I enjoyed this book very much. I do love the Peak District setting, and the story itself had enough twists to keep me guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of Fall Down Dead by Stephen Booth.

I'm a massive Stephen Booth fan and I know that this book was completed while the author was recovering from surgery. However, that doesn't detract from the storyline or the character development. And I do think there is some character development in this story, particularly in the case of Diane Fry.

Ben Cooper is a DI in this book, and Diane Fry is a DS, so the roles are reversed from much earlier in their relationship to each other in the earlier books.

As well as the usual things that are going on in both of their lives, there are also two cases to investigate – a shooting that seems to be cut and dried, and a suspicious death (did she jump or was she pushed, or was it an accident?). 

I'm accustomed to the characters, old and new, in the Cooper & Fry stories, and I love to read about the landscape and the location, both of which also play big parts in Booth's stories. But I did find the chopping and changing from present day to flashback and back a bit confusing.

For example, it wasn't always immediately clear if we were reading about what was happening "now" or what happened in the past, as there was a lot of "on that day", which isn't very specific and could be either/or. 

I found the resolutions of both cases to be a bit vague. For example, the players suddenly decided who did the deed and how it was done for both the shooting and the fall without properly tying up the loose ends. I still don't know who was responsible for the shooting, although it's alluded to, and I have no idea how they came to their first conclusion about the falling case.

And I thought the mystery of the locked lock-up and the yellow box to be completely off the wall. It didn't seem to have anything to do with anything else in the story.

I'll continue reading about Cooper & Fry, though, as it's a series I thoroughly enjoy.

This is already the 18th book in the series featuring DS Fry and DI Ben Cooper. I haven't read any of the previous book, but still enjoyed this one as a standalone. The book was well written, and really made me enthusiastic to catch up with the previous books in the series. Recommended.

It was great to be back with Cooper and Fry in this challenging mystery of who dun it? Kept me guessing with Stephen Booth's well written novel of suspense, based up on the peak district which is a lovely area for hiking but is full of danger for when the weather changes or accidents happen. Cooper and Fry are on sparring terms but something is afoot and Diane Fry is after Cooper's help. A great read, well written and I thoroughly enjoyed.

A fair part of this police procedural (number 18 in the Cooper and Fry series) concerns events in DS Diane Fry's past professional and private life, some of which also involved DI Ben Cooper. Quite a lot is explained in this book but I feel that things would make a lot more sense to the reader if they had read in the books in order and were more familiar with the main characters. Without the history of their complex relationship I don't the reader would have the attachment to them and care what happens to them. That aside the murder mystery part is good, with vivid descriptions of the Peak District countryside and plenty of suspects and motives in a plot that keeps the reader engaged right to the end. Enjoyable.

Fall Down Dead is set in the Peak District in the present day. DI Ben Cooper investigates the death of Faith Martin from a fall on Kinder Scout on the Kinder Downfall. Did she fall or was she pushed?

Faith was a member of the New Trespass Walking Club with its charismatic, but driven leader, Darius Roth. There’s a mixed bag of members, a teacher, a retired couple, a musician, a couple of students and two brothers who own a garden nursery. Many with financial links to the leader...

Stephen Booth has written a very atmospheric tale and this is full of great details of the area, especially the disorienting fog and the tensions and menace felt on Kinder. You could almost feel that dampness and it gave me the chills at points.

I really enjoyed the book and it’s interesting facts of the area and the Mass trespass, but I’m puzzled as to why the story of Diane Fry was here, it didn’t really bring anything to the actual investigation and the two stories weren’t really linked and it felt a bit like just a page filler. Other than that a really enjoyable read.


I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

'Fall Down Dead' is bestselling crime writer Stephen Booth's eighteenth installment in the popular DI Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry series set in the pristine, scenic surroundings of the Peak District. This is another bracingly intelligent addition to a series I have found myself thoroughly enjoying, with each new book being better than the last.

When a group of thirteen ramblers get lost in the fog on the Kinder Scout plateau in Derbyshire, and one of them is discovered dead at the bottom of an area known as Dead Woman's Drop, serious questions arise. Was Faith Matthews pushed to her death or did she slip accidentally? Enter DI Cooper who finds Matthews' death to be suspicious and trusts his gut that there is a little more to the story than first meets the eye. Despite the postmortem coming back as unconclusive, Ben continues to investigate and soon discovers that more than one of the ramblers had reason to want Faith dead. Once murder has been established he reluctantly passes the case on to the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), the division DS Fry is employed by, although he is unable to contact her directly due to the ongoing internal investigation into her conduct by Professional Standards.

This was a novel rich in detail with a beautiful setting and wonderful atmospherics. The setting is almost cast as a character and is a substantial part of the overall plot. The dynamic between Ben and Diane is odd to say the least, but it does work very well. They both have completely different personalities, and this makes for interesting reading - Diane is a loner with a no-nonsense approach to everything, whilst Ben is laid back, friendly and affable. There are two storylines that run parallel to one another - the major plot follows the hikers in the Peak District National Park, and the minor plot follows the investigation into Diane Fry, both of which were compelling. Booth manages to pull off these intertwining narratives without confusing the reader - quite a feat! With the lack of available forensics, due to the sparse landscape in which the murder takes place, DI Cooper is forced to turn his detective skills to inspecting the lives and relationships of each of the individuals that were part of the walking group in order to find motive. The novel slowly unfurls as a series of spectacular reveals are made which makes for a thrilling denouement and wraps the story up nicely.

Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Fall Down Dead by Stephen Booth

Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District, can change its character in a moment. A beautiful day can unpredictably turn bleak, transforming it into a dark, forbidding, even fearful place, where its peaty bogs and cliff drops and waterfalls can become a potential death trap. The charismatic Darius Roth is leading his group of walkers to commemorate and emulate the famous Mass Trespass of 1932. As the fog descends, the group split up. Not all of them will leave the mountain alive.

It’s DI Ben Cooper’s job to investigate the death of the woman whose body is found at the ominously named Dead Woman’s Drop at the bottom of a waterfall. It looks like a terrible accident but the autopsy reveals injuries that can only have been inflicted by another person – she was murdered. And from that moment on, everybody in Roth’s group is a suspect and the more Cooper digs into their lives and past, he discovers that more than one of them lives with a secret they might kill to protect.

Meanwhile, Cooper’s longtime colleague DS Diane Fry has come under the scrutiny of an internal investigations team. Her career is under threat and there’s a good chance that Cooper will be dragged down with her.

Fall Down Dead is the eighteenth novel in Stephen Both’s superb Cooper and Fry series. How I love these books and Fall Down Dead is one of the very best of those I’ve read, not least because of Kinder Scout itself. This mountain becomes another of the book’s main characters. Its heights, whether covered in fog or bathed in sunshine, looms over events in every sense of the word. The shadow it casts is huge as is its temperamental and dark mood. It’s the perfect place for murder. I know Kinder, having walked it several times as a youngster, and I remember its bogs and how easy it is to get lost on the top – I love the role it plays here, as well as the legacy of the Mass Trespass.

The story is just as good and I really enjoy how it all takes place with a small group of suspects, each of which has a fascinating history that is slowly revealed. Darius Roth is a dominating presence and there are others just as interesting. Cooper has quite a puzzle on his hands.

The murder chapters intermingle with the investigation faced by Fry and this section of the novel is tense and unnerving, providing a good contrast to Cooper’s murder case. In past books we’ve learned about Diane Fry’s family and history. This impacts what happens here. But you don’t need to have read the earlier books to follow it. That is always part of the appeal of these novels – they build on what’s gone before but they also do very well indeed as stand alone crime fiction.

I love Stephen Booth’s writing and I am so fond of both Cooper and also Fry, even though she’s much harder to get to know, she’s so protective of herself. The Peak District setting really sets the series apart, imparting both beauty and menace. I look forward to these books every year. Long may they continue!

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I found this book really hard reading and almost gave up on it several times. It may be a crime novel but the focus is very much more on the location, history of the area and hillwalking; 3 things that hold no interest for me.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of Fall Down Dead, the eighteenth novel to feature DI Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry, set in the Peak District.

When a group of walkers get lost on Kinder Scout in the mist rescuers find one of their number dead at the bottom of a spot known as Dead Woman's Drop. Was Faith Matthews pushed or did she lose her footing? The postmortem is inconclusive so Ben keeps investigating while can because once murder is established he has to hand the case over to EMSOU where Diane Fry works. He tries to get hold of Diane but she's uncontactable because she's being investigated by Professional Standards.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fall Down Dead which has a dual plotline and a good mystery at its heart. The plotlines run run concurrently through the novel with the perspective switching between them regularly, even within chapters. Normally I would find this distracting and annoying but both are so compulsive in their own way that I found myself eating up the pages to get an update on each one.

Ben's investigation is by far the most atmospheric with the bleak, treacherous landscape of Kinder Scout looming large. I could feel the cold and damp and what surprised me most was the lack of fear in the walkers because Mr Booth describes a terrifying scenario, lost in the fog, or does that just say something about my own mentality? Whatever, it's a great piece of writing. With no forensics the rest of his investigation focuses on the walkers, their relationships and history and the inconsistencies in their statements. A steady stream of reveals and discoveries make it engrossing reading.

Diane's encounter with Professional Standards is much more ambiguous. The reader gets a rough idea of what they investigating but no detail and only one example. Again, it is quite unsettling because with no concrete allegations Diane is left to muse over her past and wonder what is going to come back to bite her. There is a strong sense of Big Brother as they know things they shouldn't so she is left to contemplate their source and betrayal. Her feeling of helplessness and the menace of authority are palpable. Even the resolution is shrouded in mystery and while some readers may find it farfetched I have no problem in finding it either believable or probable. It makes for fascinating reading.

I have dipped in and out of this series over the years but even familiarity with it never brings me any closer to understanding the complex relationship between Ben and Diane. Mostly they don't seem to like each other but there is a co-dependency there. Diane turns to Ben when she's in trouble and he doesn't hesitate to help. Much of this is down to their personalities. Ben is easygoing to a point, Diane is spiky, difficult to like and a loner. It's a fascinating dynamic as it's so unusual.

Fall Down Dead is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

A party of 13 go for a walk on Kinder Scout, but only 12 make it off the mountain alive.

Ben Cooper doesn't like the look of Faith Matthew's fall to her death.

Meanwhile in York, Diane Fry is hauled in by Professional Standards.....

This is the 18th instalment in the Cooper & Fry series. Always intriguing and never predictable, a genuine page-turner from first to last. Another triumph for Stephen Booth

Fall Down Dead is the latest addition to Stephen Booth's excellent Cooper & Fry series and it is a brilliant book.

Ben Cooper is facing a locked room murder mystery on top of a mountain as him and his team try to work out who killed one of a group of Ramblers and why whilst Diane Fry is facing an internal investigation.

The author manages to keep both these main threads going without confusing the reader and keeps you hooked throughout whilst allowing you the breathing space to try and work out whodunnit.

Stephen Booth's writing is atmospheric as he uses the Peak District to his advantage and it was a pleasure to read this book

A must read