"Stephen Booth's 'Black Dog' sinks its teeth into you and doesn't let you go. Powerful, atmospheric and as dark as its title, it is a serious novel of character and relationships as well as an ingeniously plotted and neatly resolved detective story. A dark star may be born!"
- Reginald Hill, creator of the Dalziel and Pascoe series

"In this atmospheric debut, Stephen Booth makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter."
- Val McDermid, award-winning author of 'A Place of Execution'

"Stephen Booth creates a fine sense of place and atmosphere . . . the unguessable solution to the crime comes as a real surprise."
 - Susanna Yager, The Sunday Telegraph 

"Black Dog is an exceedingly good first novel; wholly engrossing, it has well-drawn characters and a real sense of place . . . Stephen Booth is very much his own man, with an individual style, and one looks forward to his next book."
- T.J. Binyon, London Evening Standard

"Stephen Booth's debut novel is a gripping thriller about the investigation of a teenage girl's murder. Powerful and chilling, Black Dog grips you in jaws that don't let go until they meet."
 - Richard Shephard, Waterstones Online

"Stephen Booth is a real find . . . the characterisation is brilliant, and the motivation for everything that occurs is too credible. A real winner."
 - John R. Orum, Shots Magazine

"Every month there's a particular book that grabs my imagination and keeps me riveted to the last page. Stephen Booth's 'Black Dog' is a superb example of this, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. This stellar debut novel will keep you hooked and puzzling over red herrings to the last exciting page."
- Kate Mills, Mystery and Thriller Club

"This is intelligent crime fiction at its best, when an apparently straightforward murder reveals realities darker and more horrible than the imagination and characters become so alive as to be painful . . . a complex mystery at its core and a cast of vulnerable, damaged characters for whom your heart aches. Suspense builds unbearably towards the conclusion and it was a book I found impossible to put down."
- Kathryn White, Sherlock Holmes the Detective magazine

"An ingenious, dark mystery in which there may be solutions to problems, but no cures. Ben and Diane are two of the more interesting flawed young cops of recent crime fiction."
 - Roz Kaveney, Amazon co.uk

"Flawless in construction and pace, 'Black Dog' is a gem that takes Booth, with one bound, into the front rank of British crime writers."
- Nottingham Evening Post

"In addition to a nicely complex plot and excellent characterization, Booth excels at creating a sense of place.... he has achieved a tour de force in this his first outing. In fact, if I were to assign a star to each of the main writing elements of plot, characterization, pace, dialog and setting, Booth would get five stars, hands down. Highly recommended."
- Maddy Van Hertbruggen, About.com Mystery Books

"The Peak District setting is convincingly drawn and darkly atmospheric.... The characters are very well developed, even the minor ones being given a depth that's unusual.... The complex story lines are compelling too. 'Black Dog' is a notable debut which grips and moves in turn."
- Paul Johnston, Tangled Web

"Stephen Booth hits the ground running with 'Black Dog'. This is a super atmospheric read."
- Stuart Pawson, creator of the Inspector Charlie Priest series

"A dark, brooding story dealing with the secrets of the present and the past.... The characters in Black Dog have real depth and the story is ingeniously plotted so that nothing is what it seems and guilt and innocence are not at all clear cut. This is a promising start from a new author who could become a major talent."
- Tracy Crampton, Peterborough Evening Telegraph

"Black Dog is a remarkable debut by any standards.... The book works on all sorts of levels. But it's also a rattling good yarn, a real page-turner. Black Dog grabs you from the word go and, once hooked, you will find the book impossible to put down.... a debut work that ranks right up there with the best that any of the established crime writers are putting out. Cooper and Fry look like the natural successors to Morse and Lewis."
- George Robinson, Worksop Guardian

"Rich in emotion and complex relationships on several different levels...  The sense of place was strong, as was the depth of feeling of small rural communities.... a wonderful book. Highly recommended."
- Lizzie Hayes, Mystery Women

"The last time I felt such a strong sense of place while reading a novel was in Charles Frazier's 'Cold Mountain'. Stephen Booth is definitely an author to watch."
- Carol Segina, Mystery in Depth

"Steeped in atmosphere, dark but not hardboiled, worked on a colorful canvas."
- Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen

Read the US reviews of 'Black Dog'

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