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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
There is a lot going on in this book - A lot of elements to the story, a lot of character names to retain, and a lot of graphic details to digest. For some, this will keep things interesting all the way through. I, however, did not find this to be overly thrilling and my investment in it wavered from time to time.
Let me clear - it’s a solid mystery with complexities the author developed well. Police procedural seems to be the perfect place for her writing talent and I could see this working well - perhaps even better - as a movie. Plus, the reveals were intriguing, unique, and frightening. It was simply that the winding road travelled to get there was sometimes inundated with scenery and, other times, bland to look at.
I did enjoy that there was some added social commentary, although it wasn’t as mentally stimulating all the way through as I first believed it would be.
As the beginning of a series, I do think too much may have been packed into the first book, but that could mean I’ll find future installments more enjoyable, if I continue on.
I am immensely grateful to Flatiron Books for my digital review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Let me clear - it’s a solid mystery with complexities the author developed well. Police procedural seems to be the perfect place for her writing talent and I could see this working well - perhaps even better - as a movie. Plus, the reveals were intriguing, unique, and frightening. It was simply that the winding road travelled to get there was sometimes inundated with scenery and, other times, bland to look at.
I did enjoy that there was some added social commentary, although it wasn’t as mentally stimulating all the way through as I first believed it would be.
As the beginning of a series, I do think too much may have been packed into the first book, but that could mean I’ll find future installments more enjoyable, if I continue on.
I am immensely grateful to Flatiron Books for my digital review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Good start to a series. Excited to see what these characters are up to in the following books.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Debut author Erin Young delivers a twisted mystery that involves agricultural terrorism, small town politics, and a young detective who is trying to keep her past buried. This was a dark, wild ride that kept me guessing until the very end.
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Who knew corn could be so thrilling? THE FIELDS starts with a grisly bang and doesn't take its foot off of the gas from then until the heart-pounding conclusion. Sergeant Riley Fisher is surprised when a woman's brutalized corpse is found in a local cornfield--she's even more startled when the victim turns out to be her teenage best friend and again when other bodies begin piling up. What unravels is a thrilling mystery with an ever-expanding cast of suspects and ever-increasing stakes. A taught domestic thriller and tense political thriller rolled into one, THE FIELDS is the very promising start to a possible series of Riley Fisher novels. I'm sure I'm not the only one excited to see Riley tackle the darkness of her past!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
https://beverleyhasread.wordpress.com/
The Fields by Erin Young is a dark and compelling police procedural set in Black Hawk County, Iowa and centres around the investigation into a series of brutal murders. The deaths are curious, with the first woman being found with a number of curious and puzzling wounds, deep in a cornfield. The person in charge of the investigation is recently promoted Sergeant Riley Fisher, a woman born and bred in Black Hawk County.
The Fields by Erin Young is a dark and compelling police procedural set in Black Hawk County, Iowa and centres around the investigation into a series of brutal murders. The deaths are curious, with the first woman being found with a number of curious and puzzling wounds, deep in a cornfield. The person in charge of the investigation is recently promoted Sergeant Riley Fisher, a woman born and bred in Black Hawk County.
Set against a backdrop of acres of cornfields, agricultural businesses competing over corn and seeds , there is much more to The Fields than a murder mystery. Riley is the grandaughter of a well respected former Chief of Black Hawk County Police and the first woman to be promoted to Sergeant. Some colleagues are unhappy with her promotion and she feels the pressure of her position daily. Throw in the fact that the murdered woman is a childhood friend of hers and things are a little messy for Riley.
Young explores the weight of responsibility upon Riley. In her personal life she is tasked with keeping her erstwhile brother on the straight and narrow and she seems to be the only person making sure that her niece is happy and healthy in the midst of a messy divorce. Professionally, she knows that all eyes are upon her and she is being pressured for quick results from her superiors. Her life is complex and ticking away in the background, is the weight of a terrible secret which she has kept locked away in a box inside her head for many years.
The book does go to some dark and macabre places which I suspect some readers won’t enjoy, and I have to admit that it did make blanch on occasion but I didn’t feel it was unnecessary. There are a number of malevolent forces at play which interweave building a pressure cooker of tension and threat. It’s really well plotted and the overall feel reminded me of early Grisham in some ways. The depictions of a hot and sultry Iowa seep from the pages and provide a contrast against the dark deeds at play.
I’m not usually a fan of police procedurals as they can be a little too heavy on the procedural side for my liking, but this has a sufficient balance between the minutiae of a murder investigation and an intriguing plot to support it. It just feels like a good old fashioned crime novel. There’s big business, a political agenda, a small town, secrets, intrigue and at its centre a great protagonist. If dark crime books with a lot of layers are your thing, then The Fields could be for you.
It starts with a body, as these books often do.
But from there you are taken on a dark, disturbing and graphic journey through the corn fields of small town Iowa.
When newly promoted Sergeant Riley Fisher is tasked with finding who murdered a childhood friend in horrific circumstances, she has to battle her own personal demons and hostility from fellow police officers to get to the truth.
When a second body is found, whispers start to circulate that they have a serial killer on their hands.
But the truth may be even more disturbing than that.
This book had me gripped from start to finish and I have to say I can't wait for the next in the series.
Be warned that some of the descriptions can be graphic and disturbing, so not for the feint of heart. I don't usually enjoy such graphic content but the quality of writing and story made this this unputdownable.
Thanks to Hachette Australia and the author for the advanced copy to read and review.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-fields-erin-young.html
The first point I want to make right away is that, in my opinion, the description/cover/title of this book do not in any way indicate just how graphic and violent this book gets. For me, this was a big plus! For other readers, this can be a big problem and I have seen some DNF reviews that had a problem with this exact point. I was expecting a kinda quiet police procedural story set in a rural Midwest town. And while that is the core of the book, the actual crimes depicted and how much of those crimes end up on-page were quite surprising.
I loved the characters in this book and I'm so glad the author is planning on making this a series so we can see how the relationships develop. Riley Fisher is the first female sergeant in the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office which is pressure enough. But then when the mutilated body of a local woman shakes the small town, Fisher is faced with even more pressure to find the killer and close the case. We get a great balance between Fisher's professional life and her rocky home life and we see how each affects the other.
The one part that fell flat for me was the integration and connection of wider outside threats to this town. I knew from the description that there was going to be some sort of outside threat or connection which from an overall plot perspective, I think was great. I had some problems with the pacing and actual narrative way those plot points were worked into the story. The first 20% of this book is following Fisher and her investigation. That was a pretty significant portion of the book and was long enough for me, as a reader, to settle in and get comfy with these characters, setting, and plot line. So then, when the next chapter is removed from the town and investigation, it felt very jarring and confusing.
As this is a police procedural, the investigation is really front and center in this book - as it should be. That being said, I think Young's writing style was really engaging and she does a great job of adding in these layers to the writing that help the story feel so much more exciting and eventful than a typical police procedural. For example, I really noticed how much movement the characters have - they're walking around the office, driving to a new scene, multitasking while on the phone, etc. Young managed to balance all this same info-dumping with so much character movement and other activities happening in the same moment that it never felt like the characters were just sitting around and reading these medical reports aloud.
The ending to this book is a little over-the-top but I really liked where the story ended up. The second plot line based out of town that I addressed earlier comes barreling in at about the 75% mark and then it is full speed ahead. The ending does veer a bit into political-thriller category and integrates Midwest farming concerns over big-agriculture companies buying out and taking over family farms. I think Young did a really good job weaving in these bigger ideas into what started out as just a small town murder investigation but not all readers are going to appreciate that slight curve in the narrative.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read! I loved the characters, investigation, and the graphic depths the story surprised me with. I had a little bit of trouble with the way the chapters on other plot line were integrated in the story but I think the ending payoff was well earned. This was a really surprising read and I loved how the story veered off in an unexpected direction a few times. I look forward to reading more books in this series in the future.
Thanks NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC
Expected publication date is January 25, 2022
The first point I want to make right away is that, in my opinion, the description/cover/title of this book do not in any way indicate just how graphic and violent this book gets. For me, this was a big plus! For other readers, this can be a big problem and I have seen some DNF reviews that had a problem with this exact point. I was expecting a kinda quiet police procedural story set in a rural Midwest town. And while that is the core of the book, the actual crimes depicted and how much of those crimes end up on-page were quite surprising.
I loved the characters in this book and I'm so glad the author is planning on making this a series so we can see how the relationships develop. Riley Fisher is the first female sergeant in the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office which is pressure enough. But then when the mutilated body of a local woman shakes the small town, Fisher is faced with even more pressure to find the killer and close the case. We get a great balance between Fisher's professional life and her rocky home life and we see how each affects the other.
The one part that fell flat for me was the integration and connection of wider outside threats to this town. I knew from the description that there was going to be some sort of outside threat or connection which from an overall plot perspective, I think was great. I had some problems with the pacing and actual narrative way those plot points were worked into the story. The first 20% of this book is following Fisher and her investigation. That was a pretty significant portion of the book and was long enough for me, as a reader, to settle in and get comfy with these characters, setting, and plot line. So then, when the next chapter is removed from the town and investigation, it felt very jarring and confusing.
As this is a police procedural, the investigation is really front and center in this book - as it should be. That being said, I think Young's writing style was really engaging and she does a great job of adding in these layers to the writing that help the story feel so much more exciting and eventful than a typical police procedural. For example, I really noticed how much movement the characters have - they're walking around the office, driving to a new scene, multitasking while on the phone, etc. Young managed to balance all this same info-dumping with so much character movement and other activities happening in the same moment that it never felt like the characters were just sitting around and reading these medical reports aloud.
The ending to this book is a little over-the-top but I really liked where the story ended up. The second plot line based out of town that I addressed earlier comes barreling in at about the 75% mark and then it is full speed ahead. The ending does veer a bit into political-thriller category and integrates Midwest farming concerns over big-agriculture companies buying out and taking over family farms. I think Young did a really good job weaving in these bigger ideas into what started out as just a small town murder investigation but not all readers are going to appreciate that slight curve in the narrative.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read! I loved the characters, investigation, and the graphic depths the story surprised me with. I had a little bit of trouble with the way the chapters on other plot line were integrated in the story but I think the ending payoff was well earned. This was a really surprising read and I loved how the story veered off in an unexpected direction a few times. I look forward to reading more books in this series in the future.
Thanks NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC
Expected publication date is January 25, 2022
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
This is a procedural novel following a female sergeant in small town Iowa. A woman has been found, dead, in the corn fields of a small cooperative. Did someone in those fields kill her, was it the big ag company that wants to take over their land, was it her husband or best friend, and how is the governor involved? This one has it all.
I found this one to move along slightly slower than others like it, but it didn't keep me from devouring it. Like I said, it has everything you could want in a book of this type. There are definitely some dark and graphic moments, so if you have a weak stomach, it might not be for you, but if you like that kind of thing, I would recommend this one. It defintly ended up with a situation I didn't expect and I thought it was a fantastic path to get there.
This is a procedural novel following a female sergeant in small town Iowa. A woman has been found, dead, in the corn fields of a small cooperative. Did someone in those fields kill her, was it the big ag company that wants to take over their land, was it her husband or best friend, and how is the governor involved? This one has it all.
I found this one to move along slightly slower than others like it, but it didn't keep me from devouring it. Like I said, it has everything you could want in a book of this type. There are definitely some dark and graphic moments, so if you have a weak stomach, it might not be for you, but if you like that kind of thing, I would recommend this one. It defintly ended up with a situation I didn't expect and I thought it was a fantastic path to get there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Drug use, Rape
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was an interesting procedural. I enjoyed figuring out the mystery, and that it was actually a pretty straightforward mystery. Young didn't try to layer a mystery in so many folds that you couldn't possibly figure out some of the things going on, but there was still a bit of the fantastical that lends itself to surprise. I also enjoyed that we were dealing with a sergeant and Young orchestrated her job and she wasn't just a regular detective. It made sense that she was overseeing but also managing her team. I wish we had seen more of that overall because it would have made her feel more capable.
I also enjoyed that this was not such a small town to be contrived. It was a midwestern small city and that made sense. The character also made sense in the world. She was capable and didn't deteriorate fully during this ordeal, which was great to see. Also, she seemed to understand some of the complexities of farming life and small v. big farming. I enjoyed seeing a different group of people represented in a mystery. That doesn't often happen.
But there were a few things that stopped me from absolutely loving this book as a procedural. One, it felt like Young was throwing all the things at this character. We are dealing with past trauma, me too, drug abuse and substance abuse in the family, and governmental conspiracies. It was just a lot to put into one book and felt like she lost me in a lot of places. I felt like this novel would have been more effective had she tried to make a well crafted novel in one or two of these lanes and it felt like a bit of a mess when looking at all the layered details. One of the primary antagonists was someone I was confused as to who he was at the end. Further, some of the big bads felt a bit contrived and silly overall. Last, I really felt some of the views were a bit conservative for the sake of "small town" thoughts when that wasn't well earned. The protagonist comes off as hypocritical and as a person who is being blamed as a victim in the same breath. I felt a bit confused as to the author's own intent with some of the beliefs the book espouses overall. This was fixed with some plot twists, but also it made me a bit disappointed overall.
Thank you NetGalley and Flat Iron for an ARC for this honest review.
I also enjoyed that this was not such a small town to be contrived. It was a midwestern small city and that made sense. The character also made sense in the world. She was capable and didn't deteriorate fully during this ordeal, which was great to see. Also, she seemed to understand some of the complexities of farming life and small v. big farming. I enjoyed seeing a different group of people represented in a mystery. That doesn't often happen.
But there were a few things that stopped me from absolutely loving this book as a procedural. One, it felt like Young was throwing all the things at this character. We are dealing with past trauma, me too, drug abuse and substance abuse in the family, and governmental conspiracies. It was just a lot to put into one book and felt like she lost me in a lot of places. I felt like this novel would have been more effective had she tried to make a well crafted novel in one or two of these lanes and it felt like a bit of a mess when looking at all the layered details. One of the primary antagonists was someone I was confused as to who he was at the end. Further, some of the big bads felt a bit contrived and silly overall. Last, I really felt some of the views were a bit conservative for the sake of "small town" thoughts when that wasn't well earned. The protagonist comes off as hypocritical and as a person who is being blamed as a victim in the same breath. I felt a bit confused as to the author's own intent with some of the beliefs the book espouses overall. This was fixed with some plot twists, but also it made me a bit disappointed overall.
Thank you NetGalley and Flat Iron for an ARC for this honest review.