Jenny Weston has been killed, stabbed to death in a stone circle known as the Nine Virgins. Another woman, an apparent associate of hers, Ros Daniels, is missing. A third, Maggie Crew, barely escapes her attacker... but is physically and mentally disfigured as a result. Is there a blood-thristy psychopath attacking women... or is there something much worse going on?
This was an excellent read, I was engrossed from start to finish. The plot is multi-layered and cleverly constructed, with characters you genuinely care about - whilst at the same time becoming suspicious of them. There is a dark, windswept, desolate atmosphere to this story which reflects it's setting perfectly. And there are quite a few jaw-dropping moments.
Great stuff - already looking forward to reading the next in the series....
Ranger Mark Roper loved to patrol the hills of the Peak District. But on this particular day something was wrong. Something made him feel very uneasy. No matter how many times he tried to roust his supervisor on the radio, he had no luck. He was alone, and felt very uncomfortable. Suddenly, as he comes around a bend in the trail, he sees just what has made him uncomfortable. There in the middle of the circle, made of huge stones, lay the body of a girl. Her body arranged in a grotesque dance, a dance of death.
Only weeks prior another woman had been attacked in the area. Scarred, physically and mentally, she had survived death, but her life had still been taken from her.
Diane Fry, and Ben Cooper team up again to try and figure out who is out there attacking and killing women on Ringham Moor. Was it some psychopathic drifter, or could it have been Jenny Weston's, the dead girls, ex husband who obviously had an agenda of his own.
There is no shortage of suspects in the area. In fact there are too many. And the surviving woman, Maggie Crew, is of absolutely no help in weeding out the one who attacked her.
Stephen Booth has done it again. He takes you on a trip through the lives of the people in the Peak District and draws you in. You feel the desperation and sadness. But you also experience their stubbornness and pride. You even experience their failure at trying to overcome overwhelming odds.
You feel the soft peat under your feet, the wind in your face, the chill in the air as the clouds fill the sky, and the rain that pelts on you, as you climb the trails that lead above the valley to the site of The Dancing Virgins. You see the huge stones move, and dance, as the sun slowly goes down over the hill. You wonder what secrets these stones hold.
I didn't think Mr. Booth could even come close to what he did with Black Dog. But he not only came close, he outdid himself. This book drags you in, and won't let you go. Many of the same characters from Black Dog are there, and they hold the same fascination as they did before. Even more so now. They have become friends. Friends you want to see more often. And hopefully they will stay around for a long time to come.
I highly recommend that you run, don't walk, run, and get a copy of this book. You are in for a wonderful adventure. An adventure into the lives of some very interesting, and complicated people. And a land that will haunt you even in your dreams.
