Book Description
Fifteen-year-old Laura, daughter of the wealthy Vernon family, is missing. When retired miner Harry Dickinson reports that he's found the body lying in the woods, his strangely obstinate refusal to cooperate with the investigation raises more than a few eyebrows. Whatever Harry knows about what has happened up in those woods, he's certainly not telling. Cooper teams up with Detective Constable Diane Fry, an ambitious rookie with a few secrets of her own. As they work to unravel the baffling crime, the young detectives find themselves in a complicated two-step of suspicion and sexual tension.Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Northern England's Peak District, Black Dog is an evocative, gorgeously written work of psychological suspense.
My Review
I found this book to be an excellent debut by Stephen Booth. I enjoyed his writing right from the start. His descriptions allow you to visualize the setting and you feel like you are right there. This is not your typical crime novel. The two main characters, DC Ben Cooper and DC Diane Fry are what drive the story. They are competing to become a sergeant. They seem to be doing a dance of suspicion, attraction and frustration. Can't wait to read the next book in the series to see how this relationship pans out.
The plot and storyline are excellent and the reason and person behind the killing was a complete surprise to me. I would highly recommend this book to those who like psychological suspense.
Fifteen-year-old Laura, daughter of the wealthy Vernon family, is missing. When retired miner Harry Dickinson reports that he's found the body lying in the woods, his strangely obstinate refusal to cooperate with the investigation raises more than a few eyebrows. Whatever Harry knows about what has happened up in those woods, he's certainly not telling. Cooper teams up with Detective Constable Diane Fry, an ambitious rookie with a few secrets of her own. As they work to unravel the baffling crime, the young detectives find themselves in a complicated two-step of suspicion and sexual tension.Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Northern England's Peak District, Black Dog is an evocative, gorgeously written work of psychological suspense.
My Review
I found this book to be an excellent debut by Stephen Booth. I enjoyed his writing right from the start. His descriptions allow you to visualize the setting and you feel like you are right there. This is not your typical crime novel. The two main characters, DC Ben Cooper and DC Diane Fry are what drive the story. They are competing to become a sergeant. They seem to be doing a dance of suspicion, attraction and frustration. Can't wait to read the next book in the series to see how this relationship pans out.
The plot and storyline are excellent and the reason and person behind the killing was a complete surprise to me. I would highly recommend this book to those who like psychological suspense.
Very readable, well-written, and the locale is very evocative of the wonderful setting of the Peak District in Derbyshire. But I'm hoping for better as this series gets into its stride.
Other reviewers have (quite rightly, I think) commented on how the author tries too hard to make the female half of the detecting pair "complicated" -- I don't mind unlikable, but DC Diane Fry's moodiness and sullen assumption of the worst in everyone says more "psychotic cow" than "complicated" ... The fact is, we eventually learn that the woman has very good reason to be defensive and depressed, and the authors "cute" drip-feed of her backstory belittles that. While, dare I say it, her reluctant partner, DC Ben Cooper's personal problems and personality quirks just make him seem more real and likable.
Another thing I found very worrying -- Possible SPOILER (but I think this becomes obvious from an early stage in the novel) -- is what I would describe as "victim blaming." The victim and her family are not nice people, and that's ok. But there's a relatively superficial attitude to the murder, and her family's grief that rings very false.
This review started at 4 stars, and I've talked myself down to 3. I think I'd better stop ...
(Just an additional aside: Diane Fry is NOT Ben Cooper's "sidekick"!! I think it's to the author's credit that he really is trying to depict a partnership of equals -- two detectives whose personalities and talents balance each other out, and even causes friction.)
Other reviewers have (quite rightly, I think) commented on how the author tries too hard to make the female half of the detecting pair "complicated" -- I don't mind unlikable, but DC Diane Fry's moodiness and sullen assumption of the worst in everyone says more "psychotic cow" than "complicated" ... The fact is, we eventually learn that the woman has very good reason to be defensive and depressed, and the authors "cute" drip-feed of her backstory belittles that. While, dare I say it, her reluctant partner, DC Ben Cooper's personal problems and personality quirks just make him seem more real and likable.
Another thing I found very worrying -- Possible SPOILER (but I think this becomes obvious from an early stage in the novel) -- is what I would describe as "victim blaming." The victim and her family are not nice people, and that's ok. But there's a relatively superficial attitude to the murder, and her family's grief that rings very false.
This review started at 4 stars, and I've talked myself down to 3. I think I'd better stop ...
(Just an additional aside: Diane Fry is NOT Ben Cooper's "sidekick"!! I think it's to the author's credit that he really is trying to depict a partnership of equals -- two detectives whose personalities and talents balance each other out, and even causes friction.)
