Lovely easy read. Makes me chuckle that I was on his Devil's Edge a few days ago and having lunch in one of the villages below. I also enjoyed hearing the author 'live' a year or two back at the Bakewell library as he is a very entertaining speaker. ( )

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12796273 ( )

Cleverly plotted crime story set in a small (fictional) Peak District village where a number of very wealthy residents have moved in and simmering resentment isn't far below the surface. Sgt Ben Cooper carries the burden of leading the on the ground investigation and can't resist developing theories which run counter to the perceived wisdom of his superiors and the press, keen to sensationalise any crime. An enjoyable read although I immediately recognised the logic of Cooper's assumptions, which seemed pretty obvious, but I didn't work out who the villians were which was quite well disguised. ( )

From the Book:

The Devil’s Edge is a huge rocky ridge in the Peak District. In Stephen Booth’s foreboding and atmospheric murder story, the moorland area above it makes the hero, Ben Cooper, feel as though someone were ‘walking over his grave’. The Edge is compared to a fortress wall, one that should protect the middle-class, rather
unneighborly village of Riddings from invaders. The trouble is, the Edge isn’t doing its job.

My Thoughts:

The 11th book in the series finds Cooper now sergeant and investigating a number of home break ins. An influential couple have been the victims of what until now have been harmless...but this one has gone very nasty. The woman is dead with her head caved in and the husband is on the critical list. The press has dubbed the perpetrators "The Savages" and Cooper secretly agrees.

Things are so very cool between Cooper and his colleague, Diane Fry. Since Fry has been off on a training assignment Cooper has been appointed to run her old team. That and two very differing points of view, do not make a friendly working relationship.

The place itself is the leading "character" in this story. Booth has done an admirable job of creating the wild moors with all it's wildlife both real and imagined as parts of vivid stories that those that walk there can't help but conjure. Riddings itself is portrayed as a soulless, heartless place. Cooper can't fathom why these wealthy people chose to live there to begin with. In addition to these late comers are the native long-term inhabitants of the village...the lottery winner...the snoop...the disgraced teacher and all the others. The atmosphere will linger with the reader long after the covers of the book are closed. ( )

Lovely easy read. Makes me chuckle that I was on his Devil's Edge a few days ago and having lunch in one of the villages below. I also enjoyed hearing the author 'live' a year or two back at the Bakewell library as he is a very entertaining speaker. ( )