Lost River by Stephen Booth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The two plot lines were much more tightly — or obviously — connected than in previous books in the Cooper and Fry series. There was also a social justice message behind it that was compelling to read rather than preachy. I have to say I am still astonished that the conviction rate of rape in the UK (in any part of it) is really only 6%, but I assume Booth did his research and didn’t pull the rate out of a hat. Still, it seems preposterous for a so-called civilized country. And if I was British and read that, I’d be outraged.
However, the binding theme isn’t rape per se but the sexual violence against women and children and how trying to pretend it away has catastrophic consequences for decades or just in a few years. Reading this at the end of December 2012 when India exploded with outrage over the gang rape and 2-week-long dying of a young woman, made it hit home in a visceral, immediate way.
The ending was not as good as The Kill Call, yet it made me wonder what’s coming next. Where goeth Cooper and Fry???
