it certainly made me long to go back there.
The Dungeon House is 'old-fashioned, well-made crime fiction at its best', said Laura Wilson in the Guardian, and that about sums it up.
