The Fields: Dark, immersive and seriously gripping (edition 2022)

Set in rural Iowa where a young woman’s body is found in a cornfield. It’s a family farm which is competing with one of the big giants of agriculture. When Sergeant Riley Fisher discovers the woman was a childhood friend, she soon gets herself embroiled into the investigation and the bodies begin to mount up.

I’m in two minds about how I feel about this book. On the one hand it’s quite a gripping thriller, but on the other it’s a little too political for my tastes. I found it a slog at times. I thought the setting was well depicted and atmospheric. It’s also well written. The plot, however, is somewhat complicated and concentration is needed. There are a few surprises along the way. I’m not a big fan of police procedural novels or serial killer chillers, but I can see that this one would appeal to quite a few enthusiasts of this genre. A worthy debut, all in all. ( )

Not bad, well written, I gave up towards the end when it became too incestuous, i.e police officers family involved as victim ( )

This mystery features a woman in a powerful position in a male-dominated field. That, along with an interesting storyline involving Big Agriculture, would have made for an excellent story. Unfortunately, an overreliance on brutal violence made this book much less desirable. Read my full review here. ( )

I could not stand to read this under-informed polemic about agriculture. Ms Young's knowledge of ag is minimal (even her vocabulary is wrong) and of ag politics beyond "big is bad" even less. Strip the text of this nonsense and you perhaps might have something interesting.

I received a digital review copy of "The Fields" by Erin Young from Flatiron Books through NetGalley.com. ( )