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DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS
by Stephen Booth
Pocket Books, October 2002
381 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0743431006


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In Northern Englandís Peak District, a young cyclist is found murdered by a park ranger at the Nine Virgins, a group of nine monoliths arranged in a circle and filled with a local legend. Each one of the rocks represent a maiden turned into stone for dancing. It is an old story but it is part of the townís culture. Jenny Westonís death is unsettling because there was a previous attack nearby where the victim survived. Maggie Crew was left disfigured and suffering from partial amnesia. She has no memory of the attack nor does she care to remember. There is something sinister going on at the National Park and it will be up to the Edendale police to straighten things out.

Detective Constable Ben Cooper and Detective Sergeant Diane Fry return after their impressive debut in Stephen Boothís award-winning novel, Black Dog. Both of these characters have issues with their past and this book explores it a bit further. Cooper is living under the shadow of his hero father, now deceased. He feels inadequate and not good enough; he works hard at his job even though he is quite naÔve about certain people. DS Fry is an outside in the police department who feels resented after the incidents in the prior novel. She tries hard to avoid Ben and sometimes it gets in the way of her job. She is also burdened by a secret from many years ago and it might threaten her objectivity in this case. Both detectives will be investigating separate aspects of the same case by checking different leads. What they will discover is a giant puzzle where every suspect and every witness will provide a different clue as to what happened. The end result is going to show you one of the reasons why Stephen Booth is one of Englandís hottest writers today. He takes several subplots involving different characters in the story that help enhance the main story. Once everything is put together, it will demonstrate the deep, dark secrets everyone is trying to hide from themselves and to others and bring an unexpected resolution in the mix. This book surpasses everything Booth has written before making each upcoming novel even better. Dancing with the Virgins is worth seeking at your bookstore.

Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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