One Last Breath (Cooper and Fry Crime Series, Book 5)

Major new psychological Peak District thriller from the acclaimed author of Blood on the Tongue and Blind to the Bones.ONE LAST BREATH is the 5th novel in the multiple award-winning Cooper & Fry series, set in England's beautiful and atmospheric Peak District. The vast labyrinth of caverns, passages and subterranean rivers beneath the Peak District are a major tourist attraction. But this summer not all the darkness is underground, and not all the devils are folk legends. Mingling with the visitors is a convicted killer, bent on revenge. Fourteen years ago Mansell Quinn was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his lover. Now he's out under licence, whereabouts unknown, and his ex-wife has been murdered. As they try to anticipate the fugitive's next move, Derbyshire detectives Diane Fry and Ben Cooper become increasingly puzzled by the case. Why did Quinn's two friends refuse to back up his alibi? And why did nobody visit him in prison for the last ten years of his sentence? Nobody, that is, except one of those two friends: ex-soldier Will Thorpe, now living rough somewhere in the Hope Valley. Overstretched and unable to apprehend a killer who moves around the area with impunity, the police can do little but warn other potential victims to be on their guard. But the case is about to become much more personal for DC Ben Cooper... * A number 18 Sunday Times bestseller in the UK * Finalist for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award PRAISE FOR THE COOPER AND FRY SERIES: "Suspenseful and supremely engaging. Booth does a wonderful job." - Los Angeles Times "Simultaneously classic, contemporary and haunting." - Otto Penzler, Mysterious Bookshop, New York "Makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter." - Val McDermid, award-winning crime novelist "Intelligent and substantive crime fiction, rich with complex characters." - Library Journal "Booth has firmly joined the elite of Britain's top mystery writers." - Flo... Set in England's legendary Peak District, Stephen Booth's acclaimed mysteries tell tales of men and women under siege by both ordinary life and extraordinary crime. Now, in a stunning, fascinatingly intelligent novel, Booth's uneasy young policeman, Ben Cooper, encounters an enigma that begins with a shocking murder and a victim's . . . One Last BreathAround the ancient cave system in Derbyshire are thronging tourists, a medieval castle, and the thriving town of Castleton. With its underground tunnels and caverns, it's the perfect place for a man to hide--or vanish. Detective Constable Ben Cooper and Detective Sergeant Diane Fry are looking for such a man, one who is on a rampage of revenge.After thirteen years in prison, Mansell Quinn has emerged a man enraged. Hours after violating his parole, Quinn is the chief suspect in a fresh murder. And his original sin--the brutal killing of his lover--still haunts the valley. Because Quinn has always maintained his innocence, the people who lined up against him then are in dire danger now. Ben may be one of those people, for he is the son of the cop who had arrested Quinn thirteen years earlier. But while his department races to find Quinn, Ben wonders if the man was indeed guilty of the first crime. Even when another new victim is found, Ben stubbornly clings to the old case--and makes himself an open target for a killer.For Ben, the real story of Mansell Quinn is as hidden as the caves beneath them. His search for answers will lead him on a twisting, harrowing journey through that maze of darkness--into the shocking light of truth.From the Hardcover edition. Major new psychological Peak District thriller from the acclaimed author of Blood on the Tongue and Blind to the Bones. The vast labyrinth of caverns, passages and subterranean rivers beneath the Peak District are a major tourist attraction. But this summer not all the darkness is underground, and not all the devils are folk legends. Mingling with the holidaymakers is a convicted killer, bent on revenge. Fourteen years ago Mansell Quinn was sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing his lover to death. Now he's out and within a matter of hours his ex-wife is found dead – a new identity and a new home no safeguard against murder. Looking to the original case files for clues to the fugitive's wherabouts, detectives Diane Fry and Ben Cooper discover there may be other potential victims out there. And as the son of the officer responsible for putting Quinn behind bars, Ben realizes that his own name could be high on the list. In England's tourist-laden Peak District, Detective Constable Ben Cooper and his partner, Diane Fry, search for a convicted killer bent on the ultimate revenge who is hiding in one of the region's many caves