The Fields by Erin Young is the first book in the Riley Fisher series and it’s a goodie.
It all begins with a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield. Sergeant Riley Fisher arrives on the scene to discover that the victim was a childhood friend connected to a dark past she thought she left behind. The investigation grows complicated as more victims are found and Riley soon discovers implications beyond her jurisdiction.
The Fields is a chilling page turner and there’s a lot going on in this rural small town American drama, a serial killer, corruption, politics, drug crisis, family secrets, missing persons to name but a few! However, it’s a well written intricate plot with many interesting characters.
It’s a pacy thriller that hits the ground running and never lets up, a great start to this series, I’m already looking forward to the next one.
Big thanks to Erin Young, Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish this one - the story left me underwhelmed and there were so many characters introduced, I really couldn't invest in any of them. The writing style was okay but I found overly descriptive and procedural. Not one for me, I'm afraid.

Another new writer to me and a tremendous start to what promises to be a great series. The writing is crisp, the characterisation sharp and the sense of place excellent. Indeed Iowa almost feels like an extra character in the book. The book is part police procedural and part thriller, and the two elements blend beautifully. I look forward to following the career of Riley Fisher.

I really wanted to love this one but it just fell a bit flat for me sadly.

I wasn’t invested in the characters whatsoever, and I found there to be a few too many secondary characters to care for any of them, and struggled to follow what was happening to who in places!

I think I was expecting more of a thriller but it only really ramped up the thrills and excitement at the very end. Most of the book was more crime / police procedural which was okay but not fully my cup of tea. I was sort of expecting (from the cover and title) quite a dark story involving corn fields, something along the lines of In The Tall Grass by Joe Hill, but it was nothing of the sort 🤷🏼‍♀️

It was an ok read and some would definitely really enjoy it, but just wasn’t for me sadly!

If you like gripping crime thrillers that will hold your attention to it, this book is for you. It is tense, the plot is taut and the atmosphere just adds to it. I was totally hooked to it and read it in 3 sittings. Absolutely thrilling!

I haven't picked up a crime/thriller in such a long time, but I saw this one on NetGalley, and it intrigued me, so I just had to request it. Enjoyed is the wrong word for this book, with its cannibalism, its murders, its corruption, its political statements - the list goes on - but once I got into it I was really hooked, and read it all in only three sittings.

Like: I liked that it was different from anything I've read before, and I liked the fact that it genuinely kept me guessing until the end. Sometimes with thrillers you can guess the ending right at the start, but it wasn't the case for me with this one.

Didn't like: the book is a little bit confused in its identity - is it primarily a crime thriller, or making a political statement about big agriculture, or about the character development of the female police officer MC? I'm not saying a book can't contain all of these things at once, but I'm not sure it felt it had a coherent focus. Maybe that's just me! It's still a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this e-ARC version.

"She ran without thinking, without direction, desperation driving her deep into the fields."

I feel like the world could have ended whilst I was reading The Fields I wouldn't have noticed or cared. Erin Young is a phenomenal writer and The Fields is already my favourite book of the year so far.

The Fields is raw and gritty and definitely not for the faint of heart. The Fields is not just another police procedural or book on a small town murder. Yes it is graphic but I would say it isn't gratuitous.

Riley Fisher has recently been promoted and has a lot to prove in her role at the Black Hawk County Sherrif's office. The bull pen is a male-dominated area and theire is talk that she only got promoted because of her family connections, others aren't impressed that a woman was the one to get the position. In short, Riley has a lot to prove.

When a body of a young woman is found in a field Riley is shocked to realise it is a friend from her dark past. A friend she hasn't spoken to in many years. What happened to her? The answer leads to an epic book.

"The drone circled overhead, whining like a dentist's drill. Her eye lids were rinsed with a pallid glow.

Slowly it passed, strobing the fields. Was that a shout she heard beneath its fading hum? Low growl of an engine in the distance? She curled herself tighter into stillness, at one with the roots and the soil. A mouse hiding from a hawk."

It isn't only a Riley's professional life that is causing her problems. She lives with her brother in a house full of troubled memories permeated with the smell of the weed he likes to smoke. Her niece, Maddie is passed from pilar to post and although Riley senses she needs her guidance she is simply too busy with work to follow through on it.

The farming and political aspects of the book may not be for everyone but I felt they added to the picture of this small town rural community. They helped paint a background to the events that play out within the book.

The Fields takes place against the backdrop of a rural community in which Big Ag are putting a lot of smaller farms out of business with their farming practices, not to mention their environmentally harmful pesticide use. To attempt to combat this some smaller farms have banded together to form cooperatives to try and survive. Big Ag are everywhere though.

"A necessary evil, some called them. Progress said more. But to those whose forefathers had farmed this land since the days of the first families from New York, Philadelphia, and Virginia, who'd settled here after the Black Hawk War when the Ioway had driven west, these corporations were vultures, polluters, and thieves."

The Fields is definitely not for the faint-hearted. I think the graphic description aids the reader in their understanding of Riley's feelings because we are better able to understand the horrors she is encountering, in particular when it comes to the body of her friend.

"She was swollen with decay and rent with dark wounds, the blood black and congealed, the flesh pulped raw. Her insides squirmed with maggots."

It is clear that something from her past haunts Riley and increasingly this begins to bear down on her investigation.

I felt bereft when this book ended and I can't wait to read more in this series!

I am afraid this novel left me a little underwhelmed. The premise sounded good but it was a slow burner and a little far fetched toward the end.. It took me longer than usual to finish as it did not pick up pace until the last third of the novel.
Just ok so was disappointed with it. Would definitely read her next novel though . Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Erin Young's writes a terrific crime thriller debut, set amidst Iowa's farming country, mile upon mile of flat cornfields, drawing on contemporary real life worrying issues associated with the ruthless political power and expansion of Big Agriculture, relentlessly swallowing up small farmers, impoverishing small town communities, poisoning the land and environment with pesticides, with the potential problems associated with lack of diversity and with genetic crop modifications. Newly promoted Sargeant Riley Fisher, Head of Investigations at Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, is at Zephyr Co-op Farm cornfields with Logan Wood, a recent recruit, looking at a the gruesome murder of a woman with harrowing injuries. It turns out Riley knows the victim, Chloe Miller, her best friend from childhood, along with Mia, tight knit friends until Riley suffers a nightmare incident, a secret at the heart of the sickness in her family, a past that is now dredged up, leaving her fragile and vulnerable in the complex murder case she is now in charge of.

This is not the only pressure tearing Riley apart, there is resentment and jealousy in the department at what is felt her unjustified promotion, emanating particularly from Jackson Cole. There are the eco-activists and protests dogging the feverish tightly fought election campaign between current Governor Bill Hamilton, with his sinister private security, perceived as a backer of big agriculture to the detriment of ordinary people, and Senator Jess Cook, who promises to challenge this with her more environmentally friendly agenda. Riley's brother, Ethan, proves to be a thorn in her side with his toxic marriage as he drowns in the demon drink and drugs, struggling to raise his teenage daughter, Madeleine. Further murders of women with a similar MO heighten tensions in a frightened, fearful and agitated community, with Riley and her team facing deadly dangers as she comes across rumours of the homeless disappearing, snatched and taken in a white van.

Young writes an exciting, thrilling and highly suspenseful novel that captured my interest, she evokes an intensely atmospheric picture of the twister country location, the shimmering and sweltering heat, the humidity, the mosquitos, the air loaded with dust, the rattlesnakes, and the ominous absence of birds due to the lack of insects (due to pesticides). There are a wide range of disparate characters inhabiting this novel, presumably establishing a number of them for future additions to the series, and I will certainly be re-acquainting myself with Riley Fisher as I plan to read the next in this promising series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Newly promoted Sergeant Riley Fisher is shocked when a childhood friend is found murdered, her body badly mutilated. She is the first; two more bodies are discovered and Riley becomes convinced they are connected to a big agri company taking over small family farms. She tenaciously follows the trail even when it leads to a local politician seeking re-election and placing Riley and her family in danger. The truth, when it emerges, is even more deadly. Lots of twists and turns as the story unfolds. Riley is a flawed but likeable character that cares for her family and friends. Scary but believable plot.

This book is set against the corn growing industry in Iowa and is filled with corruption and murder. It reminds me of Karin Slaughter's writing due to graphic descriptions of post mortems. I liked the character of Riley Fisher and the intricate plotting, although the pace was quite slow. I can't decide if this is a thriller or a tale of agricultural espionage. The writing and research is good but I did lose interest about halfway through. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

A really, tense, complex and intense book. This storyline has it all. With really great deep characters too. Really well written and gripping.

I found this to be a gripping read. It was tense and atmospheric. The writing was great and the characters interesting and complex. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

'The Fields' is different to the sort of book I would normally read - I guess it's genre fiction, quite typically crime/thriller, and it made a refreshing change for me - I usually go for literary fiction. Having said this, there are elements of this in the novel, but it's more formulaic in terms of plot and characters.

Riley Fisher is a detective in the Iowan town of Cedar Falls. Near the beginning of the book, she finds herself caught up in a sinister murder investigation - a body is found in a corn field - and this marks the start of a number of bodies being found, in the town and elsewhere. Aside from this, the main plot of the story, there is significant focus on sub-plots, such as Fisher's back story, her relationship with her brother, Ethan, and with Cole, one of her colleagues - both of which are somewhat full of conflict, for different reasons. In addition, there is the whole Zephyr Farms issue, the production of crops, and the dodgy goings-on in the rural countryside of Iowa.

I did enjoy this - it is gripping, spooky at times, and one is left wanting Fisher to come out of it positively. I thought the State Fair was going to play a bigger role - perhaps the scene of a dramatic event, given the references to it - but it doesn't. Regardless, 'The Fields' is atmospheric and deserves to be read and enjoyed.

A breakneck procedural that is beautifully written and masterfully crafted, Erin Young's The Fields is a dynamite debut—crime fiction at its very finest.

Some things don't stay buried.

It starts with a body—a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture.

When Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations for the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, arrives on the scene, an already horrific crime becomes personal when she discovers the victim was a childhood friend, connected to a dark past she thought she’d left behind.

The investigation grows complicated as more victims are found. Drawn deeper in, Riley soon discovers implications far beyond her Midwest town.

At first, I did not know that this author also wrote historical fiction novels in the name of 'Robyn Young'.
But honestly, I'm very much impressed by their crime debut.
It's a fantastic police procedural story with clever and graphical writing!

An absolutely amazing small town crime thriller mystery. This book has it all. Fans of Jane harper will love this book. An excellent atmospheric book. Highly recommended xx

I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley and I’m so grateful that i requested it and got approved so thanks to the publisher and author.

This story has everything I love in a book police, crime , murder, politics, small town dynamics and an array of other hard hitting topics which I just know you will love if you enjoy crime thrillers. So read on and definitely pre-order or grab a copy on publication day.

The first page sucked me in straightaway and I was transported to the same exact corn field in Iowa, I could almost feel the suffocating heat!

Riley and her family dynamics are so captivating I was drawn to her character all the way through the book and I was delighted to find out that this is the start of a new series so we’ve got lots more of Riley to come . This is a shockingly good crime debut.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of The Fields the first novel to feature Sergeant Riley Fisher, head of investigations at the Black Hawk County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office.

Newly promoted, Riley’s first murder case in charge suggests it will be difficult. A woman’s body has been found in a cornfield and not only does Riley recognise her, she’s a friend from a dark time in her life twenty years ago. When a second body is found Riley struggles to get out from under the outside pressure of elections, agri-business and rumours and innuendo and solve the case.

The Fields is undoubtedly a well written novel, vividly creating life in rural America. Unfortunately it did not hold my attention and I found it a bit of a slog until the finale where the action is fast and furious.

The novel is told from various points of view, mostly Riley with other voices chipping in from time to time. This, I think, is one of the reasons that I didn’t find the novel compelling as these voices chip in with no real explanation of who they are or what they are up to and disrupt Riley’s narrative and investigation. The other main reason is that the narrative seems a bit disjointed. There are too many different things going on and no real sense of centralisation or how it will pull together. I also guessed the overall theme of the novel early on, but not the detail. I’m not quite sure what to make of it as it’s slightly didactic in the message it wants to hammer home.

Riley is another troubled protagonist. She refers to an event in her past and the dysfunction it brought to her family but it takes three quarters of the novel to reveal what is fairly obvious from the first mention. Nevertheless I like her and her work partner, Logan and would spend more time them.

I understand that The Fields is a debut novel. As such it has a few teething problems but is a credible first offering. 3.5*

This book grabbed me from the start. It’s extremely well-written with very detailed descriptions and I certainly want to read more about Riley and Logan. What a brilliant team they make! Unfortunately the plot was a bit over-the-top for me, and there was so much going on that my little brain found it difficult to keep track. I’ll be watching out for the next book from this author, and hope it’s a little less complicated. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thought provoking but pacy detective novel with something to say on the American way of life, conflicting social, environmental and political issues. Believable characters and atmospheric descriptions, some a little too meaty and gruesomely detailed. Engaging start to a series (hopefully). Would recommend and will be looking out for more from this author.