Lost River

An atmospheric Fry and Cooper thriller for fans of Peter Robinson and Reginald Hill.

A May Bank Holiday in the Peak District is ruined by the tragic drowning of an eight-year-old girl in picturesque Dovedale. For Detective Constable Ben Cooper, a helpless witness to the tragedy, the incident is not only traumatic, but leads him to become involved in the tangled lives of the Neilds, the dead girl's family.

As he gets to know them, Cooper begins to suspect that one of them is harbouring a secret – a secret that the whole family might be willing to cover up.

Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Diane Fry has a journey of her own to make – a journey back to her roots. As she finds herself drawn into an investigation of her own among the inner-city streets of Birmingham, Fry realises there is only one person she can rely on to provide the help she needs.

But that man is Ben Cooper, and he's back in Derbyshire, where his suspicions are leading him towards a shocking discovery on the banks of another Peak District river.

Reviews

Praise for Dying to Sin:

'Clever, intricate plot… Cooper is an ascendant Lewis to Fry's lonely, bitter Morse in this… gripping procedural' Financial Times

Praise for Scared to Live:

'It's easy to see why Stephen Booth's novels are so popular. The Peak District's awesome scenery is an ideal background for a murder or two; he has developed his two principal characters into rounded personalities and he always gives them an intriguing mystery to investigate' Sunday Telegraph

'A modern master of rural noir' Guardian

'Booth's aim is to portray the darkness that lies below the surface… in this he succeeds wonderfully well' Daily Mail

'Ingenious plotting and richly atmospheric' Reginald Hill

Praise for Stephen Booth:

'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 Standard

'Stephen Booth makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter' Val McDermid

'A leading light of British crime writing' Guardian

About the author

Stephen Booth was born in the Lancashire mill town of Burnley and has remained rooted to the Pennines during his career as a newspaper journalist. He lives with his wife Lesley in a former Georgian dower house in Nottinghamshire and his interests include folklore, the Internet and walking in the hills of the Peak District. This is the tenth in the series featuring Derbyshire detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry.