WHEN the Avon bursts its banks, Stratford-upon-Avon gets that sinking feeling. Many times those of us living in the area have watched the Recreation Ground disappear, leaving the bandstand an isolated island amid rising waters, and the town’s Waterside earning the preface ‘Under’.

A plaque on a wall close to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre records the worst floods in recent memory – the high water mark was New Year’s Day, 1901 – and although 1972 doesn’t merit a mention, records certainly show there was some significant flooding that year, too.

Guy Hale gleefully appropriates the flood as a device to propel the plot of his Shakespeare Murders thriller series ever faster towards a dramatic denouement that, if not convincingly conclusive, suggests serial killer Oliver Lawrence’s lethal list of luvvies has at last been exhausted.

The fourth book in a planned trilogy – The Croaking Raven, Put Out The Light and Sleep No More follow the killing spree, while Hale snuck in prequel novella All Our Yesterdays to add context – is the darkest read of the series, and not just because murderer Lawrence is losing the plot.

Because, in a delicious twist, he’s not the real villain of the piece here. No spoilers – you’ll have to read the book to understand the deceit at the heart of the story – but it adds an extra level of interest to what could so easily have been business as usual.

As ever, the sense of place is excellent – Hale knows his Stratford, and can occasionally be spotted out and about in town, seeking out potential murder scenes – and the arrival of the flood satisfactorily speeds things up in a race against time towards the final curtain.

Throughout the books, the relationship between old school Detective Sergeant Fred Williams and idealistic DC Toby Marlowe has been a highlight, and this is no exception. I’m delighted to hear that Hale plans to bring both of them back for more arresting cases in the future.

Speaking at last year’s Stratford-upon-Avon Literary Festival, the author said that he wasn’t finished with his detective double act just yet. The jury’s out on whether they will be called upon to crack new cases, or have to deal with the aftermath of the Shakespeare Murders.

During a Q&A session, he teased that there were plenty of other Shakespeare plays he might be tempted to visit for future investigation, and there is a tantalising hint at the end of Sleep No More that Oliver Lawrence’s legacy may yet linger in some form or another.

They think it’s all over. To be or not to be continued, that is the question …