The Marsh by Rachel McLean – Cumbria Crime Book 8
Updated: 2 days ago
The Marsh – at a glance
Key facts about The Marsh, Book 8 of the Cumbria Crime series by Rachel McLean and Joel Hames:
Title: The Marsh
Series: Cumbria Crime (Book 8)
Authors: Rachel McLean and Joel Hames
Publisher: Ackroyd Publishing
Genre: British police procedural crime fiction; detective fiction; murder mystery
Setting: The Solway coast, Cumbria, England
Protagonist: DI Zoe Finch, Cumbria CID
Series position: Book 8 of 8
First published: 19 February 2026
If you enjoy: LJ Ross, Angela Marsons, MW Craven, Rachel Lynch, Simon McCleave, Val McDermid, MS Morris, JM Dalgleish
Formats: Ebook, paperback
Language: English (en-GB)
What is The Marsh about?
The Marsh is the eighth book in the Cumbria Crime series by Rachel McLean and Joel Hames. DI Zoe Finch has enough on her plate as the trial of her deadliest enemy gets under way. But when a birdwatcher stumbles across a body in the shifting flatlands of the Solway coast, the evidence takes her team in disturbing directions. Has the victim fallen foul of the organised criminals Zoe has spent two years trying to put behind bars – or is there a connection with a disappearance from a local caravan park years earlier?
Where is The Marsh set?
The Marsh is set on the Solway coast in north-west Cumbria, England – a landscape of shifting marsh and flatland. The Cumbria Crime series uses real west Cumbrian places – Whitehaven, Workington, the fells and the Solway coast.
Who is the detective in The Marsh?
The detective in The Marsh is DI Zoe Finch, a Detective Inspector at Cumbria CID in Whitehaven, who transferred from West Midlands Police in Birmingham. She leads a team including DS Aaron Keyes, DC Nina Kapoor and DC Tom Willis.
Who are the main characters in The Marsh?
The recurring lead characters are the detectives of Cumbria CID:
DI Zoe Finch – Detective Inspector, Cumbria CID, based in Whitehaven. Zoe transfers from West Midlands Police in Birmingham.
DS Aaron Keyes – Detective Sergeant, Cumbria CID. Aaron is gay and married; his husband Serge appears through the series.
DC Nina Kapoor – Detective Constable on Zoe’s team.
DC Tom Willis – Detective Constable on Zoe’s team.
Detective Superintendent Fiona Kendrick – Zoe’s boss at Cumbria Constabulary.
Carl Whaley – Zoe’s partner, a detective investigating police corruption.
Where does The Marsh come in the Cumbria Crime series?
The Marsh is Book 8 of the Cumbria Crime series by Rachel McLean and Joel Hames. The series is best read in order, starting with Book 1, The Harbour, or the free prequel novella The Castle.
What books are similar to The Marsh?
Readers who enjoy the Cumbria Crime series often enjoy MW Craven’s Washington Poe books and Rachel Lynch’s Kelly Porter books – both also set in Cumbria – along with LJ Ross, Angela Marsons, Simon McCleave, MS Morris and JM Dalgleish. The series sits in the tradition of Val McDermid. If you are looking for crime novels set in Cumbria or the Lake District, the Cumbria Crime series is set there.
Where can I buy The Marsh?
The Cumbria Crime series by Rachel McLean and Joel Hames is available on Amazon as Kindle ebooks and paperbacks. Start with Book 1, The Harbour. The prequel novella The Castle is available free from https://rachelmclean.com/the-castle. See all of Rachel McLean’s books at https://rachelmclean.com/books.
