Rachel Savernake is hoping to save a man come back from his faked death from being murdered, but he is unwilling to listen. She finds herself entangled with one Leonora Dobell, an author obsessed with murders and those who escape the gallows, and decides to host a gathering of these people she believes have committed the perfect crime. When a murder occurs at Mortmain Hall, Rachel is determined to uncover the truth aided by her faithful and loyal servants and journalist Jacob Flint.

The second outing of Jacob and Rachel from the curator of the Classic Crime series, Martin Edwards. This follows on from "Gallows Court" but readers should be able to pick this up fairly easily if they haven't read the first.

Interesting premise: a collection of those who have escaped the gallows being gathered together - and lo and behold - an accidental death - or is it?

I felt comfortable reading this as it reminded me of a couple of themes from Agatha Christie.

Looking forward to more from Martin.

First things first - this is the SECOND book in the series which I didn't know going into it lol. The beginning was a little confusing but honestly I was able to read and enjoy the story without the first book!

This is a mystery set in 1930 about murder, justice, and a house party that goes wrong!

I found the characters (especially Rachel) to be very compelling and mysterious throughout. Loved that! I enjoyed the setting and how well the author portrayed society during that time.

The mystery itself was well done. There was SO MUCH to it. It was like 3 mysteries in 1 and then the twist at the end I sure did not see coming!

I would recommend this book but would also say maybe read the first one if you can 😂

Mortmain Hall is a historical mystery set in 1930. It is the second in the Rachel Savernake series. The story opens with an epilogue which is continued at the end of the book. Mortmain Hall (like Gallows Court) is written as a Golden Age mystery - there is murder, an amateur sleuth, clues, red herrings, and an explanation. But the Rachel Savernake books are much darker than books from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Rachel is an enigmatic character - she is fascinated by crime and murder and likes to detect but her motives are hard to discover. I can't decide whether I like her or not - I don't think we know enough about her to really say.

I loved the first sentence - "The ghost climbed out of a hackney carriage." It's intriguing and evocative. I also really liked that the first chapter was set on the Necropolis Railway.

In a nod to certain novels from the Golden Age, the author has included clue-finders at the end of the book. It is interesting to read and see where I picked up on clues and where I completely missed them.

There was the classic gathering of the suspects at the end, but I have to say that the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me a copy for review.

My first, instinctive description of Mortmain Hall is as the follow-up to Gallows Court, not only because it's a statement of fact but also because they are similar enough that most of my likes and dislikes are the same. Once again, a well-drawn gothic/noirish atmosphere calls back to mystery literature and tropes of the time; there is a murder dinner party (the thin man!) and an atmospheric lightning storm to accompany the dénouement, both of which absolutely delight me. Once again, Jacob Flint is happily clueless and Rachel Savernake is slyly oblique. I felt like she got more interaction with her servants and Jacob here and generally she seemed like more of a human, which I liked!

In the same vein, though, the plot takes a while to get going, and the final villains were too much of a stretch to entirely convince. The villain element got me in particular; I think this I would compare unfavourably even to Gallows Court, because where that one felt built-up this one almost seems out of nowhere, and all the worse because I'm not even persuaded that they needed to be involved in the plot at all. If anything, doesn't their meddling cheapen the achievement of any so-called perfect murder? I would have preferred a story more anchored to the personalities of the disparate characters brought together at Mortmain Hall; this is very much personal taste, and others' mileage my vary.

To wrap things up, the thumbs-down I have which is unique to this book is that the house party I was promised took far too long to get started and was over too quickly, but I think that's more a marketing issue that a book one. The corresponding thumbs-up is that the end of the book contains a list of hints and clues that the author put into the text, which I loved. Many thanks to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mortmain Hall is the second Rachel Savernake mystery. Rachel, her staff, Jacob Flint the reporter, and her favorite Scotland Yard officer return to a very different story. Rachel warns a man he will be murdered but offers to save him. He refuses and doesn’t make it to the end of the day. Meanwhile, Jacob is covering a murder trial that ends with a surprise alibi witness. Another court watcher suggests there might be more to the story.

Obviously, there is as just asking a few questions puts Jacob in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Rachel is invited to Mortmain Hall by a celebrated criminologist. The other guests are people suspected and cleared of murder. Surely something is up.



I was disappointed by Mortmain Hall, which is a surprise since I loved the first book in the series, Gallows Court. It seemed as though Edwards was undecided between writing an espionage thriller or a mystery and ended up with not quite enough of either. There are plenty of murders, all with indeterminate and frustrating resolution. I have loved every Martin Edwards I have read, so will chalk this up as a one-off aberration.

I received an e-galley of Mortmain Hall from the publisher through NetGalley

Mortmain Hall at Poisoned Pen Press
Martin Edwards author site
Other reviews of books by Martin Edwards.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press for this opportunity to review “Mortmain Hall.” All opinions are my own.

The enigmatic Rachel Savernake is back in this, the second in the series. She’s confronting “ghosts” and other deep, dark secrets that in “Mortmain Hall” begins with the epilog – interesting, that.

1930s England has plenty of secrets of its own, as readers will find out as the book progresses. We read along as perfect murders seem to be presented – and a female criminologist, who lives in the namesake Mortmain Hall, and who definitely has an agenda, invites a bunch of folks home. How are Rachel and Jacob Flint, the reporter present from “Gallows Court,” the first book, going to work this all out? Jacob says that Rachel is the most ruthless person he has ever met. Just the right kind for a murder mystery, indeed.

“Mortmain Hall” has a Gothic feel to it, a sense of coming doom hanging over everything. It’s a bit hard to place the time, although mention of people like PM MacDonald and Mussolini help, and eventually, we learn why things happened to the people in the story.

Disappearances! More murders! Crazy conspiracies! It’s a cornucopia of crime – stories. You know something is going to happen, and you think you know what it is. Are you right? Did your idea of that epilog turn out to be right? And who is there to describe the perfect crime? Why, Rachel Savernake, of course. And a vast (quasi) government conspiracy wends its way across the pages. And at the end, we have a gothic thriller worthy of a Hitchcock finish. After all and said and done (and there’s a lot said, believe me) simple family secrets are the underpinning to this tale.

I’m not that much of a fan of Rachel, myself. I don’t find her engaging or her personality attractive to me as a reader. She’s certainly a detective; you’d need to be, to work out this convoluted plot; but once she does it, I don’t feel any triumph. One thing she is, is a history buff; Mr. Edwards has her espousing the theory that brilliant railroad timetables for moving troops led to WWI; for that, she (through the author, of course) can thank the historian AJP Taylor. A nice touch.

An interesting footnote: the end of the book tells readers how we should have figured it out long before the final page. Mr. Edwards explains how these “Cluefinders” appeared in detective novels from the late 1920s.

Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards is a true British mystery. Second in a series, with the protagonist a lovely female named Rachel Savernake who is the daughter of a judge, who is dead but not missed. Rachel lives in a mansion turned fortress (Gaunt House) with her three servants, Hetty, Martha, and Trueman. Trueman acted as her chauffeur and bodyguard. The others just helped. There is Jacob Flint who is a newspaper reporter and pretty decent guy. It is 1930 and England is still reeling from war and hoping to avoid another. There are people working for the government, covertly toward that goal. A seemingly diverse set of people all come together in several murders.

This is very much a Golden Age mystery. Very noir. Very proper. It is the time when great estates in England are struggling to stay afloat. Owners are doing various things to ensure their own prosperity. The book jumps from character to character; from locale to locale. There is perversity, plenty of pent-up emotion, and a real will to solve crimes. It was an interesting and multi-faceted crime(s). Rachel is an enigmatic character. Her staff is odd, to say the least. Jacob Flint is straight forward, naive, and young. It is an easy book to read, far less easy to see the outcome, and if the reader does figure it out, the reasons and relationships are impossible to foretell. This was an enjoyable, if staid, read. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Mortmain Hall by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #mortmainhall

Mortmain Hall is the second book in the Rachel Savernake series by Martin Edwards. Released 22nd Sept 2020 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 368 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
I've seen the series touted as an homage to the golden age of British detective fiction, and while it's certainly set in the interwar period in England, it didn't necessarily feel like it was of the period to me. It's very well crafted, with the hallmarks of the era (courtroom drama, skullduggery, genteel (and not so genteel) murder, suspects gathered together in a gloomy stately home), but the setting could have been any time from about 1920 to the present day (except for the capital punishment parts).

The plotting is rather slow, built up over time rather than explosive. The narrative arc is deliberate - stately even, and the denouement is less of a crescendo than an inescapable inevitability when it finally comes. There were a number of fairly outlandish plot twists which interfered with my suspension of disbelief, but in the end the plot threads resolve, the clues are deciphered, and the mysteries are solved.

There is very little background information provided by the author, so the book (in my opinion) doesn't work very well as a standalone. I do recommend the series and the author, so reading the first volume will reward diligent readers.

Four stars. Not classic golden age, but quite readable (and edgy with a sort of noir vibe).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Historical murder mystery

1930's murder mystery thriller with the enigmatic Rachel Savernake looking to prevent a murder. Journalist Jacob Flint finds himself being pursued as the culprit and looks to proving his innocence.
A house party at the remote Mortmain hall might hold the key. Rachel Saversnake is in the thick of things looking to solve mysteries on several fronts. Events become even more complex as the story races towards its conclusion.
I found myself somewhat confused along the way. I put the story down several times wondering if I'd actually finish. Fortunately the storyline sorted out for me and I became more involved. I feel reading the first in the series, "Gallows Court", would have grounded me more in who Rachel is. I will be rectifying that omission.
Still in the end, an interesting read set in somewhat climactic surroundings as the various arms of the mystery track towards their collective conclusion.

A Poisoned Pen ARC via NetGalley

This the second book in the Rachel Savernake series, and the first book in the series, Gallows Court, should be read before tackling this book in order to truly appreciate the main character.

The book starts off slowly with Savernake trying to save a person who allegedly died some time earlier, but he’s not interested in being saved and Savernake backs away. Within hours, he is dead having “fallen” from a train car just before a second train kills him. From this point, the book diverges into several stories involving characters from the first book – none of the stories seem connected, but, of course, they are.

Rachel Savernake is somewhat amorphous in this outing because, apparently, the author believes everyone will have read his first book in the series. He is wrong and should have fleshed Savernake out more so the reader isn’t at a loss trying to understand the character and her motivations.

Because the book is set in 1930, there is much hype about this being a Golden Age mystery. However, the author doesn’t do much in the way of setting his story in the time so it could very well have been set anytime in the previous decades.

With all the above having been said, this remain a well-written character driven mystery. However, it is not a page turner and the reader needs stay engaged throughout the book to truly enjoy it. Some readers may not want to spend the time to read this book slowly and that is understandable, but for those who do, you’ll be in for a complex mystery that may surprise you with its twists and turns and Christie-like ending.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an eARC.

I had to go back to book's description and Goodreads' reviews many times throughout reading this book to get my mood and energy levels up to read on. I am sorry to say, I failed miserably.

I did not enjoy the book at all. It failed to take me and to envelop me in the story. I did not like a single character and found Rachel Savernake to be very unlikeable, aloof and pretentions. Her attempts at being mysterious and dangerous even seemed very 'made up' and 'painted on'.

The book failed to interest me, to intrigue me or to scare me. For all my love for crime fiction and especially for Golden Age crime fiction, Mortmain Hall left me hollow.

If you ‘d like to learn more about Martin Edwards and his writing, his website is www.martinedwardsbooks.com.
If you’d like more information on Mortmain Hall, I will point you to Edwards’ blog at http://doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.com/2020/04/mortmain-hall-publication-day.html.

Mortmain Hall was on offer from NetGalley, and so, totally engaged by the synopsis, I downloaded it for a nice read. Oh, man, was this book not at all what I expected it to be.

Let’s start with the synopsis (from amazon.com): “...But Rachel Savernake is not one of the mourners. She hopes to save a life – the life of a man who is supposed to be cold in the grave. But then a suspicious death on the railway track spurs her on to investigate a sequence of baffling mysteries...Rachel believes that the cases are connected – but what possible link can there be?
Rich, ruthless and obsessed with her own dark notions of justice, she will not rest until she has discovered the truth. To find the answers to her questions she joins a house party on the eerie and remote North Yorkshire coast at Mortmain Hall, an estate.”

I felt it was important to include most of the summary here so readers could understand what I’m talking about. Based on that, this is a book that I absolutely want to read. Reality, however, was much different.
I found Mortmain Hall to be incredibly slow-paced, which was a huge drag. It wasn’t poorly written, but its summary makes it sound like it’s a very suspenseful novel - it took me until about 80% of the way through to find a hint of suspense. You’d also think that the house party portion of the book would be the main feature, right, since it’s so prominent in the synopsis? Nope! It - the suspenseful part - starts about 85% of the way through the book. The previous 1-84% of the book is spent following some relatively unimportant characters with the occasional focus on Rachel. I found the synopsis to be misleading in that regard, which was incredibly disappointing as that’s what sucked me in.

I don’t want to be too unfair; the bulk of the “extraneous” material earlier in the novel turns out to be relevant to the mystery; I just felt that the build was too slow for the climax to be what it was. I was bored reading this book, really, and I don’t say that too often. The last 15-20% of the book could have been its own short story and I wouldn’t have been upset at all.

Moving on, Rachel Savernake is supposed to be some sort of elegant enigma of a woman, and while she is that, she’s also too mysterious. There wasn’t anything about her that made me want to reach out and learn more. She just seemed like the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings to control events. Miss Savernake needs some sort of personal detail for a hook to pull me in closer.

The reporter Jacob Flint was the most interesting character of the story; he’s observant, cheerful, and alert which makes him an engaging character. His portions of the book were the most interesting to read about as he was our eyes and ears on the ground. Unfortunately, we see a lot from a character called Reggie, who did not interest me a bit and whose role could have been cut out of the story altogether without having much effect on the entire plot.

All in all, I did not enjoy reading this book. It passed the time, but it failed to stimulate my curiosity or create any suspense for me. It is the second novel in the Rachel Savernake series, which I hadn’t realized when I chose it, so it could be that missing the foreknowledge from the first book had a negative impact on my reading experience. I don’t think that I will try the first or any subsequent novels in this series.

Mortmain Hall is one of the best books I've read in 2020. I had not read the first Rachel Savernake book, and there were some details of Rachel Savernake's life missing, but this did not detract from the excellent story.

The setting is 1930s London and the sequence of events quickly introduces you to a cast of very unique characters, murders, and many other twists and turns. The reader is intrigued from the start, as the book opens with an Epilogue and a murder, however this murder is not the focus of the book. The subsequent action takes you on a ride on the Necropolis Railway, another murder is committed and a surprise witness saves a man from the gallows. A newspaper journalist, Jacob Flint, after a visit to a seedy nightclub, is framed for yet another murder. In the midst of all the activity is Rachel Savernake, a rather complex character with a mysterious past/background. Jacob, Rachel and Rachel's servants/friends quest to figure out the links between the murders takes them to Mortmain Hall, where, after a few more murders, Rachel is able to put all the pieces together and reveal the murderer. This very brief summary does not begin to describe the depth of the story - there are many intertwined pieces of the puzzle that are assembled into a cohesive picture by the end of the book.

This is an outstanding Golden Age of mystery book - it is extremely well written, the period setting is well-described, the characters are well developed, there are plenty of red herrings, and twists and turns. There is so much going on from page 1 of the book to the end that you cannot put it down! I highly recommend this book and very much look forward to the next Rachel Savernake book!

A perfect harkening to golden age mysteries with a fast pace and unique format.

This was my first time reading Martin Edwards and as a diehard Christie fan, I don't know how that's possible! Mortmain Hall is the second book for his Rachael Savernake character: a fierce, enigma of a woman and seemingly Edwards' own version of a Poirot. I had not read the first book before this, so there was some backstory I missed, but it was certainly fulfilling standing on its own.

This novel starts in 1930's London with a quiet and mysterious murder. Unlike many crime novels, this starting murder is not the sole focus of the book - just a footnote. We're quickly introduced to a myriad of characters, including the journalist Jacob, the curious heiress and criminologist/author Leonora, and, of course, Rachel and her family-like servants/companions. What ensues is a string of seemingly planned murders, as well as a handful of past murder cases documented by Leonora that all hint to a larger plan behind the scenes. Interestingly, the big Christie-like moment and the true introduction to Mortmain Hall itself doesn't come until the end of the book.

This unique format could possibly make the storyline seem a bit slow to get into at times, but I enjoyed that the real "locked-room mystery" came in at the end for a big "mansion in a storm" type-climax that wrapped every tiny detail together perfectly. I was pleasantly surprised by the array of twists and truths that I hadn't guessed at. An enjoyable and beautiful nod to golden age mystery at its finest!

Gilbert Payne faked his death and moved to Tangier. Coming back to England to attend his mother’s funeral was a mistake and now, despite warnings from Rachel Savernake, he is really dead. Rachel was the daughter of a judge and has an interest in criminal investigations. When she hears of Payne’s death she contacts Jacob Flint, a reporter. Payne returned under a new identity and Rachel interests Jacob in his story.

Jacob covers murder cases for his newspaper and while covering a case that ultimately ended with an acquittal he meets Leonora Dobell, a criminologist who has written several books on murder cases. In each of the cases, the accused avoided a conviction. She is aware of his acquaintance with Rachel and asks him to extend an invitation for her to attend a gathering at Mortmain Hall. The guests in attendance have each gotten away with murder. There is also another connection that can be traced to Payne and his death. Before the evening is over, a body will be found beneath the cliffs on the property and someone else will be missing. The solution to these events could very well affect the nation’s security. Although Jacob is present at Mortmain as Rachel presents her thoughts on what actually happened in each case, reporting her conclusions could endanger his life and expose those who work behind the scenes to protect England.

Rachel was raised in an isolated area and the servants who cared for her are now considered more family than servants. She is intelligent but seems rather cold to outsiders and is not above using Jacob, even though he is almost framed for a murder as a result. This is a story where seemingly unrelated events offer clues to the final solution. It will keep you guessing to the very end. Fans of Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series will enjoy Rachel Savernake and look forward to her further investigations. I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing this review.

Rachel Savernake, the Truemans, Jacob Flint and Inspector Oakes are all back for another round in “Mortmain Hall”, a follow-up to Gallows Court by Martin Edwards. Edwards is scrupulous with his clue-dropping in this twisty Golden Age whodunit. Set in smoky early 1900’s London and Yorkshire, there are plenty of period details to enjoy, including trials at Old Bailey, secret cabals, and seedy nightclubs in Soho.

I enjoyed the story immensely!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Martin Edward's Mortmain Hall is a solid "old school" British mystery. A write of true-crime books holds a house party with an unusual group of guests: three people who may or may not have gotten away with murder in the past and a young, female detective who's very reticent with her personal information. Also on hand is a sometimes bumbling young crime reporter who is rather enamored of the detective. They all wind up in a dilapidated manor house perched on the edge of cliff during one of the fiercest storms the area's seen in years. Clearly someone has something coming—but who is the party intended to trap? and how has that trap been laid? You'll find some answers after spending a night with the party guests...

I received a free electronic ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Come to dinner, we’ll solve a murder.

Shortest Summary Ever: Rachel Savernake is into crime as a hobby (eh I don’t judge), so she invites some folks over who were acquitted for their crimes. Are they innocent? There’s a body and The Who-done-it revs on up.

Thoughts: I didn’t read the first book - this appears to be 2nd in a series, but no issues there. This mystery took me a while for a solid “click” but then it was full speed ahead. The plot was involved and it took me a sec to catch the groove of the prose, but then it was off and running and I thought the narrative was engaging and well-paced, definitely one with some turns I didn’t see coming down the road. It’s many mysteries in a mystery that wrap themselves up neatly in the end - which was enjoyable. Solidly good read!

Rachel - the protagonist was a bit tough for me to like. I like that she’s an enigma but I lacked much feelings of depth in her character to feel positively. In fact I thought Jacob Flint, the young eager reporter was the more interesting character. But I have to reserve judgement for one more book

All my reviews available at scrappymags.com around time of publication.

Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction

Recommend to: It has an Agatha Christy feel to it... classy murder lol.

Not recommended to: If you’re looking for a dark more modern mystery.

Thank you to the author, Poisoned Pen Press, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my always-honest review and making me avoid any English getaways for the time being.

Writer Colin Watson coined the delightful phrase Mayhem Parva to describe a cosy mystery story featuring the contrasting but familiar combination of unexpected death and genteel rural English village life. It is logical, then, that genre scholar and prolific mystery fiction author Martin Edwards should contribute his own pairings of death-knell noun and residential location, first with 2018's Gallows Court, and now with Mortmain Hall. Both books are largely set in 1930s London rather than in a sleepy Midlands hamlet, so the evocation of a more urban address within each title is only fitting.

At center, both books feature force of nature Rachel Savernake and Jacob Flint, the newspaper journalist who is pulled into her orbit. In Gallows Court, Jacob worked to figure out whether Rachel was responsible, directly or otherwise, in the deaths of some prominent, powerful men who (until then) had likely gotten away with murder. In Mortmain Hall, it is true crime writer Leonora Dobell who has her eye on candidates who might have cheated the gallows. She is so intrigued, in fact, that she invites the group of suspects to her fatefully-named manor house, where more murders do in fact occur. But by then, three-quarters through the book, there has been a steady accumulation of bodies dispatched a variety of ways, and one of the principal questions becomes how the busy run of violence past and present is connected.

I always appreciate an author who experiments with structure, one who is not content to merely deliver the same type of story again and again. (I am, after all, a great champion of Gladys Mitchell, who showed remarkable variety in tone and tale in her work from her first two decades.) Here Martin Edwards approaches his plot and progression differently than the way he built Gallows Court. For one thing, there is a more deliberate incorporation of the Golden Age of Detection elements that the author knows so well. This mystery more closely resembles the genre structure we are familiar with: one initial murder (whose victim Rachel speaks with right before his death) followed by others, a loose group of suspects, a trail of clues both obvious and oblique, and a gathering-of-suspects stormy-night climax where the detective accuses individuals of minor crimes before revealing who committed the major one. Where Gallows Court felt like a galloping thriller with mysteries to be solved, Mortmain Hall reverses the emphasis, so much so that Edwards provides an enjoyable end-of-book tool called a Cluefinder, a list of details and accompanying page numbers to show how evidence from prose dialogue and description could lead a perceptive reader to the solution.

I enjoyed too Mortmain's main character from a plot-driving sense, the enigmatic, masculine, and mischievous Leonora Dobell. She is the figure who contrives to put the cat among the pigeons, and she also adds Rachel Savernake to her list of unpunished killers. Leonora publishes her crime reporting under a male pseudonym – this is still 1930s London – and Edwards explores the gay demimonde of the time and place, as well as the sense of shame and fear should the secret come out and ruin reputations. There is, too, a cataclysm at the climax where nature steps in to deliver justice and destruction like something out of Edgar Allan Poe, and I find great satisfaction in such a conspiracy of elements and author.

When the storm clouds clear, though, Mortmain Hall for me is less engaging than its predecessor. This has to do with the roles Edwards' two series characters are assigned here. While Rachel speaks with the story's initial victim, a man in hiding who returns not quite incognito to attend his mother's funeral and in so doing speeds along his own, it is reporter Jacob (and Rachel's faithful family servant Trueman) who does the leg work and much of the surmising. It is also Jacob who, around the story's halfway point, gets framed for murder and must work his way out of the derelict room that houses him and a corpse. This he does, and it came as a surprise that it was Rachel and not Jacob who assumes the role of end-of-book detective, tracing the many paths and crossroads that provide the answers to Who, How, and Why for crimes ancient and recent. For Rachel Savernake here seems largely a reactive figure until that moment. This is because the burning enigma that drives the reader's fascination in Gallows Court – is she a murderer, and if so, is she justified? – is answered in that story and is consequently the character's persona is on a very low flame in this book.

Due partly to this, which makes the involvement of both Savernake and Flint in this case academic and impersonal rather than emotional and of high stakes to each, the crime plot and secondary characters of Mortmain Hall felt more distanced and less urgent for me. Even Jacob escapes that crime-scene bedsit within a dozen pages, so any chance of a recurring personal danger is minimized and pressure is no longer on him as it would be were he still a Person of Interest by the police. The irony is, had this been a standalone tale, or had I read this book before Gallows Court, I would not be aware of two strong characters from a previous story looking from the outside in and thus undercutting their potential. Granted, it is because the author put this duo through its paces so well in their first adventure that the characters' once-removed positions here seem lacking.

The above criticisms are (obviously) my subjective thoughts on narrative structure and character activation. Let me note that there is much I enjoyed while visiting Mortmain Hall, including the author's typically taut and energetic pacing and an abundance of primary and secondary mysteries to be solved. These elements should keep, and have kept, many detective fiction fans and amateur and professional reviewers enthralled: see Kate at crossexaminingcrime, The Puzzle Doctor at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel, and the starred review from Publishers Weekly. And JJ at The Invisible Event has a podcast where he and Edwards discuss the book and the author's many influences and achievements.

I can also say without reservation that I look forward to the next Flint/Savernake story! Mortmain Hall has already been available to lucky UK readers, and will be released to US mystery fans via the great Poisoned Pen Press on September 22. I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.