The Watermark Trilogy

The Watermark Trilogy" weaves together three distinct investigations, each challenging Detective Inspector Miles Kendrick in the evocative setting of the Fens. While each tale presents a unique crime, they are united by themes of local secrets, hidden histories, and the tension between tradition and modernity The Wooden Lament: In the heart of the Fens, a region steeped in ancient folklore and shrouded in perpetual mists, Detective Inspector Miles Kendrick is confronted with a series of bizarre and unsettling crimes.
When a macabre discovery is made on a desolate riverbank - a carved wooden head, seemingly imbued with malevolent energy - Kendrick is plunged into a labyrinthine investigation. As he delves deeper, he uncovers a web of dark secrets, whispered legends, and long-buried resentments. The lines between sanity and superstition blur as more bodies surface, each bearing the same disturbing wooden token. Kendrick must navigate the treacherous currents of local beliefs and the chilling whispers of "The Wooden Lament, " an ancient tale that seems to be playing out with terrifying reality.
His pursuit of the truth leads him into the darkest corners of the Fens, where the past refuses to stay buried, and the living are haunted by the dead. The Eelman's Knot: Detective Inspector Miles Kendrick is drawn into a complex web of criminality when the body of a London investment analyst, Anthony Fallbrook, is discovered entangled in an eel fisherman's nets. The brutal nature of the murder - Fallbrook's hands systematically broken - suggests more than just a random act of violence.
Kendrick's investigation reveals a sophisticated and illicit trade in elvers, or young eels, known as "white gold, " that stretches from the hidden waterways of the Fens to the gleaming towers of London's financial district. As he unravels the threads of this dangerous enterprise, Kendrick encounters a ruthless local kingpin, Danny Crowe, and uncovers Anguilla Holdings, a company exploiting an "emergent market." The secrets of the river folk, deeply rooted in ancient traditions and fiercely guarded, clash with the avarice of city financiers, culminating in a deadly confrontation.
Kendrick must navigate the twisting waterways and the even more treacherous human relationships to expose the conspiracy and bring Fallbrook's killer to justice, before the eelman's knot tightens further. The Chrysostom Conundrum: In the historic town of Market Deeping, Detective Inspector Miles Kendrick faces a baffling new case. The Chrysostom Manuscript, a priceless Anglo-Saxon illuminated gospel, vanishes from a locked display case inside the ancient St.
Guthlac's Church. With no signs of forced entry and a complex, expertly picked lock, the theft seems almost spectral. Kendrick's investigation leads him through the quiet, tightly knit community, revealing a web of secrets and hidden expertise. Arthur Jennings, the church's caretaker, nicknamed "The Lockmaster, " possesses an unnerving knowledge of security systems. Marcus Thorne, a visiting historian with a keen interest in rare manuscripts, disappears conveniently after the theft.
As Kendrick delves deeper, he uncovers a world of collectors, dealers, and whispers of ill-gotten gains. The investigation becomes a race against time to recover the invaluable manuscript, but Kendrick must also untangle a far more intricate knot of motive, opportunity, and deception, to find the thief who slipped through the cracks.