Hello - I'm Stephen Booth, best-selling UK crime novelist, and creator of young Derbyshire police detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry.
If you haven't read any of my books yet (and that's OK!), I suppose I'd say they're most like the work of fellow Brits Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill, John Harvey and Ian Rankin - except my detectives are a lot younger, without quite so many serious alcohol problems and failed marriages!
In the USA, I'm most often compared to Elizabeth George (the 'Inspector Lynley' series). Reviewing the 5th Cooper & Fry novel ONE LAST BREATH, Entertainment Weekly says: "Every bit as darkly intelligent and finely twisted as Elizabeth George's work. I hated to reach the last page."
Kirkus Reviews said: "Elizabeth George fans will queue up for this one.... Its continuing characters have uneasy relationships and secretive pasts."
And Publishers Weekly said: "Intelligent, suspenseful.... A master of psychological suspense, Booth hauntingly evokes the ambiguities of place and the enduring complexity of human relationships."
The books in the series so far are:
BLACK DOG
DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS
BLOOD ON THE TONGUE
BLIND TO THE BONES
ONE LAST BREATH
THE DEAD PLACE
SCARED TO LIVE
and the latest one:
DYING TO SIN
You can read the first chapter of DYING TO SIN on my website here:
http://www.stephen-booth.com/dyingchapter.htm
or order a copy online now:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dying-Sin-Bk-Stephen-Booth/dp/000724
3421/ref=sr_1_8/203-4900940-5252749?ie=UTF8&s=books&
qid=1173523800&sr=1-8/stephenbootho-21
Watch out for a brand new Cooper & Fry novel in April 2009 too!
UK CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
Many thanks to everyone who voted for THE DEAD PLACE in the Theakston's UK Crime Novel of the Year Award 2007.
Your votes helped it through to the final six, but the eventual winner was Allan Guthrie for his novel TWO WAY SPLIT. The award was presented at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.
Cooper & Fry book 7, SCARED TO LIVE, was published in paperback in the UK in February 2007, and is also available in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scared-Live-Stephen-Booth/dp/0007172
109/stephenbootho-21
In the USA, Bantam released the hardcover of SCARED TO LIVE in May:
http://www.amazon.com/Scared-Live-Stephen-Booth/dp/038533907
0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209665106&
;sr=8-3
Cooper & Fry are translated into 15 languages so far - French, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian and Japanese.
In October 2008, I'll be visiting the USA again to attend Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, in Baltimore. During the year, there'll be lots of events in the UK - details can be found on the website.
LIBRARIANS!
Last year, I was asked to become a Library Champion in support of the LOVE LIBRARIES campaign launched by UK Culture Minister David Lammy.
I'm a big supporter of libraries, since I owe much of my early education and love of books to my branch library in Blackpool, Lancashire. That library has now been closed, and many other branches are under threat around the UK:
http://www.lovelibraries.co.uk
For more information on the Cooper & Fry series, visit my website, which is updated regularly:
http://www.stephen-booth.com
STEPHEN BOOTH FORUM
Or, even better, sign up for my brand new STEPHEN BOOTH DISCUSSION FORUM, where you can meet people with similar interests, ask questions, and discuss any topics you like:
http://www.stephen-booth.com/Forum
The widget below will open a side panel showing the latest posts on the forum:
There's also a free email newsletter, where you can find out all about me, and win prizes too!
http://www.stephen-booth.com/Newsletter.htm
Meanwhile, check out my blog. It's called A MONTH IN THE LIFE OF A CRIME NOVELIST. I've taken the publication day of my latest book, SCARED TO LIVE, as the starting point, and I've tried to give an idea of the things that can happen in that crucial first month after publication. But see if you can spot what's missing from that month!
I also have a piece about why I love libraries (and librarians!).
Good reading,
STEPHEN BOOTH
"There are few, if any, contemporary writers who do this as well as Stephen Booth."
- Arena magazine
"One of our best story-tellers."
- Sunday Telegraph
"Suspenseful and supremely engaging. Booth does a wonderful job."
- Los Angeles Times
"Ben Cooper and Diane Fry are the most interesting crime team to arrive on the scene in a long while."
- Rocky Mountain News
"Chilling."
- New York Times
THE PEAK DISTRICT
The Cooper & Fry novels are set in England's beautiful and atmospheric Peak District. To learn more about the area, visit: http://www.stephen-booth.com/new peakdistrict.htm
VIEW A PEAK DISTRICT SLIDE SHOW BELOW:
(just point your mouse at any picture to pause the slide show)
