The Frozen Shroud by Martin Edwards

The Frozen Shroud by Martin Edwards
ISBN: 9781464201073
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press/2013
Pages: 276

Back Cover:

Death has come twice to Ravenbank, a remote community in England’s Lake District, each time on Hallowe’en. Just before the First World War, a young woman’s corpse was found, with a makeshift shroud frozen to her battered face. Her ghost – the Faceless Woman – is said to walk through Ravenbank on Hallowe-en. Five years ago, another woman, Katya Moss, was murdered, and again her face was covered to hide her injuries.

Daniel Kind, a specialist in the history of murder, becomes fascinated by the old cases, and wonders whether the obvious suspects really did commit the crimes. He spends Hallowe’en at a party in Ravenbank – only to find death returning to this beautiful but isolated spot. Once more, the victim is a woman, once more her damaged face is shrouded from view.

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My views:

One of the murder victim is called Shenagh in the instead of Katya Moss, as given in the back cover. This could have been taken care of while editing. 

Shenagh Moss's murder is the second one, the first being Gertrude, who was killed almost 100 years ago and is supposed to roam as a faceless ghost during Halloween. The third murder happens five years after Shenagh is murdered, again at Halloween. This time it is Terri, a very close friend of DCI Hannah Scarlett. All murders have something in common. Their faces are battered and shrouded from view. 

Daniel Kind is a specialist in history of murder and he finds the three murders somewhat related.  Kind and Scarlett's past come to haunt them both. Hannah keep no stones upturned to find the murderer of her best friend Terri. 

This is my first novel by Edwards and certainly not my last. He keeps the reader totally in the story. The descriptions of the background is also done very well. The secondary characters are also interesting, each having a failing or two. My toes curled while I was reading this.