Author: Erin Young
Series: Riley Fisher #1
Genre: Mystery Suspense
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: Jan. 25, 2022
Order Link: Amazon
Rating: 3 Hearts
Special thanks to Flatiron Books for an arc of this book.
A breakneck procedural that is beautifully written and masterfully crafted, The Fields is a dynamite debut—crime fiction at its very finest.
Review:
Sergeant Riley Fisher is the newly appointed head of the Field Investigations division of the sheriff's office in Black Hawk County. She is shocked and devastated to learn the identity of a murder victim discovered in a local corn field. The victim is Chloe Miller, a childhood friend which stirs both good and bad memories in Riley. Chloe's family is part of the area's notorious Zephyr cooperative.
Riley and the small town sheriff's office are out of their league as this murder investigation quickly becomes complicated and intertwined with area corporations and their dominance over small town family farmers. Riley's intentions are good, and she leads the investigation to the best of her ability and experience. Her own personal issues threaten to spill over into the investigation giving the story an air of authenticity. The setting takes over as a character on its own as it plays critically into the plot line. Much of the focus is on agricultural issues and the takeover of family farms that have been passed down over the ages. For the most part, I feel the author does a good job with content and setting although at times it feels a bit overwhelming.
The Fields is a great debut from an obviously talented new author. I enjoyed the way she controls the flow of this story as it plays out and look forward to reading more. Recommended to fans of mystery and suspense.
Synopsis:
Some things don't stay buried.
It starts with a body, a young woman found dead—torn to bits—in an Iowa cornfield on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Ag. This is the heart of the Corn Belt, where drones spray crops from above and corn is perfected in labs to grow faster, better. When Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations for the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, arrives on the scene, an already horrific crime becomes personal when she discovers the victim was a childhood friend, connected to a traumatic event in her own past.
Fisher's investigation grows complicated as more victims are found, each murder more harrowing than the last. The crime spree grabs headlines and becomes a factor in the reelection campaign of the governor, a friend of Riley's father. Suddenly, this sleepy part of farm country is at the center of a media storm and Riley isn't sure who she can trust anymore.
It starts with a body, a young woman found dead—torn to bits—in an Iowa cornfield on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Ag. This is the heart of the Corn Belt, where drones spray crops from above and corn is perfected in labs to grow faster, better. When Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations for the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, arrives on the scene, an already horrific crime becomes personal when she discovers the victim was a childhood friend, connected to a traumatic event in her own past.
Fisher's investigation grows complicated as more victims are found, each murder more harrowing than the last. The crime spree grabs headlines and becomes a factor in the reelection campaign of the governor, a friend of Riley's father. Suddenly, this sleepy part of farm country is at the center of a media storm and Riley isn't sure who she can trust anymore.
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