Dead in the Dark: A Cooper & Fry Mystery

By Stephen Booth

How do you prove a murder without a body?

Ten years ago, Reece Bower was accused of killing his wife, a crime he always denied. Extensive police searches near his home in Bakewell found no trace of Annette Bower's remains, and the case against him collapsed.

But now memories of the original investigation have been resurrected for Detective Inspector Ben Cooper - because Reece Bower himself has disappeared, and his new wife wants answers.

Cooper can't call on the Major Crime Unit and DS Diane Fry for help unless he can prove a murder took place - impossible without a body. As his search moves into the caves and abandoned mines in the isolated depths of Lathkilldale, the question is: who would want revenge for the death of Annette Bower?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062876102

Stephen Booth

Stephen Booth's fourteen novels featuring Cooper and Fry, all to be published by Witness, have sold over half a million copies around the world.

Reviews for Dead in the Dark

[drmaf-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Formulaic but entertaining series that keeps chugging along into its 17th iteration. As always the dark beauty of the Peak District is the major character, with DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry filling in the details on another couple of cases. Ben is investigating the disappearance of a man who was accused of his wife's murder 10 years ago, while Diane delves into the deep and nasty world of white nationalism after a Polish immigrant is murdered. Their paths interact on a few occasions, but the friction of their relationship in the early books has largely dissipated. Booth knows his formula and sticks to it, letting the ageless and craggy mystery of the Peaks draw its own fascination for the reader, while leading his characters through well-worn paths that work well enough to keep the reader turning pages. There has been talk of a TV series for Cooper and Fry at least 5 years but nothing has yet eventuated, which is a pity, since the Peaks alone would be worth watching it for. No reason to stop reading these books, they are well-crafted and keep delivering, you know exactly what you are getting, and for me that's enough.

[edwardsgt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Complicated, wide-ranging plot making good use of Peak District's geography and mining history, as well as the tensions of widespread eastern European immigration in old mining villages.