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A review by fictionmajorette
The Fields by Erin Young
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
4.0
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, and Medical trauma