Stephen Booth
Stephen Booth is a former newspaper journalist. Born in Lancashire, he was educated at Arnold School and Birmingham City University before beginning a career in journalism which lasted 27 years. He is the author of a series of crime thrillers featuring two young Derbyshire police detectives, DI Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry, all set in England's Peak District. The books have won awards on both sides of the Atlantic, and are translated into 16 languages. Stephen has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award for best crime novel, and has twice been a finalist for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year Award. In 2003, the CWA presented him with the Dagger in the Library Award for "the author whose books have given readers most pleasure." In the USA, Stephen has won two Barry awards for Best British Crime Novel, and was nominated for an Anthony Award for best first mystery. DC Cooper has also been a finalist for the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author.
For more information visit www.stephen-booth.com
Latest book: DROWNED LIVES
The new standalone novel from Stephen Booth. A story of hidden family secrets and a centuries-old feud, set around the dark, misty canals of historic Lichfield.
When council officer Chris Buckley is approached by an eccentric old man demanding his help in healing a family rift, he sends the stranger away. But then the old man, Samuel Longden, is killed in a hit-and-run on the streets of Lichfield, and the police arrive on Chris's doorstep asking questions he has no answers to.
As he begins to look into the circumstances of Samuel's death, Chris finds himself forced to confront his own family's murky past, and uncovers deadly secrets in the silt and mud of the local canals that were better kept buried.
With his own life increasingly in danger, he realises he doesn't know who he can trust. Which of the people around him is his deadly enemy? Could it be one of the mourners attending Samuel's funeral, when his coffin his carried to its resting place by narrowboat? Or is it somone waiting to meet Chris in the darkness of an abandoned canal wharf? And what is the one big secret that lies at the heart of the ancient feud?
Shifting allegiances, betrayals and false friends are all around him as Chris edges closer to a final revelation, And even from beyond the grave, Samuel Longden has one last surprise in store.
Latest book: FALL DOWN DEAD
When a party of walkers have to be rescued from the treacherous, mist-shrouded moorlands of the Peak District’s highest mountain, one of their members is discovered to be missing.
A search finds her body lying at the foot of a rock known as Dead Woman’s Drop. But how did she become separated from the rest of her party, and was she alone when she died?
In an effort to uncover the truth behind the events of that day, Detective Inspector Ben Cooper and his team travel to the Derbyshire village of Hayfield to explore the complex and troubled relationships between members of the walking group.
But Cooper’s inquiries are interrupted when he’s summoned to give evidence in an investigation by Derbyshire Constabulary’s Professional Standards Department. Serious allegations have been made against his former colleague Detective Sergeant Diane Fry, and incidents from her past are about to be raked up and put under the microscope. It seems that DS Fry could be about to lose or job. But is she guilty of the allegations, or is someone trying to frame her?
In both cases, the question for Ben Cooper is the same – did she fall, or was she pushed?
DEAD IN THE DARK
FALL DOWN DEADWhen a party of walkers have to be rescued from the treacherous, mist-shrouded moorlands of the Peak District’s highest mountain, one of their members is discovered to be missing.
A search finds her body lying at the foot of a rock known as Dead Woman’s Drop. But how did she become separated from the rest of her party, and was she alone when she died?
In an effort to uncover the truth behind the events of that day, Detective Inspector Ben Cooper and his team travel to the Derbyshire village of Hayfield to explore the complex and troubled relationships between members of the walking group.
But Cooper’s inquiries are interrupted when he’s summoned to give evidence in an investigation by Derbyshire Constabulary’s Professional Standards Department. Serious allegations have been made against his former colleague Detective Sergeant Diane Fry, and incidents from her past are about to be raked up and put under the microscope. It seems that DS Fry could be about to lose or job. But is she guilty of the allegations, or is someone trying to frame her?
In both cases, the question for Ben Cooper is the same – did she fall, or was she pushed?DEAD IN THE DARKIt’s hard to prove a murder without a body. Ten years ago, Reece Bower was cleared of killing his wife, a crime he always denied despite the circumstantial evidence against him. Extensive searches by police near his home in the Peak District town of Bakewell found no trace of Annette Bower’s remains. And when two witnesses came forward to say they’d seen her alive and well days after she was supposed to have died, the case against her husband collapsed.
But memories of the original case have been brought back for Detective Inspector Ben Cooper of Derbyshire Constabulary. Because Reece Bower himself has disappeared, and his new wife wants answers. Cooper has always had his own theories about Bower’s guilt. But where is Bower now?
As a new search moves into the caves and abandoned mine workings in the isolated depths of Lathkilldale, the big question is who might have come back to revenge the death of Annette Bower ten years later? A shake-up of police structure in Derbyshire has left Cooper without the guidance from his old boss, Detective Superintendent Branagh. Can he call on assistance from the East Midlands Major Crime Unit and DS Diane Fry? Only if he can establish there’s been a murder. And without even one of the bodies, that’s just become more difficult to prove.
Meanwhile, Fry is involved in a case in a different part of Derbyshire, where tensions between communities threaten to explode into violence. It’s on the verge of autumn in the dales of the White Peak, and a change in the weather heralds changes in Ben Cooper’s life that he might not have seen coming…
Bibliography:
Drowned Lives (Little, Brown 2019). Fall Down Dead (Little, Brown 2018), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language edition in Sweden. Dead in the Dark (Little, Brown 2017), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language edition in Sweden. Secrets of Death (Little, Brown 2016), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language edition in Sweden and Finland. The Murder Road (Little, Brown 2015), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Sweden and Finland. The Corpse Bridge (Little, Brown 2014), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Sweden and Finland. Already Dead (Little, Brown 2013), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Sweden and Finland. Dead and Buried (Little, Brown 2012), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Sweden and Finland. The Devil's Edge (Little, Brown 2011), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language edition in Sweden. Lost River (HarperCollins 2010), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Sweden and Finland. The Kill Call (HarperCollins 2009), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Portugal, Sweden. Dying to Sin (HarperCollins 2007), US edition by Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Germany, Portugal, Sweden. Scared to Live (HarperCollins 2007), US editions by Bantam and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Bulgaria, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Sweden. The Dead Place (HarperCollins 2006), US editions by Bantam and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Finland, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Sweden. One Last Breath (HarperCollins 2005), US editions by Bantam and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Finland, Germany, Portugal, Sweden. Blind to the Bones (HarperCollins 2003), US editions by Scribner and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Sweden. Blood on the Tongue (HarperCollins 2002), US editions by Scribner and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Sweden. Dancing with the Virgins (HarperCollins 2001), US editions by Scribner and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden. Black Dog (HarperCollins 2000), US editions by Scribner and Witness Impulse, foreign language editions in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Sweden
