I’m not normally a fan of books by Martin Edwards, but Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife had such a cheerful cover that I was seduced into trying it. And actually, I thought it was pretty good. Written in the tradition of Golden Age crime fiction, it’s full of twists and clues for the reader … and there are also interactive puzzles to solve along the way.
Let’s start by saying that in the first few pages of this novel you find out there is no Miss Winter, no library and no knife! The story is set in Midwinter, a very remote village in North Yorkshire, which is administered by The Midwinter Trust. It appears to be a place of refuge for people who have suffered burn-out in their jobs and need time to recuperate.
The trust staff are a director, a deputy, a human resources person, a medic, an American cook and a handywoman/chauffeur. To this place have been invited for Christmas a number of guests who have been asked to try their hand at a murder mystery game. The reward will be a cash bonus for all and an unspecified reward for the winner.
The guests are a true-crime podcaster, an influencer, an agent, a publicist, an editor and Harry Crystal, a crime writer, so they all obviously have the book world in common. But it soon becomes clear that the other thing they all have in common is that they’re all has-beens – failures at their jobs.
On arrival in Midwinter, the guests are presented with the first clues to the murder game. While they contemplate this the reader becomes aware that the trust staff have something that is worrying them, and it’s not only the approaching (obligatory) snow blizzard.
Harry is the main narrator of the story, and through him we see the events unfold – not just how the guests all gradually solve the fictional crime but also several deaths that happen over the next few days, of both staff and guests. Some of the deaths appear to be dreadful accidents, some are obviously murder. The trust’s secret, which stretches all the way back to World War II, also slowly comes to light.
My verdict
The characters in this are all well-realised, from the haughty and arrogant director to the different guests, each of whom has their secrets. Harry is especially good. He appears to be a bumbling, amiable fool, but I soon realised that this was a front and that he was cleverer than he appeared. In fact, he solved both the real and the fictional crime.
The fictional crime story (the murder mystery game) was easy and full of clues for us, the readers, to follow. The real crimes also had clues spread about here and there but they weren’t so easy to see and even less easy to understand. In fact, the real crime was unexpected and rather dark. And the background to the real murders, as well as what the Trust was really for, was surprising and somewhat shocking when it was revealed at the end.
Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife was published late last year in time for Christmas book sales and I’d describe it as cozy crime with an edge. The prose was pretty good but rather grim, and the blizzard was a great background for the story and felt very close … and it didn’t take me much time to get caught up in the different layers of mysteries.
I found this novel less dark than some of Martin Edwards’s other books and, in spite of a few reservations, I liked this and will give it 4 stars. But a word of caution! If you decide to read this and are enjoying the interactive clues, be careful not to read ahead in the Clue Finder chapter in the back of the book, because it contains spoilers.
Review by: Freyja
At Oundle Crime, 4 Stars means “A good book with an interesting, layered story that you will still remember after a month.”
If you’d like to meet other crime fiction fans and chat about the books and authors you enjoy, why not come along to an Oundle Crime meeting? It’s relaxed and friendly, and anyone can drop in. Email join@friendsofoundlelibrary.org.ukand we’ll send you the details.