Product Description

Bones where there should be none and a chilling warning of an imminent killing challenge Detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry in their sixth novel. "This death will be a model of perfection. The details will be precise, the conception immaculate, the execution flawless!" When a caller taunts the police with talk of a 'dead place' and the threat of an imminent killing, most think it's a sick hoax. But Detective Diane Fry is sure there's a murderer at work. And when the voice calmly invites them to meet the 'flesh eater', Fry fears it may be too late. Meanwhile, her colleague DC Ben Cooper is investigating Derbyshire's first case of body snatching, entering the macabre world of those whose lives revolve around the deceased and their disposal. But does an obsession with death make for a killer? And what horrors will greet them when they finally find the dead place?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5190 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Review
Praise for 'The Dead Place': 'A dark Derbyshire mystery!not for the squeamish' Daily Mail 'A thoroughly enjoyable book from one of Britain's best crime writers' Sunday Telegraph Praise for Stephen Booth: 'A leading light of British crime writing' Guardian 'Endows the traditional crime story with a literary strength that lifts it above the general ruck... He gives a satisfying read rather than a quick fix' Independent 'Stephen Booth is an author to keep an eye on' Evening Standard 'In this atmospheric debut, Stephen Booth makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter' Val McDermid 'Black Dog sinks its teeth into you and doesn't let go ! A dark star may be born!' Reginald Hill 'Best traditional crime novel of the year' Independent, Books of the Year 'Endows the traditional crime story with a literary strength that lifts it above the general ruck... He gives a satisfying read rather than a quick fix' Independent '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 Standar

A thorough, and thoroughly ghoulish, primer on death rituals.While DS Diane Fry tries to puzzle out the identity of the anonymous caller cryptically suggesting that he'll murder unless she stops him, DC Ben Cooper has two tasks: discover who shot Graceless, Tom Jarvis's hound, and put a name to the pile of female bones found in the woods at Ravensdale. Facial reconstruction leads to the identification of Audrey Steele, but Ms. Steele was supposedly cremated 18 months ago, the funeral handled by the venerable firm of Hudson and Slack. If she wasn't in the casket, who was? The trail to the answer will wend past the Eden Valley Crematorium - and include much discussion of decomposition rates, body fluids and the comparative weight of male and female final ashes, with gruesome historical insights provided by a haughty thanatology professor - before settling down to outbuildings on Alder Hall, an unoccupied estate up for sale. Arson will impede the investigation, and more bodies will pile up before Fry and Cooper's original cases collide in a bang-up finish.Fry and Cooper (One Last Breath, 2006, etc.) are not the most companionable characters to spend time with, and their author's penchant for lecturing rather than storytelling is another turnoff. Fans of real-life body-snatchers Burke and Hare, however, may find some refreshing moments here. (Kirkus Reviews)

Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian
'A leading light of British crime writing'

Sunday Telegraph
"Another thoroughly enjoyable book from one of Britain's best crime writers."

Customer Reviews

NOT ONE OF THE BEST!
I am a great Peter Robinson fan who is always on the look out for new authors. I don't feel I found I found a substitute in this book. It didn't grip me from the first page and I found it slow going. I felt the chapters didn't flow, the characters weren't interesting enough and were too numerous. I did stick it out to the end as I wanted to know 'whodunnit', but was quite glad to reach the last page. I have Dancing with the virgins at home and am hoping for better things with that. Any author reccomendations gratefully accepted.

Some of the Best Crime Writing Around

A newspaper and magazine journalist for over 25 years, Stephen Booth was born in the English Pennine town of Burnley. He was brought up on the coast at Blackpool, where he began his career in journalism by editing his school magazine and wrote his first 'novel' at the age of 13.

Stephen gave up journalism in 2001 to write crime novels full time. He and his wife Lesley live in a former Georgian dower house near Retford, Nottinghamshire, in Robin Hood country.

Derbyshire police are in a quandary. Is the anonymous caller who taunts them with an imminent killing just a hoaxer getting kicks from the calls he makes or is he for real. He is certainly very graphic in his macabre calls with descriptions of both death and decomposition, but anyone could read about that in books. Maybe it is just someone's sick fantasy. Can they afford to take the chance.

After listening to the voice, so calm and controlled Detective Diane Fry is convinced that this is no sick, time waster, but a real killer and one who enjoys telling the police what he is going to do next. Challenging them to stop him before it happens.

Some of the Best Crime Fiction

A newspaper and magazine journalist for over 25 years, Stephen Booth was born in the English Pennine town of Burnley. He was brought up on the coast at Blackpool, where he began his career in journalism by editing his school magazine and wrote his first 'novel' at the age of 13.

Stephen gave up journalism in 2001 to write crime novels full time. He and his wife Lesley live in a former Georgian dower house near Retford, Nottinghamshire, in Robin Hood country.

Derbyshire police are in a quandary. Is the anonymous caller who taunts them with an imminent killing just a hoaxer getting kicks from the calls he makes or is he for real. He is certainly very graphic in his macabre calls with descriptions of both death and decomposition, but anyone could read about that in books. Maybe it is just someone's sick fantasy. Can they afford to take the chance.

After listening to the voice, so calm and controlled Detective Diane Fry is convinced that this is no sick, time waster, but a real killer and one who enjoys telling the police what he is going to do next. Challenging them to stop him before it happens.