Blood on the Tongue

Police procedural set in England? Check.
Ties to an incident in WW2? Check.
Ties to an incident in WW2 that involves a plane crash? Check.

This book ticks a lot of boxes for me, and for my first foray into the Cooper and Fry series I liked it pretty well. It was a bonus that a Canadian character showed up, and I loved the description of Eden Valley Books. Used bookstores in fiction are almost as fun as the real thing. I liked the sense of place in this book, and the contrast between local boy Cooper and import Fry. I would pick up another in the series.

It took me a while to pick up this third book in the Cooper and Fry series, and I'm glad I finally did. Blood on the Tongue is an excellent blend of old crime and new. Many threads in the story go all the way back to World War II when a bomber crashed on Irontongue Hill, and-- rumor has it-- the Canadian pilot walked away with a very large shipment of money they were transporting to another airbase. It's a complex and very gratifying plot that Booth has created, and I certainly enjoyed trying to piece together all the clues.

I continue to have mixed reactions to the author's dynamic duo of Fry and Cooper. Ben Cooper is the kind of man everyone seems to like and to go to for help. He's nice, he's easy-going, and he has some good show more intuitive skills that are handy in police work. Him I like, although I should probably be ashamed of falling for him so easily. I'm normally not such a pushover.

On the other hand, Fry continues to rub my fur the wrong way, even though I know what happened in the past to help turn her into a person who acts more like a starving pit bull with toothache. I find that I quickly become exasperated with her when she's on the scene. Fortunately she's seldom in the spotlight in Blood on the Tongue, so I never wanted to throw the book at the wall.

Even though it has little to do with the actual merits of this book, I think my reading enjoyment was enhanced by a trip to the UK last year in which I experienced blizzard-like conditions, road closures and the like in the Peak District. I found myself being able to picture the countryside, feel the bite of the wind, and hear the crunch of the snow under my feet. Even without my "insider's" knowledge of the weather, I think any reader can and will appreciate those outdoor scenes.

Now that I've thawed out enough to share my opinion of this book, I find myself looking forward to reading the next in the series. If only I could find some way not to react so strongly to Diane Fry! show less

A Canadian woman asks the police of England’s Peak District for assistance into the investigation of the war-time crash of an air craft in the area. Her grandfather had been the pilot but had disappeared from the accident site and never been seen in the 57 years years since the night of the crash. Of the remaining crew only one person, a Polish man, survived and is still in the area today. The police hierarchy refuses to assist the Canadian because they’re busy. A man’s body has been cut in half by a snow plough, another man’s been beaten up and, although they don’t know it yet, a young woman has died in the snow too. However DC Ben Cooper is intrigued by the Canadian’s quest and, almost against his own will, becomes show more involved in investigating the story. His boss, DS Diane Fry, is angry at him about that.

As I mentioned the other day, this book dragged for me. Seriously dragged. Every person’s clothes, every building, every location seemed to be described in minute, unnecessary detail. It soon became impossible to tell which people and events were crucial to the story because every body and every thing was given the same detailed introduction. And then there were the tangents. For example at one point a character notices a police car has the force’s website address written on it which is followed by a long description of what one would find on the website. None of which is even remotely relevant to the story. Alone this example wouldn’t bother me but it is one of dozens of such tangents that detracted from the flow of the narrative and turned what should have been an interesting story into a directionless amble. At one point Police realise that the woman who died in the snow probably had a baby but they don’t seem to put much effort into locating the child, or at least no more than they do for anything else, which seems highly improbable to me.

I don’t think this is an issue of length or pace. I have loved longer books and slower ones. This is an issue of storytelling where knowing what to leave out is as important, if not more so, as what is included. For me anyway story telling is about being taken on a journey and here I felt as if I’d been dropped in the middle of a forest and had to find my own way out without the benefit of a compass or the ability to leave a breadcrumb trail. I found my way out in the end but I’d taken so many wrong turns I’d lost interest in the outcome.

I did like Ben Cooper who is a far cry from the alcohol-addled, ex-wife trailing cop so prevalent in crime fiction. His introspection and somewhat naive outlook were refreshing and the way he and his experiences were used to explore themes of family and community was first rate. There appeared to be some kind of unresolved issue between him and Diane Fry but I really couldn’t work out whether it was professional or personal (it seemed to be both at different times). Perhaps this is explained more in the first two books in this series which I haven’t read. Regardless, I neither liked Fry nor found her particularly credible but I really can’t explain why.

I really wanted to like Blood on the Tongue as Booth’s books have been recommended by many people whose tastes I trust. Although I did enjoy meeting Ben Cooper I didn’t enjoy it enough to make me come back for more so this series is one I’ll just have to agree to disagree about. show less

I really enjoy this series. I especially enjoy how important the geography and history of the area is highlighted throughout the series. The mystery is complex and hard to figure and I didn't guess most of it. Characterizations are well done, as well.

Cooper and Fry investigate two seemingly unrelated murders but the answer lies deep in the past. In 1945 an RAF bomber crashed on Iron tongue Hill and the missing pilot was declared a deserter. His granddaughter from Canada appears seeking the assistance of the police in finding out what really happened.
A diverting read.

As usual, a solid police procedural with plenty of descriptive detail about the Peak District. There are deaths in the cold winter, and links to a WW2 crashed aeroplane, Competently told but the (lack of) chemistry between Fry and Cooper is irritating.

I enjoyed the mystery, and mostly enjoyed the characters. However, these books, while a series, are obviously meant to stand alone, but there are many allusions scattered throughout to some incidence with Cooper & Fry in the past, without any explanation of what it is, which is quite frustrating. It took me a bit to get into, but overall pretty good.