O Toque da Morte

Ben Cooper & Diane Fry #9

by Stephen Booth

Numa charneca do Derbyshire assolada pela chuva, os cães de um grupo de caçadores encontram o cadáver de um homem bem vestido, cujo crânio fora esmagado. Chamados a investigar a descoberta, os detectives Diane Fry e Ben Cooper envolvem-se no submundo da caca e daqueles que a detestam, do roubo de cavalos e de um sector pouco conhecido do comércio de came. A medida que Fry segue um trilho complexo para desvendar os interesses duvidosos da vitima, Cooper apercebe-se de que a explicação do caso pode estar enterrada no passado. Mas quando a ultima pista é revelada, Fry e Cooper vêem-se obrigados a encarar a realidade perturbadora de um passado bem mais recente.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, British Literature, Procedural, Detective, Audiobook

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Stephen Booth is the author of 18 novels in the Cooper & Fry series, all set around England's Peak District, and a standalone novel DROWNED LIVES, published in August 2019.

The Cooper & Fry series has won awards on both sides of the Atlantic, and Detective Constable Cooper has been a finalist for the Sherlock Award for Best Detective created by a British author. The Crime Writers’ Association presented Stephen with the Dagger in the Library Award for “the author whose books have given readers most pleasure.”

The novels are sold all around the world, with translations in 16 languages. The most recent title is FALL DOWN DEAD.

A new Stephen Booth standalone novel with a historical theme, DROWNED LIVES, will be published in August 2019:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drowned-Live...

In recent years, Stephen has become a Library Champion in support of the UK’s ‘Love Libraries’ campaign. He's represented British literature at the Helsinki Book Fair in Finland, appeared with Alexander McCall Smith at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival in Australia, filmed a documentary for 20th Century Fox on the French detective Vidocq, taken part in online chats for World Book Day, taught crime writing courses, and visited prisons to talk to prisoners about writing.

He lives in Nottinghamshire.

Reviews

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ninth in the Cooper and Fry novels set in Derbyshire's Peak District. Detective Sergeant Diane Fry seems to be increasingly paranoid about Detective Constable Ben Cooper with all manner of suspicions but never confronting him. Ben seems to carry on regardless, he is becoming a little to "nice", and takes on more than his share of the work load. The Inspector DI Hitchins is become more and more remote from the team and the new Superintendent seems to be pursuing some unknown agenda of her own.

The novels have now developed a pattern by starting out well, in a fast readable style. Unfortunately the endings fragment and there are conflicting and not always well brought together story lines which , for me, detract rather than enhance the book.

A four at two thirds distance descending to three star at the finish.

[Thejelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My admiration for Booth just keeps on growing. Not only are his crime novels meticulously plotted and utterly gripping, they offer fascinating insights into his chosen patch for this Cooper and Fry series _ rural Derbyshire. Those insights are wide-ranging: geographical, historical, cultural and the pictures he paints are vivid, bringing real depth to these stories. This one, starting with the murder of a possibly dodgy businessman, is a corker and the quality of the series is showing no sign of tailing off.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det här är ju den nionde delen i serien och i mitt tycke är den mer lik den första boken, Svarta hunden, den som fick mig att vilja fortsätta läsa. I alla fall vad gäller själva känslan. Det kan bero på att sidantalet nu är nere i mer lätthanterligt antal, vilket betyder att det inte är riktigt lika mycket utsvävningar. Läs mer på min blogg

[Jane Withers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to abandon this half way . It’s dire . Normally I really really enjoy this series .. this book was too graphic on the abattoir scenes .. it was disjointed and a mess . I will look up the ending on line .

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but not one of the best in this serie. Love the characters.

[John Weir · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay... at least it's British crime, too much American fiction out there for me.

[skattkatten_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rävjakt, lik, häststölder, jägare, jaktsabotörer och brittisk köttindustri håller Ben Cooper och Diane Fry upptagna ett bra tag.

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read other Stephen Booth books I looked forward to this one. However, I did not enjoy this one as much as the plot meandered and didn't hold together. He seemed to be connecting the motivations of the characters with the story of Eyam but it didn't work for me. The relationship between Cooper and Fry didn't ring true either. I live in the Peak District and enjoyed the setting details but the abattoir scenes were a bit much. I will be interested to see how Fry deals with the rape case in the next book.

[Herzog · Rating 2 out of 5]

A definite disappointment. I'm a fan of this series, but this book is a mess. The motivations are jumbled and the horse meat discussions needlessly graphic. Cooper's and Fry's relationship is as tenuous and undecipherable as ever. Cooper's positive intentions are left unrealized as is Fry's impending decision whether to proceed with prosecuting her own rape case leaving hope for the next work in the series.

[Lynn Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Another pretty good novel in this English series. I do think he needs a good editor, though, and I wish Ben and Diane could resolve their issues. (Maybe the tension between them is the point, though).

[Jim Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm, no.... I'm looking for a new British crime author to read, and tried this author. I won't be going back.

This book reminded me a fair bit of the Inspector Linley mysteries, in as much as there's one person who you wouldn't expect to be there (in this case a Brummie in the countryside), someone with a bit of a chip on her shoulder, a guy who knows has specialist knowledge of things a downtrodden city type wouldn't get (in this case he isn't rich, but is better suited it seems to country policing), and someone with a complete inferiority complex.

The book itself sees Cooper and Fry investigate the death of a "wide-boy" horse dealer in the middle of a field, while a hunt (and various saboteurs) do what they do nearby. Did the hunt have anything to do with it? Were the saboteurs involved? Was it someone else completely? Someone related to his "wide-boy" ways? Well the book helps us find out.

The problem I had with this book is that I liked neither of the two main investigators. Fry is the sergeant. She good at interviews, and seems to run a decent enough investigation, but has few social skills, is convinced, it seems, that people are out to do her down (which is phenomenally big headed), and seems incapable of adjusting to country policing. More worryingly, she seems incapable of working out how to manage the adjustment.

Cooper, in comparison, seems incapable of managing his sergeant. He gets the locals better, but can't seem to help himself, when it comes passing on this local colour (he seems particularly good at putting his foot in his mouth when communicating with his line manager).

I wouldn't mind this, if this was the first book in the series, but this is the nineth book, and I would have hoped/expected that Fry and Cooper would have managed to work together effectively by now.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Booth has several different themes or plot lines running simultaneously. Probably most interesting to me was the history of Eyam, the "Plague Village," which instituted measures to slow the plague after it had been brought to the village from London in a bundle of wool that was infested with fleas. They quarantined the entire village for over a year (I think). Another plot line has to do with the illegal sale of horses to be slaughtered and sold for meat. The title "kill call" comes from fox hunting and the notes blown on the horn to call the hounds to kill the fox. The third plot line has to do with the ROC, the Royal Observer Corps, which in the 1960s was involved in preparedness for a nuclear war. At the end, all three come together somehow. The relationship between Cooper and Fry moves along a few notches. It's not clear where it's headed, but Cooper's love interest drops out of view after she encourages Cooper to talk to Fry, who needs a friend. Oh, and Randy dies and Cooper brings home a new kitten.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general I liked the plot and characters, except for one (more about that later). I always like mysteries set in rainy and gloomy England, and this book was very atmospheric in that way. The subject, horsemeat as cuisine, was rather unappetizing (literally). There were some details about that subject that I don't care to remember. However, the biggest stumbling block for me was Diane Fry. She really is an unfriendly and unsympathetic character which I have never warmed to. Finally, as this is book #9 and Fry is still a DS and Cooper a DC, I am wondering if either of them will ever get promoted. Usually British mysteries revolve around the DI or DCI, so this book is a change in that it revolves around the DS and her team of DCs. However, I would like to see either Fry or Cooper--or both--become a little more ambitious and get promoted, instead of being in the same rut their whole careers.

[IAN SPEIGHT · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've actually read a novel that features the local hunt? However, apart from the stunningly described Derbyshire scenery, I Struggled with this novel. At times it was like trying to negotiate a clarty moor in the middle of winter. It was both dark & cold I felt no warmth for the characters, DS Diane Fry and DC Ben Cooper Just don't gel, I Really soon had little interest in what they were saying or to whom & why. I Think they were not the best of friends, but I honestly am struggling to remember 48 hours after finishing the book if they became friends or what? And frankly, I care not. The story tackles the Issue as mentioned of Fox Hunting, Has the author an agenda? & Stolen horses which is when the author seems to wander into Dick Francis territory but not as to great aplomb. The scene setting is magnificent, but that was the highlight for me in an otherwise lukewarm tale.

[Virginia Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

A local fox hunt finds the body of a man bludgeoned to death on a Derbyshire moor, while an anonymous caller reports the same body lying half a mile away. Plunged into the world of fox hunting, hunt saboteurs, horse stealing, horse selling and the horse meat trade, Detectives DS Diane Fry and DC Ben Cooper begin to realize that events in the past may be reaching into the present. Cooper realizes that the answer to the case might lie deep in the past. Not a book for the squeamish and enough to make you consider becoming a vegetarian, as with the other books in this series Booth vividly captures the scenery and life of the Peak District in a story that is well plotted with strong, complex characters.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a little bit about fox hunting, the Royal Observer Corps, the Black Death, and the trade in horse meat as a delicacy in Europe, but these disparate threads didn't quite hang together, and when the killer was finally revealed, it seemed like a thin motive. Not my favorite in the series, but I enjoy the tense relationship between Cooper and Fry, particularly how Diane seeks to hide her vulnerabilities under a tough veneer. The author hints that he will explore the origins of these vulnerabilities more in the next book, Lost River.

[R.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it.

In this novel the angst (Cooper) and anger (Fry) continues as Fry tries to figure out why Cooper does what he does - and surely it's his fault - and Cooper continues to wonder what he did to make Fry so angry with him. I think it's an interesting dynamic, one I haven't seen explored between detectives working together before.

Here we learn a lot about fox hunting, the pros and cons, and the horse meat market (Yuk!) and why this sneaker dealer in horses got himself killed. Good reading.

My mother was an avid reader of mystery, especially British mystery, and so am I. September 24 was her birthday. This was for her.

[Lorne Strachan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. The title refers to fox hunting. Even if there are no foxes involved these days The Hunt endures in parts of England, in this case the Peak District, which becomes almost a character in the novel. The Hunt and the hunters are neatly intertwined with the murder enquiry and the bizarre world involved in the selling of horse meat. In this case I "read" the audio book and it was pretty enjoyable once I got used to the accent of the performer, which was a bit hard to follow at first. I would recommend it to anyone who has ever been to the Peak District. I've hiked through there a few times and the book brings back memories of the sights and smells and the weather.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all the books in this series (one of the few I've actually read in order!) & this was no exception. The relationship between Diane & Ben continues to intrigue me & I'm looking forward to see how things move on for the pair both career & relationship wise in the next book.

Although all the books work well as standalone novels, I'd recommend reading in order to enable you to fully appreciate the dynamics...& complexity!... of Diane & Ben's relationship.

[Shirley Hartman-Rozee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere in the reading of the book I lost track of the story. There was a murder but that fact was overshadowed by the idea that the man obtained horses, either by buying from anguished owners who thought he would be retiring the horses to a lovely pasture and cozy barn or he stole them, to sell them to an abattoir to be slaughtered, cut up, and sold as “cheval meat”. Eventually, the murderer was discovered but my mind just kept returning me to the fate of faithful Dobbin.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a couple of Stephen Booth Fry and Cooper novels, having fairly recently discovered this author. this book is excellent. it kept me gripped till the end. Although I am not familiar with the hunting world nor warning systems for emergencies etc, it was interesting to read about these issues and to have a plot based around them. I will definitely read more of Stephen Booth books

[Gail Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am finding the activities of Cooper and Fry quite absorbing. I enjoyed the interaction of the main characters and their conflicting view of people and place. The focus on this one around a hunt and it's saboteurs, the rich versus the poor - or is it? Echoes of the past that flood in and blind the present. Well worth the time to read.

[Kath · Rating 2 out of 5]

When the body of business man, Patrick Rawson is found out on the moors, DS Diane Fry is convinced that his death is linked to the local hunt but this is a story full of red herrings and sub plots making it a very disjointed read. It also explores the tense relationship between Fry and DC Ben Cooper which only adds more padding with little substance. A disappointing read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of the series. The plot advanced with choppy boredom. Two or three times I thought about going on to another book, but it was (barely) worth finishing. Jumping back-and-forth between Fox Chasing, the Royal Observer Corps, and Sergeant Fry’s angst made it difficult to track, but then I am almost 80 years old.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one seemed disjointed, plus all the discussion on horse meat, like the reader was being schooled. It seems like more of a set up for a change in the series. If I had read this one first, I never would have picked up another book by this author, and I am a big fan of the earlier titles.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

The local foxhunt hounds discover a body with his head bashed in. The problem is the Police received an anonymous call that the same body was discovered nearly a mile away. Cooper and Fry are on the case but nothing seems to be as it should. The victim is not as clean as he should be.

[Dallas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Cooper & Fry had a great start, I enjoyed the English Hunt angle of the setting. Booth got a little bogged down by trying to pull too many story lines together and lost some momentum to the story. I do enjoy this series though, so will continue to read them.

[Aj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, I think it would have been best to start with the first in the series but my local library only has this and the follow up ( Lost River). The main characters are well drawn, not immediately likeable but grew on me. I will seek out the rest of the series.

[Jean Hontz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is deeply focused on the area (the Peak district), its history, its geography, its people. The mysteries are well thought out, and effective at keeping you guessing. And such interesting characters.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another strong one in the series. This author is a master had portraying the local, geography, history, culture and atmosphere but this story seemed a bit too scattered and I'm not sure was completely resolved at the end. Still a good read but could use a bit more focus.