Waterloo Sunset

December 24, 2007
At the start of the impressive eighth entry in Edwards’s Harry Devlin series (All the Lonely People
, etc.), the Liverpool attorney receives a fake newspaper notice announcing his death on Midsummer’s Eve. Subsequent threatening messages lead him to take the less-than-a-week deadline seriously. Given Devlin’s penchant for sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong, many people bear him murderous grudges. Devlin focuses on two suspects—Tom Gunter, a violent thug and a former client, and Aled Borth, a loner angered that the lawyer’s best efforts didn’t result in a charge of murder being brought against the nursing home where Borth’s mother died. The addition of a serial killer who severs his victim’s tongues might have proven too much for the plot to bear in a lesser writer’s hands, but Edwards skillfully weaves the strands together. While some readers will guess the truth before Devlin does, all will enjoy this twisty whodunit.

April 1, 2008
After three Lake District mysteries ("The Cipher Garden"), Edwards returns to his original series featuring Liverpool lawyer Harry Devlin with this eighth entry (after "All the Lonely People"). Someone is murdering young women, and Harry receives warning of his own impending demise, which gives him a few days to discover who wants him dead. The two mysteries come together with Harry squarely in the middle and characteristically unusual results (Edwards never writes the same book twice; both his plotting and settings are original). If the solution is a bit rabbit-out-of-the-hat, the book is still perfect for an evening's entertainment. For most mystery collections.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2008
When somebody circulates a notice that Liverpool lawyer Harry Devlin has died, Harry is a little miffed. He also wonders which of his numerous enemies might be planning to get even. After someone he knows is murdered, Harry realizes he might not have much time to figure out who is gunning for himand whether the anonymous death threat has anything to do with a serial killer operating in the Liverpool area. The eighth Devlin novel is exactly like the ones that came before it, but thats not a criticism: the series is known for its wit, solid plotting, and likable lead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)