Black Dog [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Stephen Booth (Author), Christopher Kay (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Recorded Books (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841974579
• ISBN-13: 978-1841974576
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,112,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Booth is an award winning British crime writer, the creator of two young Derbyshire police detectives, DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry, who have appeared in eleven novels set in England's beautiful and atmospheric Peak District. Stephen has been a Gold Dagger finalist, an Anthony Award nominee, twice winner of a Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel, and twice shortlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year. DC Cooper was a finalist for the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author, and in 2003 the Crime Writers' Association presented Stephen with the Dagger in the Library Award for "the author whose books have given readers the most pleasure". The Cooper & Fry series is published all around the world, and has been translated into 15 languages. The latest title is THE DEVIL'S EDGE.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable First Novel, September 22, 2000

By 

Momo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Dog (Hardcover)

Stephen Booth is a new British author and "Black Dog" is his first novel. It is set in England, in the Peak District, an area known for hiking and overrun by tourists in the summer.

Laura Vernon, aged 15, of Moorhay Village disappears and foul play is suspected. The police launch a search, but it is a villager who turns up the first real evidence. Laura Vernon's family had only recently moved to the area and does not blend in well with their neighbors. And there seems to be something else no one is willing to talk about.

DCs Diane Fry and Ben Cooper are part of the investigating police force. Diane had only recently transferred to the district, Ben is the local boy, "Sergeant Cooper's lad", trying to live up to the shining example his father set. Both are competing for a promotion and there is more to both of them than meets the eye. The interaction between these two is what makes up most of this book's charm. Stephen Booth does a very good job here to portray two very different characters and to show how deceiving appearances can be.

This is not your usual police procedural. There is a lot more to the book than just an investigation and a criminal. The solution to the mystery is almost secondary and, to be honest, feels a bit rushed. It is the two main characters that drive the book. You get to know them very well and I would love to read more about them.

I highly recommend this book. Fans of psychological mysteries like Minette Walters' will not be disappointed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Black Dog", January 16, 2001

By 

Susan Hartigan (Riverside, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Dog (Hardcover)

Black Dog 5 stars (plus)

Black Dog is one of the most amazing books that I have read in a very long time.

Stephen Booth's characters come alive on the first page and only get better as you go through the book to the last page. He actually takes you through the entire story making you feel as if you are there. And the people are real.

Laura Vernon is missing. An innocent, well liked, quiet, and well mannered 15 year old girl, according to some. To others, who seemed to know her better, quite wild.

As the helicopters fly overhead, and the police look desperately for this young girl, an old man sits on a rock, at the edge of the dark woods of England's brooding Peak District, watching and listening to the activity overhead. Suddenly his black Labrador, Jess, comes running up with something in her mouth.

From this minute on you will not be able to put this book down. The object that Jess retrieves takes you into the lives of everyone in the village. Secrets are divulged that have been hidden for years. Just when you figure you have this whole story figured out, you are led down another path. And then another.

Stephen Booth has written a story that will grab you, and not let you go. The only thing bad about this book is that you don't want it to end. You want to know more about the people, their lives and what will happen to them. You will defiantly have "The black dog's on your back". And you will not want it any other way.

Susan Hartigan Riverside, California USA

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOMETHING for the JADED READER, September 30, 2000

By 

susan wenrick (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Dog (Hardcover)

I loved this book, because it gave me something that's been missing in a lot of recent Crime Novels. It has a setting that you are led into with incredible skill, one that reminds me of Sherlock Holmes novels set in the country. The second amazing part of this book, that kept me reading with such enjoyment, were the characters. Stephen Booth has created people that feel real, have unexpected flaws and strengths, and who you can't wait for the next time you meet. I am looking forward to the next book because there is real talent here.