I've had "Blind to the Bones", the latest offering from Stephen Booth, pre-ordered from amazon for months now and just when I was beginning to think it would never arrive, it popped through my door. You'll be expecting me to say that I ripped the wrapping off straight away, started reading and couldn't put it down...well, that's not quite what happened. You see, as I opened the package, I found myself with a dreadful sense of foreboding - I knew that once I started (and finished) reading, it would be months, perhaps even years, before the next new Stephen Booth book was published. I decided to save the book for a 'rainy day'.
My resolve lasted for about 48 hours...
Booth's latest book is another in his series telling of the working lives of police officers Diane Fry and Ben Cooper, although once again, "Blind to the Bones" is a stand-alone book - you don't need to have read it's predecessors to understand what's happening (although I would highly recommend that you do!)
This time, the action centres around Withens, a small, run-down village in the Peak District. Withens has its fair share of problem residents, including the mistrustful, close-knit Oxleys and the Renshaws.
The Renshaw's daughter, Emma, a student in Birmingham, has disappeared on her journey to visit her parents at home. In fact, not just disappeared, but seemingly vanished into thin air without a trace. Although two years has passed since Emma set out to catch the train and never arrived at her destination, her parents fervently believe that she is still alive. Their fanatical convictions cause them to keep her room as a shrine, buy her Christmas gifts, tax and insure her car and continue to speak of her in the present tense, as if she had just nipped out to the shops and would be returning at any moment. All of which makes life very difficult for the police officers reinvestigating the case following the sinister discovery of a new lead on nearby moors.
While living in Birmingham, Emma shared a house with three other young people, two of whom were also former Withens residents. While Fry is investigating Emma's disappearance, Cooper is involved in investigating a murder. Neil, a member of the Oxley clan and former housemate of Emma, is found with a fatal head injury. Are the two cases connected?
Once again, Booth has produced a masterpiece of fiction in which every single character is strong, even the more minor players. This is a very believable, expertly written thriller that teases apart the complex strands of the two interlocking cases before finally knitting them together again in a highly satisfying conclusion. It has everything a thriller should have - suspense, mystery, local interest, atmosphere and even an injection of humour in the form of the irrepressible glutton, DC Gavin Murfin. "Blind to the Bones" also has added interest for the reader with an episode from Fry's past rearing its ugly head and threatening devastating consequences for her.
If I could rate a book 6/5, "Blind to the Bones" would be the book to achieve this distinction. However, I can't, so will have to settle for a resounding 5/5 and a recommendation that if you haven't discovered Stephen Booth yet, you rectify that immediately.
I'll end my review of "Blind to the Bones" with my usual complaints about Stephen Booth's work...the first is that he doesn't write quickly enough for my liking as every new book he publishes just whets my appetite for more. The second is that nobody has yet made a television series of his books - to my mind, Fry and Cooper are the natural successors to the late and great Morse.
But, please don't just take my word for it - read the books yourselves.
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN:0 00 713065 1
Price: £17.99 h/b (NB: Currently unavailable in US)
Date Reviewed: April 2003
My Rating: 5/5
