Black Dog by Stephen Booth

This is an 

Audio book review

About this author thanks to Goodreads

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A former newspaper journalist, Stephen Booth is the creator of two young Derbyshire police detectives, DS Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry, who have so far appeared in 13 crime novels, all set in and around England's Peak District. 
The Cooper & Fry series has won awards on both sides of the Atlantic, and Detective Constable Cooper has been a finalist for the Sherlock Award for the Best Detective created by a British author. In 2003 the Crime Writers’ Association presented Stephen with the Dagger in the Library Award for “the author whose books have given readers most pleasure.” 
The novels are sold all around the world, with translations in 15 languages, and are currently in development for a TV series. The most recent title is ALREADY DEAD, with a new book, THE CORPSE BRIDGE, due for publication in June 2014.
In recent years, Stephen has become a Library Champion in support of the UK’s ‘Love Libraries’ campaign. He has represented British literature at the Helsinki Book Fair in Finland, appeared with Alexander McCall Smith at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival in Australia, filmed a documentary for 20th Century Fox on the French detective Vidocq, and taken part in online chats for World Book Day. But, most of all, he says he likes to stay at home and write

Blurb

As helicopters search Northern England's Peak District for fifteen year-old Laura Vernon, Detective Constable Ben Cooper quietly dreads the worst. And when her body is found in the woods, Cooper's investigation begins with a short list of markedly uncooperative suspects: retired miner Harry Dickinson, whose black Labrador discovered Laura's body, and Laura's wealthy parents. Uneasily teamed with ambitious newcomer Detective Constable Diane Fry, Cooper tests a town's family ties, friendships, and loyaties -- and finds that in order to understand the present, they must unearth the past

My review

Black Dog written by Stephen Booth

Narrated by David Thorpe

Running time 13H and 22 min.

I must confess, when I started this book I was less than enthusiastic about the plot, the narrator etc. 

It took me forever to get into the story.  I have no use though for giving up on an audio book.  They cost a fortune here in South Africa so once I get my hands on one I stick with it.  Especially since I mostly listen to these books at work while doing normal admin tasks etc. 

So I stuck with this one.  And soon found that my lack of enthusiasm was replaced with a need to know, I got invested with the policemen investigating the case.  I got to love the mystery that surrounded the household of the 15 year old victim.  I came to care.

The narrator that left me less than impressed at the start…David Thorpe soon drew me into a new level of the story, one where the characters all got endowed with their very own personalities. 

By the time I was three chapters in the hook has been sunk, I bit and did not let go.  The plot is not especially fast instead the better part of the book is based on character building making the end all the more impressive. 

Will I recommend this book to friends, yes.  Will I read more by this author and listen to more books narrated by this narrator YES.

WaAr