An atmospheric new Fry and Cooper thriller for fans of Peter Robinson and Reginald Hill.

On a rain-swept Derbyshire moor, hounds from the local foxhunt find the body of a well-dressed man whose head has been crushed. Yet an anonymous caller reports the same body lying half a mile away. Called in to investigate the discovery, detectives DS Diane Fry and DC Ben Cooper become entangled in the violent world of hunting and hunt saboteurs, horse theft and a little-known sector of the meat trade.

As Fry follows a complex trail of her own to unravel the shady business interests of the murder victim, Cooper realizes that the answer to the case might lie deep in the past. History is everywhere around him in the Peak District landscape - particularly in the 'plague village' of Eyam, where an outbreak of Black Death has been turned into a modern-day tourist attraction.

But, even as the final solution is revealed, both Fry and Cooper find themselves having to face up to the disturbing reality of the much more recent past.

About the Author

Stephen Booth was born in the Lancashire mill town of Burnley and has remained rooted to the Pennines during his career as a newspaper journalist. He lives with his wife Lesley in a former Georgian dower house in Nottinghamshire and his interests include folklore, the Internet and walking in the hills of the Peak District. This is the ninth in the series featuring Derbyshire detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry.

Reviews

Praise for The Kill Call:

'Informative and clever' Literary Review

'Plenty to get your teeth into here... adds an extra edge of darkness to an already twilight tale' Northern Echo

Praise for Dying to Sin:

'Clever, intricate plot... Cooper is an ascendant Lewis to Fry's lonely, bitter Morse in this... gripping procedural' Financial Times

Praise for Scared to Live:

'It's easy to see why Stephen Booth's novels are so popular. The Peak District's awesome scenery is an ideal background for a murder or two; he has developed his two principal characters into rounded personalities and he always gives them an intriguing mystery to investigate' Sunday Telegraph

'A modern master of rural noir' Guardian

'Booth's aim is to portray the darkness that lies below the surface... in this he succeeds wonderfully well' Daily Mail

'Ingenious plotting and richly atmospheric' Reginald Hill

Praise for Stephen Booth:

'Stephen Booth creates a fine sense of place and atmosphere ... the unguessable solution to the crime comes as a real surprise' Sunday Telegraph

'The complex relationship between [Cooper and Fry] is excellently drawn, and is combined with an intriguing plot and a real sense of place: Stephen Booth is an author to keep an eye on' Evening Standard

'Stephen Booth makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter' Val McDermid

'Sinks its teeth into you and doesn't let go ... A dark star may be born!' Reginald Hill

'A leading light of British crime writing' Guardian

Book Information
ISBN 9780007243471
Author Stephen Booth
Format Paperback
Page Count 544
Imprint HarperCollins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 380g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 32mm