As the year 1931 begins, mild-mannered accountant Basil Palmer records a chilling resolution in his journal: he intends to commit murder.

So opens Hemlock Bay, the fifth installment in Martin Edwards’ Rachel Savernake series — and, I’ll confess upfront, my first. I haven’t read any of the books in this series, and, while there were some moments when I felt a little lost, like the characters had a deep back story that I wasn’t privy to, I’m happy to say that you don’t need a boarding pass from book one to enjoy the ride.

Author Martin Edwards weaves together several plot lines, each one pulling inevitably toward the seaside resort of Hemlock Bay. There’s Palmer, the grieving accountant with revenge on his mind. There’s Jacob Flint, a crime journalist whose latest tip comes from the most unlikely of sources — a fortune teller named the Great Hallemby, who claims to have overheard strangers plotting a murder but can offer no details about victim, killer, means, or motive. Only the location. And then there’s Rachel herself, who has just acquired a surrealist painting depicting — coincidentally, or perhaps not — a body at Hemlock Bay.

Each character arrives at the resort with their own agenda. Palmer wants to find his victim alone and vulnerable. Flint wants his next front-page byline. Hallemby is eager to prove his eerie prediction true. And Rachel wants to understand what’s really going on beneath the cheerful surface of a place that promises something for everyone — families, artists, and, it seems, murderers.

Edwards constructs a genuinely challenging puzzle here. As a reader, I found myself unable to get ahead of it, which is both humbling and engaging. Suspects accumulate, alibis dissolve and reform, and just when you think you’ve found solid footing, the ground shifts again.

At the center of it all is Rachel Savernake, who serves as the organizing intelligence of the novel — drawing lines between seemingly unconnected events, cataloging suspects, and ultimately holding the key to the locked box. She’s an intriguing protagonist: relatable enough to follow willingly, yet somehow always slightly out of reach. Enigmatic is the right word.

Hemlock Bay is a treat for lovers of Golden Age-style mysteries — intricate, atmospheric, and satisfying.