There has been increasing critical interest in and appreciation of Edwards' work, and his skill in marrying people and place with plot. In 2012, new ebook and print editions of the early Harry Devlin novels were published, including introductions by writers such as Val McDermid, Peter Lovesey, Andrew Taylor and Frances Fyfield. In her foreword to "All the Lonely People", Fyfield said: "What distinguishes this book and those that follow and what makes them classics of a kind is this marvellous quality of compassion and the celebration of all that is heroic in the corrupted ordinary." In "The Mammoth Encyclopaedia of Modern Crime Fiction", Mike Ashley noted that the author's legal knowledge 'provides a solid reliability to the Devlin books, but their strength lies in the evocation of Liverpool both past and present'. Similarly, Russell James noted in "Great British Fictional Detectives" that the Devlin books 'are all solid and well-informed'. In "Scene of the Crime", Julian Earwaker and Kathleen Becker described the Devlin series as 'a blend of classic detection and urban noir', pointing out that 'The bleaker tones of the early books...are superseded by the lighter tone and more complex plotting of the later novels.' In "Whodunit?", Rosemary Herbert said that 'Edwards rapidly made a name for himself as a writer whose law expertise informs fiction set in a well-drawn Liverpool...Edwards' work as an anthologist is highly regarded.' In "Crime Scene: Britain and Ireland", John Martin said that Edwards has "written two superbly crafted series of crime novels...intricately plotted with subtle twists and turns." Professor Douglas G. Greene, a leading expert on the genre writing in the magazine CADS, described Edwards as “a major detective novelist who has combined Golden Age trickiness in plotting with modern darkness in the telling.”