2008-08-30 I struggled with this one

I'd never read anything of Stephen Booth's before and thought this looked promising - four suspicious deaths (one of them especially in very mysterious circumstances) within the first few pages. However, the story dragged on and on and I found it difficult to concentrate on the plot. Had I not had a holiday in Hartington, not far from Matlock, a couple of years ago I think I would have given up about halfway through, but the descriptions of Matlock Bath, the nearby shopping centre in an old converted mill, and the surroundings which were familiar to me helped to hold my interest. By the time I got to the end (and it's quite a long book) I found I really didn't care very much whodunnit, although why they dunnit was more to the point. Having read the other reviews of this book, I will try another Stephen Booth as the consensus of opinion appears to be that this is not typical of this author and I'd like to be fair and give him a chance.