This book in the Edendale police series is a bit longer than the others, but it is in no way lengthy. Two events, which happen within 24 h from each other, are the object of investigation for DS Fry and DC Cooper, a fire and a shooting. There are a few twist and turns, and a car explodes in Wakefield, an event that seems to be related to the shooting, but... it is not all what it seems!
Thoroughly enjoyable... and now I am waiting for the next in series to arrive to keep on reading! ( )

After being slightly disappointed with the previous installment in the series, I liked this one better: where The Dead Place was somewhat muddled and indecisive about where it wanted to go, Scared to Live is firmly focused on the mystery, with the personal life of Cooper and Fry taking place mostly in the novel's background. Which, paradoxically, leads to more time spend with some - I think of all the seven novels so far, this one is the one with the least points of view, the narrative straying only very rarely from our two protagonists.

So even though it is more of a sideshow this time, there still are some developments in the private lives of both Cooper and Fry (who, unlike most readers, I continue to think the more interesting character of the two). But the main focus is clearly on the police procedural, and this is something that Stephen Booth is really good at, his description of the inner workings of a police investigation strike me as utterly plausible and convincing. The plot itself relies maybe a bit too much on the Evil Empire myth of the Eastern European mafia and its ubiquitousness and omnipotence, particularly in the novel's final third things seem a bit over the top which clashes strangely with the realistic depiction of police work.

Another small niggle is that Booth's other strength, namely his striking nature descriptions of the Peak District are largely absent here. Still, Scared to Live is another solid entry in the series, and I'm definitely planning to stick with it.

I read this book as an electronic advanced reading copy (e-ARC) provided by Edelweiss, and I have submitted my review to the publisher via that web site.

This book is a reissue of a middle novel in a series, originally published in 2006 in the UK. Frankly, this book is not good enough to be reissued, let alone added to a public library's mystery collection. The plot is slow moving, the characters (besides the protagonists Fry and Cooper) are poorly developed, and the mystery is haphazard and predictable. I was especially offended that the female pathologist (a physician) is addressed as "Mrs." while a male psychiatrist and a male psychologist are both referred to as "Dr." Not recommended. ( )

Although I enjoyed this latest in the Cooper and Fry series, and will be awaiting the next quite eagerly, I found [book: Scared to Live] a bit disappointing. Perhaps it's because I figured out the Big Surprise at the end of the book several chapters in advance. The book deals with the murder of a mysterious, reclusive woman, to which Cooper is assigned, and also with the arson death of a woman and two children, which Fry investigates. Not surprisingly, the cases turn out to be related, and both have a connection with Bulgaria. Suspects proliferate and witnesses fail to tell the whole truth for reasons of their own. Issues that crop up in the cases under investigation also resonate strongly with Cooper's and Fry's own personal issues. Somehow it just didn't come together quite as well as Booth's previous books did for me. I hope he's not getting tired of the series. ( )

Quite a good, solid thriller / police procedural with main characters and motivations I could believe in. I kind of expected the plot twist at the end but it was very well executed.