NEWS
COOPER & FRY IN CANADA
LOST RIVER and the paperback of THE KILL CALL are now available in Canada. THE KILL CALL was the no 1 new release bestseller for Canadian independent booksellers on its release, while LOST RIVER debuted at number 5. HarperCollins Canada have some major promotions planned for the summer.
If you're in Canada, you can order copies of the new books online here:
Amazon.ca
Chapters Indigo
Sleuth of Baker Street
or find a bookstore in your area:
Canadian
Booksellers Association
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION...
To help all you location detectives out there, Stephen has created two customised maps on Google, which mark all the major locations in LOST RIVER.
LOST RIVER is set partly in Birmingham, where locations include the decaying industrial area of Digbeth, Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter, and modern additions to the cityscape such as Brindleyplace and the award-winning Selfridge's store (known to Brummies as the Dalek's Ballgown).
These and many other locations can be tracked on the LOST RIVER Birmingham map, along with photos and a bit of local information:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=102008222628403175201.000481a08e0f4326a3402
But, of course, we haven't abandoned Derbyshire! Part of the story is set in and around the historic market town of Ashbourne, as well as the surrounding valleys of the River Dove and River Manifold. On the LOST RIVER Derbyshire map you can find the famous Dovedale stepping stones, the curious 'money trees', the village of Wetton, and even Ashbourne police station:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=102008222628403175201.000481c2687e2f6834e8b
You can use the controls to zoom in and out, or click on one of the blue placemarks on the map or at the side of the screen to go straight to a particular location. If you're signed in to Google, you can use Street View in many places to get right down to ground level and see what it's like on the street (though in Dovedale you can only get as far as the car park - it's all on foot after that!).
Please give the maps a try, enjoy the scenery of the Peak District - and discover some interesting locations in Birmingham, too - then let us know what you think:
LOST
RIVER
This one is not to be missed! The 10th Cooper & Fry novel LOST RIVER was published in the UK in hardback in April 2010.
The new book is set partly in and around the Ashbourne/Dovedale area of Derbyshire, and partly in the 'mean streets' of Birmingham. Here's the blurb:
"A May Bank Holiday in the Peak District is ruined by the tragic drowning of an eight-year-old girl among crowds of visitors in the tourist hotspot of Dovedale.
For Detective Constable Ben Cooper, a helpless witness to the tragedy, the incident is not only traumatic, but leads him to become involved in the tangled lives of the Nields, the dead girl's family. As he gets to know them, Cooper begins to suspect that one of them is harbouring a secret - a secret that the whole family might be willing to cover up.
Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Diane Fry has a journey of her own to make - a journey back to her roots. As she finds herself drawn into an investigation of her own among the inner city streets of Birmingham, Fry realises there is only one person she can rely on to provide the help she needs.
But that man is Ben Cooper, and he's back in Derbyshire, where his suspicions are leading him towards a shocking discovery on the banks of another Peak District river."
You can order a copy online now at:
Amazon UK Waterstone's The Book Depository
or talk to your friendly local bookseller!
The unabridged audio version (from HarperCollins Audio) is read by Mike Rogers (of Coronation Street, EastEnders, Doctors, Peak Practice etc).
LOST RIVER will be published in Sweden in October as FLICKAN I FLODEN from Minotaur:
* US readers - sorry, we have no prospect of publication dates for either LOST RIVER or THE KILL CALLin the USA! To order copies of the UK editions online from overseas, we can recommend The Book Depository, which provides FREE worldwide shipping.
NOTE: The Book Depository is currently offering 25% off pre-orders of both LOST RIVER:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780007243488/Lost-River
and the paperback of THE KILL CALL:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780007243471/The-Kill-Call
THE
KILL CALL
The 9th Cooper & Fry novel, THE KILL CALL, was published in massmarket paperback in April in the UK, Canada and Australia.
This year, HarperCollins have also produced an unabridged audio edition, read by Will Thorp (best known as paramedic Paul 'Woody' Joyner in the BBC series 'Casualty'). For more information from HarperCollins, click here.
You
can see and hear Stephen Booth talking about the book in a video for Amazon:
The
Kill Call on Amazon UK
And for a sneak preview of THE KILL CALL, click here to read the first chapter
The blurb:
"On a rain-swept Derbyshire moor, hounds from the local foxhunt find the body of a well-dressed man whose head has been crushed. Yet an anonymous caller reports the same body lying half a mile away.
Called in to investigate the discovery, detectives DS Diane Fry and DC Ben Cooper become entangled in the violent world of hunting and hunt saboteurs, horse theft and a little-known sector of the meat trade.
As Fry follows a complex trail of her own to unravel the shady business interests of the murder victim, Cooper realizes that the answer to the case might lie deep in the past.
History is everywhere around him in the Peak District landscape - particularly in the 'plague village' of Eyam, where an outbreak of Black Death has been turned into a modern-day tourist attraction.
But, even as the final solution is revealed, both Fry and Cooper find themselves having to face up to the disturbing reality of the much more recent past."
You can a copy online now at:
Amazon UK WH Smith The Book Depository Waterstone's
SIGNED BOOKS
A few signed UK hardback 1st editions of the 9th Cooper & Fry novel THE KILL CALL are still available on the Sales page. We only have a very limited number of copies, so get your order in now!
Also available from this website at the moment are:
*
US editions of BLOOD ON THE TONGUE, BLIND TO THE BONES and ONE LAST BREATH,
including rare hardcovers now out of print in the USA
* Some UK paperbacks with the original HarperCollins covers
* German translations of most of the Cooper & Fry series, including some
hardbacks
These can all be signed by the author, of course.
All stocks are limited, however - so it's 'first come, first served'. To see what's available right now, go straight to the Sales page.
THE
KILL CALL IN SWEDEN
Sweden is the first country to get THE KILL CALL in translation. The Swedish edition was published in November 2009 by Minotaur as SISTA SAMTALET. You can order a copy here:
http://www.bokus.com/b/9789185419173.html?pt=search_result&search_term=Stephen%20Booth
or here:
http://www.adlibris.com/se/product.aspx?isbn=9185419176
Minotaur have also released the pocket paperback edition of SVART SOM SYNDEN (DYING TO SIN).
Meanwhile, DYING TO SIN has just been published in Portuguese translation by Europa America as MORTO POR PECAR:
The first Cooper & Fry novel BLACK DOG has again been re-issued in Germany under its German title KUHLER GRUND. The new paperback edition is published by Goldmann, and is available here:
NEWSLETTER #26
The
latest issue of the Stephen Booth Newsletter went out in early June. If you haven't
received a copy and you think you should have, send an email to: newsletter@stephen-booth.com
so we can check your subscription. If you're not signed up yet, please go to
the Newsletter page
and make sure you receive the next issue.
KINDLE EDITIONS
Amazon's Kindle ebook reader became available internationally last October - though, for now, both the Kindle and the ebooks themselves can only be purchased via the US Amazon site, and are priced in US dollars.
Kindle editions of four of the Cooper & Fry novels are already available for readers in the UK, Australia, Canada and other parts of the world. Currently available are ONE LAST BREATH, THE DEAD PLACE, SCARED TO LIVE and DYING TO SIN:
For the UK, these editions are priced at $11.21. And, of course, you need to own a Kindle ereader to be able to download them!
In the USA, readers with Kindles have three Cooper & Fry titles available - ONE LAST BREATH, THE DEAD PLACE and SCARED TO LIVE:
TV INTERVIEW - THE BOOK CHANNEL
If you can't make it to any of the events, here's a chance to see Stephen Booth talking live about THE KILL CALL. In June, Stephen recorded an interview at Lowdham Book Festival for new digital TV station The Book Channel, which is broadcast in July on Sky Channel 166, Freesat Channel 402, and live on the internet at www.thebookchannel.tv.
Stephen's interview from the show has been uploaded to YouTube. You can view the full item at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coMvl38SU6w
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LATEST IN THE USA:
SCARED TO LIVE
The 7th Cooper & Fry novel SCARED TO LIVE was published in paperback in the USA by Bantam.
How do you investigate the murder of a woman without a life? That is the challenge facing Cooper and Fry when a reclusive agoraphobic is found shot to death in her home by someone who took an exceptional amount of care in executing her murder.
With
no friends, no family, and virtually no contact with the outside world, the
dead woman may have simply been an unlucky victim of a random homicide. Or was
she hiding from a past that had finally come out of hiding to kill her?
At virtually the same time, a raging house fire claims the life of a young
mother and two of her children. But as the debris is cleared, troubling
questions remain in the ashes. Among them, how did the fire start, where was
the husband at two a.m. the day of the blaze, and was it really the fire that
killed his family?
Now, as Cooper faces the reemergence of a dark secret he'd hoped to forget,
and Fry copes with problems both personal and professional, a horrific
possibility begins to take shape: what if the two investigations are somehow
connected?
A killer is stalking the Peak District whose motives are a mystery and whose methods are unpredictable. And his next victims could very well be the only two cops who can stop him...
"Yet
another excellent novel from one of
"Booth
is a modern master of rural noir." - The
Guardian
"Booth's
aim is to portray the darkness that lies below the surface... in this he
succeeds wonderfully well."
Or click here to read the first chapter
THE DEAD PLACE and SCARED TO LIVE are also available as ebooks: visit Fictionwise.
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CRIMINAL
TENDENCIES
In addition to THE KILL CALL, 2009 saw the publication of an anthology of short stories by a whole host of British crime writers who have donated their work for charity.
CRIMINAL TENDENCIES has been produced by independent publishers Creme de la Crime. For every copy sold, £1 will go to the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline, which is supported by the Genesis Appeal, the only charity in the UK entirely dedicated to the prevention of breast cancer.
With a foreword by Mark Billingham, the anthology includes a story by Stephen Booth, along with contributions from Reginald Hill, Val McDermid, Andrew Taylor, Peter Lovesey, Peter James, Simon Brett, Ann Cleeves, Zoe Sharp, Sophie Hannah, Martin Edwards, and many others...
First-time authors Chris Nickson and Caroline Shiach, winners of the Criminal Tendencies 2009 competition, will also have their stories featured in the anthology.
For more information on the charities concerned, visit
http://www.breastcancergenetics.co.uk
Or you can order a copy of CRIMINAL TENDENCIES direct from Creme de la Crime.
WHO'S YOUR FAVOURITE ACTOR?
Several more suggestions from readers have now been added to the picture gallery on the Virtual Casting Page. Among the latest actors to be suggested for the screen role of DC Ben Cooper are Matt Bardock and Martin Freeman, while Melanie Gutteridge is put forward to play DS Diane Fry, and Trevor Cooper for DC Gavin Murfin. Let us know what you think!
http://www.stephen-booth.com/castingpage.htm
A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO STEPHEN
Following
a readers' day for visually impaired readers, Stephen Booth was asked to
record an interview for 'talking newspaper' the Mansfield Echo. The full
interview is also available to listen to from the website of the local
newspaper, the Mansfield Chad. Just visit interviewer Bill Purdue's Chad book
blog, and you can either listen online or download the interview to your PC:
http://www.chad.co.uk/CustomPages/CustomPage.aspx?Pageid=76199
CLAWS
The
original Five Leaves editions of the 'Crime Express' Ben Cooper story CLAWS
are now sold out.
However, CLAWS is still available in a two-CD audio version from W. F. Howes,
narrated by Nick Boulton. Go to:
You
can also get all three of the first 'Crime Express' titles from Fives Leaves
together in one large print edition. This is again available from W.F.
Howes
STEPHEN BOOTH FORUM
We've launched a STEPHEN BOOTH FORUM, a place created specially for readers of the Cooper & Fry series to chat with each other, ask questions, and get the latest news. But discussions can range across any crime or mystery related subject - and lots more besides!
Why not be one of the first to sign up for the forum - it's free, and very easy to do. Everyone is welcome, so don't be shy. You'll be able to exchange views with people from all over the world, and you can start your own topics at any time, on any subject you like. Stephen will be around from time to time for a chat, too. We hope it's going to be lots of fun!
The forum can be accessed direct from the website. Just click on Stephen Booth Forum.
Or use the following URL: http://www.stephen-booth.com/Forum
Follow in the footsteps of Cooper & Fry
This Summer, why not get out your walking boots and follow in the footsteps of DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry?
Some of the locations used in the Cooper & Fry series are featured in a new Peak District visitors' guide. Now you can follow Ben Cooper's footsteps of DC as he walks the snow-covered slopes of Irontongue Hill, or take the same route as DS Diane Fry and DC Gavin Murfin as they venture deep into the tunnels of Speedwell Cavern.
'Front
Row of the Peak' has a film and literature theme, and it's just one in a
series of ten Peak Experience booklets. Memorable locations from DANCING
WITH THE VIRGINS, ONE LAST BREATH and SCARED TO LIVE are among the sights
recommended to visitors, along with settings used for the filming of JANE EYRE
and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. You can also find places that have appeared in TV
drama PEAK PRACTICE and the BBC’s THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN.
The new visitors' guide was launched in Bakewell during the Peak Book Festival, and copies are available from Peak District visitor centres. You can also find more details of Cooper & Fry locations online at the Peak Experience website, along with an interview with Stephen Booth about his Peak District inspirations.
"An
authentic voice of the Peaks! Booth’s details ring true: the climate and
seasons, wildlife, contrasts between valley-bottom life and harsher remote
hillside living, characters’ names and even the ways people speak are
strikingly authentic. Booth knows the Peak District."
- Peak Experience
Meanwhile, you can get a taste of the wonderful Peak District landscape by viewing the slide show on the Peak District Page of this web site.
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PREVIOUS NEWS:
TV wildlife man chooses BLACK DOG
TV wildlife presenter NIGEL MARVEN ('Walking with Dinosaurs' and 'Prehistoric Park') has named BLACK DOG as one of his six favourite books.
"BLACK DOG - I couldn't put it down!" says Nigel.
('My Best Books' feature - Daily Express)Thanks, Nige!
The latest audio release in the Cooper & Fry series is the abridged edition of DYING TO SIN from HarperCollins. Clipper Audio have produced the audio CD, cassette and large print editions of SCARED TO LIVE, with the unabrdiged version of DYING TO SIN currently in production. You can buy the latest Clipper titles, or listen to short extracts, by clicking here.
Is there a real Ben Cooper in the Peak District? Well, at least one! The real-life Ben is a member of the Edale Mountain Rescue Team, who do a vital job helping walkers and climbers lost or injured on the hills. The MRT consists entirely of volunteers, and they're on call 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. They receive no official funding, but rely solely on voluntary donations. Think you could help them? For more information on what the MRT do, check out their website: Edale Mountain Rescue Team
Audio
versions of the Cooper & Fry series are now available in the USA. Recorded
Books have released BLACK DOG, BLOOD ON THE TONGUE and BLIND TO THE BONES
on audio CD and cassette. Even better news - these versions are narrated
by a British actor, Christopher Kay. Recorded
Books also provide a 30-day rental service.
Stephen
has contributed a short story to an anthology released in November 2005. STUN
TO STICK is one of 16 stories by Nottinghamshire writers in 'Sunday Night and
Monday Morning' from Five
Leaves Publishing. There's no appearance by Cooper and Fry in this one!
Other writers contributing stories include John
Harvey, Robert Harris, Clare Littleford, Jon McGregor and Julie Myerson.
Copies at £9.99 can be ordered from Five
Leaves, online from Amazon
and WH
Smith, or in the UK from your local bookshop (ISBN 090712352X).
Click
here for more details of the book.
You can now sign up to get news of Stephen Booth books by email through the HarperCollins UK 'Author Tracker' service (as well as news of some of your other favourite authors!). Follow this link to the HarperCollins website. And, of course, there's always the Newsletter.
Scorpion Press have issued BLOOD ON THE TONGUE in a handsome signed limited edition of only 80 copies in a fine binding. This edition contains an exclusive appreciation by Reginald Hill of the Cooper & Fry series. You can find more in the archive section of the Scorpion Press website.
UK
publication of THE DEAD PLACE attracted the attention of geocachers, whose
sport features in the book. Our thanks to cacher 'dodgydaved', who directed us
to discussions on the Geocaching Forums: UK
Forum and Geocaching
Topics. If you thought geocaching was a fictional invention, check it out!
Stephen contributed his recipe for Accidental Bakewell Pudding to a new
mystery writers' cook book called 'A Second Helping of Murder', published by Poisoned
Pen Press.
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TRANSLATIONS UPDATE
In Spain, Artime
Ediciones have published the 7th Cooper & Fry novel SCARED TO LIVE in
Spanish translation as MIEDO
A MORIR. You can read the first chapter in Spanish
by clicking
here.
SCARED TO LIVE is also now available in Portugal from Publicacoes Europa- America as MEDO DE VIVER. This follows Portuguese publication of THE DEAD PLACE as O Lugar Morto and ONE LAST BREATH as UM Ultimo SUSPIRO.
In
Sweden, Minotaur have just published SVART
SOM SYNDEN (DYING TO SIN), along with
the paperback of I
SKYDD AV MORKRET
(SCARED TO LIVE). The 9th Cooper & Fry novel, THE KILL CALL, is in
the Minotaur schedule for 2009.
Blue
Moon Books have
published HENKAYS VAIN,
the Finnish translation of ONE LAST BREATH, and currently have THE DEAD PLACE
going through translation for publication in Finland in the summer of 2009.
In Germany, Goldmann have published TODESACKER (DYING TO SIN), following on from TODESNACHT (SCARED TO LIVE).
In
the Czech Republic, BB Art have published the Czech translation of BLOOD ON
THE TONGUE as KREV
NA JAZYKU, to follow on from Desata
panna (DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS) and
CernY pes
(Black Dog). BLIND TO THE BONES will
follow shortly.
In
Russia, Azbooka
have bought the rights in ONE LAST BREATH and THE DEAD PLACE, to follow the
Russian translation
of DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS.
CIELA Publishing have released SCARED TO LIVE in Bulgarian.
In Romania, RAO International have published CAINELE NEGRU (BLACK DOG), following on from the Romanian translation of THE DEAD PLACE, SALASUL MORTII.
The latest publication in Denmark from Klim is JERN TUNGEN (BLOOD ON THE TONGUE), now available in both paperback and Danish audio CD. Klim have also bought the Danish translation rights in BLIND TO THE BONES.
Vigmostad & Bjorke introduced the Cooper & Fry series to Norway last year with the publication of DJEVELHUNDEN (BLACK DOG). They have just published the second book, DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS, as JOMFRU-DANSEN.
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For full details of available and forthcoming editions,
including translations, go to the Books
page.
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