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 enlarge | Author: Stephen Booth
Publisher: Collins Crime
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £9.98 (100%)
New (2) Used (10) Collectible (1) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 915570
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
ISBN: 0002326930
EAN: 9780002326933
ASIN: 0002326930
Publication Date: May 2, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good Solid Condition Paperback. May contain some creasing/scuffing to cover and some tanning to pages. But otherwise will be of very good quality. FAST DISPATCH.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A mix of tedium and and plot March 20, 2007
4 out of 12 found this review helpful
I have to agree with a previous reviewer who felt disappointed by this book. I, too, had heard many great things regarding Stephen Booth but I found Black Dog extremely dull for the first half. The writing was always clear and clever but the tedious attention to detail on the tiniest bit of land - which served no purpose - made me want give up reading. As well as the cliched 'career' woman cop (not much of a career woman if she's only a DS). Still, I am hopeful the further novels will be less description and more action.
Impressive debut March 3, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
From start to finish, this is an exploration of secrets - everyone has them and some are darker than others! It's rather dark and you get the feeling that "outsiders" aren't necessarily welcome despite Edendale being a tourist town in the summer - an air of "This is a local town, for local people - there's nothing for you here!"
Plenty of twists & turns keep the reader engrossed as the police are thrown off the scent, whether by accident or design. There is constant intrigue, and some really good character development throughout the story. I was kept guessing all the way through the book, till the very end I had absolutely no idea who the murderer is - I was as much in the dark as the police, yet when the mystery was solved, I could look back and see exactly where the clues were offered up. It was almost like having a jigsaw puzzle and thinking you've lost a piece from the middle, only to realise you were sitting on it all along!
As a crime novel, this was an intensely good read and as a debut, it's incredibly impressive. I'll definitely be trying more of Stephen booth's work at some point in the future.
 Soak up the atmosphere April 27, 2006
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
After reading all Stephen Booth's other Cooper and Fry novels, I have finally managed to get hold of a copy of Black Dog. Some purists would say that you should always start a series at the beginning but I don't think that is necessarily true - indeed, in his later books, Booth provides enough information about both Fry and Cooper's backgrounds to enable the reader to understand their drivers and foibles.
However, and possibly because I had read the other books first, I found it a fascinating experience to visit the early days of these two characters to see how their relationship started. Booth writes with such skill that you are able to get into the characters' minds and almost feel as if you are living their existence.
Black Dog is a great police procedural - the basics of the novel have been reviewed by many others so I won't go into detail about the plot. Suffice it to say that enough red herrings are floating about that the identity of the murderer when divulged came as a considerable surprise.
The beauty of Booth's writing is his depiction of the Peak District and the lives of the characters inhabiting the towns and villages therein. He is a master at this and totally draws the reader in such that you feel you are there - you can feel the earth, smell the hay and hear the sounds of the distant tractor in the fields. Marvellous writing - I would have to put Booth on a par with James Lee Burke and Ian Rankin for the sheer atmosphere that he creates.
Having read all his other novels, I can say that Cooper and Fry are great protagonists and their characters and relationship continue to develop. Booth continues to introduce different scenarios and does not stick to similar plots - try reading Blood on the Tongue, this is perhaps his finest novel to date.
I look forward to continuing to enjoy Stephen Booth's work.
Works for me! February 6, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Having read the other reviews, it is plain that this book has received a more sharply polarised response than most but I found it intriguing and enjoyable. For a first novel, I thought it was very good indeed. Perhaps, the two chief characters were a little too self-conciously created as diametric opposites but a good foundation was laid for future episodes involving them and both were becoming more well-rounded by the end of the book. There were enough red herrings to satisfy most mystery lovers although the end did seem a faint "cheat". My only real criticism is that all (as opposed to some) of the characters seemed to be holding their cards very close to their chests whether or not there was any real reason for their secretiveness. On the basis of this first effort, I will certainly be trying the others in the series.
A Great Start October 29, 2003
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
In Stephen Booth’s debut novel, we are taken to the Peak District in northern England. It’s in this setting that a 15-year-old girl, Laura Vernon, has gone missing only to be found later, murdered. The Vernons are known as ‘comers-in’ by the locals, meaning that they are new to the area and will consequently be treated as outsiders. It is because of this that the locals are not particularly helpful when questioned by the police.The beginning of the book is very reminiscent of Val McDermid’s A Place of Execution. A young girl is missing from a small rural community. The locals are not particularly helpful with the police. The detectives working on the case are young with their eyes cast to furthering their career. Mystery not only surrounds the murder of Laura Vernon, it surrounds many of the characters in the book. DC Ben Cooper is dealing with his mother’s schizophrenia; Diane Fry has just arrived in Edendale and has brought personal problems of her own. Laura Vernon’s parents are both harbouring secrets that they are keen not to let out and Harry Dickenson, the man who found Laura, is being very close-lipped as well. Even Laura Vernon herself was leading a secret life that would have shocked her parents had they found out. The surrounding Derbyshire countryside of the beautiful Peak District is described with exceptional clarity giving us an insight into countryside that must be simply breathtaking to behold. The local folk are portrayed as friendly, yet reserved when it comes to dealing with outsiders. A little humour is provided throughout by three old Derbyshire gents who have been friends for over sixty years. Together they make wry observations to one another and always seem to watch others with a sardonic eye. My enjoyment in this book can be witnessed by the length of my review. I’m usually a 3 paragraph man. A quick overview and my impressions usually suffice. This book moved me more than most and my feeling of satisfaction has been reflected here. Read the book, if you’re after a terrific police procedural I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
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