Blood on the Tongue

Guilt, sacrifice and redemption in a freezing Peak District winter feature in this tense psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of BLACK DOG and DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS.

It wasnt the easiest way to commit suicide. Marie Tennent seems to have curled up in the freezing snow on Irontongue Hill and stayed there until her body was frosted over like a supermarket chicken.

And hers isnt the only death the Derbyshire police have to contend with – not after the discovery of a baby in the wreckage of an old Airforce bomber, and the body of a man dumped by the roadside.

As if three bodies on her hands isnt enough, snow and ice have left half of E Division out of action, and Detective Sergeant Diane Fry is forced to partner with DC Gavin Murfin. She and Ben Cooper were never a match made in heaven - but, next to Murfin, working with Ben starts to look like a dream.

Cooper is on a trail of his own, though – and one as cold as the Peak District January. In an equally bitter winter in 1945 an RAF bomber crashed on Irontongue Hill, killing everyone except the pilot, who walked away and disappeared. Now the pilots grand-daughter is in Derbyshire desperate to clear his name, and Ben cant help taking an interest.

But is a fifty-year-old mystery really the best use of police time? Or does a vicious attack in the dark Edendale back streets prove that the trail isnt quite so cold as he thought?

Could the past be the only clue to present violence as an icy winter looks set to get even chillier?

* The 3rd novel in the multiple award-winning Cooper & Fry series, set in Englands beautiful and atmospheric Peak District.

PRAISE FOR THE COOPER AND FRY SERIES:

"Suspenseful and supremely engaging. Booth does a wonderful job." - Los Angeles Times

"Simultaneously classic, contemporary and haunting." - Otto Penzler, Mysterious Bookshop, New York

"Stephen Booth makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter." - Val McDermid, award-winning crime novelist

"Intelligent and substantive crime fiction, rich with complex characters." - Library Journal

"Booth has firmly joined the elite of Britains top mystery writers." - Florida Sun-Sentinel

"Crime fiction for the thinking man or woman, and damnably hard to put down." - January Magazine

"Highly recommended - a great series!" - Seattle Mystery Bookstore

"Ben Cooper and Diane Fry are the most interesting crime team to arrive on the mystery scene in a long while." - Rocky Mountain News

"One of our best story tellers." - Sunday Telegraph

"Booth delivers some of the best crime fiction in the UK." - Manchester Evening News

"If you read only one new crime writer this year, hes your man." - Yorkshire Post