Blood on the Tongue

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written and all absorbing but lengthy
Review: Ben Cooper and Diane Fry are back with their third investigation. In the Peak District, several deaths need looking into. First of all, a young woman, Marie Tennent, is found curled up in the snow. Could she be a suicide or, perhaps, it is something much more sinister. Second, the body of a dead man is uncovered by a snowplow. His identity is unknown. Third, a woman from Canada has come into town to clear the name of her grandfather who piloted a plane into the remote mountainside in World War II. His body has never been found and he is considered to be a deserter. Ben becomes interested and wants to help in spite of his orders to stay away.
Stephen Booth's third novel is every bit as good as the previous two. His novels are long, at times, lugubrious, affairs. They are strong on atmosphere, depiction of locale and, most of all, highly realistic depictions of the characters.
It is truly remarkable that in so few books, Stephen Booth has soared to the highest ranks of crime writers in Great Britain. I still feel the books are way too long and have always complained about that. However, they are so beautifully written that they can completely absorb the reader into its pages so one forgets the time. This book is as highly recommended as the others.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent entry in a series
Review: Ben Cooper and Diane Fry, colleages in a rural British police department, return in the third entry in a continuing series of police procedurals. They share a rather prickly relationship which often interferes with their efforts to work together productively. A series of seemingly unconnected murders has occurred, people disappear, a young woman arrives from Canada to search for information on her grandfather who died as as RAF aviator in WWII, a local tightly Polish community hides secrets of its own, an eccentric book store owner may be involved in illegal activity (or not), one or perhaps two missing infants, and the plight of several elderly residents of the area is portrayed with sensitivity.

Gradually it becomes clear that all events center around a rocky area where WWII aircraft crashed over 60 years ago. Very tightly plotted, and thoroughly enjoyable!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent entry in a series
Review: Ben Cooper and Diane Fry, colleages in a rural British police department, return in the third entry in a continuing series of police procedurals. They share a rather prickly relationship which often interferes with their efforts to work together productively. A series of seemingly unconnected murders has occurred, people disappear, a young woman arrives from Canada to search for information on her grandfather who died as as RAF aviator in WWII, a local tightly Polish community hides secrets of its own, an eccentric book store owner may be involved in illegal activity (or not), one or perhaps two missing infants, and the plight of several elderly residents of the area is portrayed with sensitivity.

Gradually it becomes clear that all events center around a rocky area where WWII aircraft crashed over 60 years ago. Very tightly plotted, and thoroughly enjoyable!

Rating:
Summary: BLOOD ON THE TONGUE
Review: BLOOD ON THE TONGUE is another fantastic novel from Stephen Booth. Not only another fantastic novel, but one with old friends, and even some new ones. Reading BLOOD ON THE TONGUE felt like coming home again.

It is in the middle of the coldest part of the year in the Peak District. The time of the year for cold, frozen feet and red, burning ears. When snow flurries blow hard, and the snow banks along the roads grow so high that they hide all kinds of secrets. Perhaps even a dead body, or two.

Ben Cooper and Diane Fry find themselves together again, at the Edendale Police Department in the midst of a crime wave. Young men are beating each other, people are being found frozen in the snow, and there is a terrible shortage of help. To make life just that much more unbearable at the moment, Diane has a new nemesis, DC Gavin Murfin. A completely, in Diane's mind anyway, uncivilized brute who drives her nuts with both his disgusting eating habits, as well as just him simply breathing. Everything about Gavin disgusts Diane.

To top everything off E Division is getting a new Detective Chief Inspector. Stewart Tailby is retiring to a desk job at headquarters, and DCI Oliver Kessen is taking over.

In the middle of this chaos a young woman arrives from Canada in search of information concerning her grandfather, Daniel McTeague. The problem with this is that Pilot Officer McTeague has been missing since his RAF plane went down 57 years earlier in the peat moors around Irontongue Hill. It was reported at the time that Officer McTeague had survived the accident, and had left the wreckage, walking away from his military career and past life, never to be seen, or heard from again. His granddaughter, Alison Morrissey does not believe this, and is insistent that the police open the old case again and investigate.

Because of political pressure, the Chief Superintendent agrees to speak to Morrissy concerning her grandfather, but doesn't really have his heart in the whole thing. After all the disappearance was 57 years ago, and all of the evidence surrounding it seems pretty sound.

But Ben cannot, and will not let it alone. He has to find out what happened almost 60 years ago.

BLOOD ON THE TONGUE, like the previous books by Mr. Booth, is full of atmosphere and personal relationships. He does this in such a way that you actually feel that you are in the story. The way Mr. Booth describes the Peak District landscape, and the people of
Edendale draw you into the story.

You feel the cold wind against your face, burning your ears, and making it difficult to breath. As you look up at Irontongue Hill you will see it is, "tongue shaped with ridges and furrows. Reptilian, not human, with a curl at the tip. Colder and harder than iron. Darker rock laying on broken teeth of volcano rock debris." And 'you will' see it. All of this you will see and feel, along with people who you cannot forget, their lives entwined and yet separate. Mr. Booth brings both the land and the people together into a story that is completely unforgettable. One that will haunt you and make you want for more. And when you finally get that next story, Mr. Booth does it again, leaving you satisfied, and yet already yearning for more.

BLOOD ON THE TONGUE weaves the past and the present into one. Brings the story full circle. Every character and scene is woven so tightly that you cannot separate them, and yet they remain individual. The characters are everyday characters with lives, feelings, and personalities of their own that you actually can feel and touch. The scenes are so real that they will haunt your dreams at night. The mood, while dark, is absolutely balanced with enough humor and light that it doesn't depress you, but instead keeps you turning those pages to learn more.

BLOOD ON THE TONGUE is an absolute winner, and Mr. Booth has proven himself again as a literary giant. All I can say is that BLOOD ON THE TONGUE will leave you craving for more from this outstanding author.

As with Mr. Booth's previous books, Black Dog, and Dancing with the Virgins, BLOOD ON THE TONGUE is a book that you will want to read slowly, because you want to savor each and every word. It is a book you will not want to rush through. I took my time, knowing that when I turned that last page I would want the next episode and didn't want to have to wait for a long time. Now that I have turned that last page, I am looking forward to the next book out of Mr. Booth, knowing that he again will outdo himself, just as he has with BLOOD ON THE TONGUE. Until then my dreams will be full of the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the Peak District and the people who inhabit it.

Rating:
Summary: BLOOD ON THE TONGUE
Review: BLOOD ON THE TONGUE is another fantastic novel from Stephen Booth. Not only another fantastic novel, but one with old friends, and even some new ones. Reading BLOOD ON THE TONGUE felt like coming home again.

It is in the middle of the coldest part of the year in the Peak District. The time of the year for cold, frozen feet and red, burning ears. When snow flurries blow hard, and the snow banks along the roads grow so high that they hide all kinds of secrets. Perhaps even a dead body, or two.

Ben Cooper and Diane Fry find themselves together again, at the Edendale Police Department in the midst of a crime wave. Young men are beating each other, people are being found frozen in the snow, and there is a terrible shortage of help. To make life just that much more unbearable at the moment, Diane has a new nemesis, DC Gavin Murfin. A completely, in Diane's mind anyway, uncivilized brute who drives her nuts with both his disgusting eating habits, as well as just him simply breathing. Everything about Gavin disgusts Diane.

To top everything off E Division is getting a new Detective Chief Inspector. Stewart Tailby is retiring to a desk job at headquarters, and DCI Oliver Kessen is taking over.

In the middle of this chaos a young woman arrives from Canada in search of information concerning her grandfather, Daniel McTeague. The problem with this is that Pilot Officer McTeague has been missing since his RAF plane went down 57 years earlier in the peat moors around Irontongue Hill. It was reported at the time that Officer McTeague had survived the accident, and had left the wreckage, walking away from his military career and past life, never to be seen, or heard from again. His granddaughter, Alison Morrissey does not believe this, and is insistent that the police open the old case again and investigate.

Because of political pressure, the Chief Superintendent agrees to speak to Morrissy concerning her grandfather, but doesn't really have his heart in the whole thing. After all the disappearance was 57 years ago, and all of the evidence surrounding it seems pretty sound.

But Ben cannot, and will not let it alone. He has to find out what happened almost 60 years ago.

BLOOD ON THE TONGUE, like the previous books by Mr. Booth, is full of atmosphere and personal relationships. He does this in such a way that you actually feel that you are in the story. The way Mr. Booth describes the Peak District landscape, and the people of
Edendale draw you into the story.

You feel the cold wind against your face, burning your ears, and making it difficult to breath. As you look up at Irontongue Hill you will see it is, "tongue shaped with ridges and furrows. Reptilian, not human, with a curl at the tip. Colder and harder than iron. Darker rock laying on broken teeth of volcano rock debris." And 'you will' see it. All of this you will see and feel, along with people who you cannot forget, their lives entwined and yet separate. Mr. Booth brings both the land and the people together into a story that is completely unforgettable. One that will haunt you and make you want for more. And when you finally get that next story, Mr. Booth does it again, leaving you satisfied, and yet already yearning for more.

BLOOD ON THE TONGUE weaves the past and the present into one. Brings the story full circle. Every character and scene is woven so tightly that you cannot separate them, and yet they remain individual. The characters are everyday characters with lives, feelings, and personalities of their own that you actually can feel and touch. The scenes are so real that they will haunt your dreams at night. The mood, while dark, is absolutely balanced with enough humor and light that it doesn't depress you, but instead keeps you turning those pages to learn more.

BLOOD ON THE TONGUE is an absolute winner, and Mr. Booth has proven himself again as a literary giant. All I can say is that BLOOD ON THE TONGUE will leave you craving for more from this outstanding author.

As with Mr. Booth's previous books, Black Dog, and Dancing with the Virgins, BLOOD ON THE TONGUE is a book that you will want to read slowly, because you want to savor each and every word. It is a book you will not want to rush through. I took my time, knowing that when I turned that last page I would want the next episode and didn't want to have to wait for a long time. Now that I have turned that last page, I am looking forward to the next book out of Mr. Booth, knowing that he again will outdo himself, just as he has with BLOOD ON THE TONGUE. Until then my dreams will be full of the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the Peak District and the people who inhabit it.

Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric, character-driven mystery
Review: Detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry take on a series of seemingly unrelated events - an apparent suicide, a beating, the murder of an unidentified man, a missing infant - in this character-driven mystery. All the cases keep leading back to frozen, snowy Irontongue Hill, where the wreckage of a Royal Air Force fighter plane that crashed there during World War II still remain. Meanwhile, the pilot's granddaughter has arrived from Canada seeking to clear her grandfather's name - and Ben finds himself intrigued by the story and by the woman who is so relentless in pursuit of the truth. Eventually the intertwined nature of the past and present mysteries becomes clear in a surprising ending.

The strength of this novel is in its characters: the pensive Ben, adjusting to moving out of his family's home; brusque, businesslike Diane, who seems not to feel at home anywhere; the Poles who fought for England in WWII and their descendants; and the numerous, perfectly sketched supporting characters who provide a sense of real community. There is apparently some sort of history between Ben and Diane - she is inexplicably annoyed by almost everything he does; he is very ambivalent about revealing himself to her - but its nature is never made clear. The vividly portrayed wintry landscape almost becomes a character as well. If you have read Stephen Booth's previous books, you will probably be pleased to spend time in familiar surroundings with old friends. If not, you will find an introduction to a world worth returning to.

Rating:
Summary: exciting crime thriller
Review: The Edendale, England Police Department copes with all manners of cases quite well until a blizzard strikes, causing the officers to work overtime under rough conditions. Petty criminal Eddie Kemp enters the picture when a neighbor identifies him as one of four white men attacking two immigrants. They have to let him go but will soon discover that he is at the center of a crime wave that leaves the "E" Division requiring a few breaks to solve some high profile cases.

A snowplow digs up the body of a man clothed in expensive attire but with no identification. The police alert the media in the hopes they can identify "The Snow Man." When the snow melts, a woman's body is found near the ruins of the Lancaster bomber, The Sugar Uncle Victor, which crashed into Iron Tongue Mountain in 1945. The snowman is identified as a RAF policeman who had been investigating something to do with the crashed airplane. As the police start to link the ties between all these people, dead and alive, they edge closer to uncovering the identities of the criminals.

Stephen Booth, author of the best-selling DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS, has written another exciting crime thriller that links present day crimes to an airplane crash that happened at the end of World War II. The protagonists seem realistic and are very personable, which makes it easy to finish the book in one sitting. As much as this will appeal to fans that love a good police procedural, it will also appeal to readers who like a human drama with all its ironies.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: exciting crime thriller
Review: The Edendale, England Police Department copes with all manners of cases quite well until a blizzard strikes, causing the officers to work overtime under rough conditions. Petty criminal Eddie Kemp enters the picture when a neighbor identifies him as one of four white men attacking two immigrants. They have to let him go but will soon discover that he is at the center of a crime wave that leaves the "E" Division requiring a few breaks to solve some high profile cases.

A snowplow digs up the body of a man clothed in expensive attire but with no identification. The police alert the media in the hopes they can identify "The Snow Man." When the snow melts, a woman's body is found near the ruins of the Lancaster bomber, The Sugar Uncle Victor, which crashed into Iron Tongue Mountain in 1945. The snowman is identified as a RAF policeman who had been investigating something to do with the crashed airplane. As the police start to link the ties between all these people, dead and alive, they edge closer to uncovering the identities of the criminals.

Stephen Booth, author of the best-selling DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS, has written another exciting crime thriller that links present day crimes to an airplane crash that happened at the end of World War II. The protagonists seem realistic and are very personable, which makes it easy to finish the book in one sitting. As much as this will appeal to fans that love a good police procedural, it will also appeal to readers who like a human drama with all its ironies.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Surprising
Review: The surprising thing about this author is that he isn't recognized more widely.
His writing is absolutely first-class, and his use of the
English language surpasses almost any other writing most us
encounter. In this narrow field of the "psychological thriller," his command of the language, and his fresh use of
the metaphor and simile, is unparalleled.
A serious reader will have to re-read some of his passages just
for the pleasure of how the mental picture developes as the
words are flowing.
In this outing, his "heros," Ben and Diane, remain at personal
odds, and they have a difficult time working together on their
rural Derbyshire Constabulary, but a series of crimes brings
them together again to work their particular magic on violent
felons.
A couple of dead bodies are found, apparently unrelated, but
investigation leads back to a WWII crash of a British bomber
in the rural mountains, and an amazing series of crimes begins
to unfold as evidence points to an ever-widening story of crime,
deception at multiple levels, and family relationships. The
details presented and analyzed will hold the reader's attention
throughout the book.
This author also has an unusual insight into how crime victims
react to the assaults on them, and some readers will almost
shrink from absorbing the details of that process.
This story is one that should not be missed by anyone reading
in the "crime" or "thriller" field, and we also learn a lot
about life in the rural England of today.
Rush to grab this one.

Rating:
Summary: Another Powerful Performance
Review: The third in the Cooper / Fry series once again uses the rugged, picturesque landscape of the Derbyshire Peak District as a stark backdrop to another enjoyable police procedural.

It's January and the Edendale police are severely short-staffed thanks to terrible weather and the resulting high number of "slip and fall" injuries. Meanwhile the snow is falling and is creating havoc is a town that seems to be going through a bit of a crime wave. Beatings, missing children and a couple of dead bodies are discovered in the snow, one going unidentified and the other prompting more questions than are answered. On top of this comes an unusually high level of interest in a 57-year-old wartime plane crash that had taken place just outside of town. How had the plane crashed? Whatever became of the pilot? Why is there so much interest in it now after all this time?

Detective Constable Ben Cooper is still the hardworking, under appreciated officer who is more than willing to take on any task assigned to him. His immediate superior Detective Sergeant Diane Fry is still the antagonistic outsider who resents Cooper's popularity and hardworking ethics. Surely something's got to give between these two sometime.

This excellent series of books is continued by yet another strong entry. Powerful writing gives the feeling of being placed within sight of the beautiful peaks around Edendale.