Author:Hilary Bonner
A chance DNA test proves without doubt what DS Mike Fielding has always known - that the man tried for the barbaric murder of local Devon girl Angela Philips twenty years before, the man who walked free, was the Beast of Dartmoor. It is a bitter victory. Because the law of double jeopardy means James O'Donnell can't be tried again. He is still a free man.
For Joanna Bartlett, the once brilliant but now jaded crime correspondent who covered the case two decades before, the findings stir memories she's tried to forget. Not only of the terrible murder she can't bear to remember - but of Fielding, the maverick detective who shared her obsession with the tragedy. There has been a shocking miscarriage of justice - one that will now torment those who have suffered since the murder.
Fielding, his career irrevocably damaged by the case, is determined to see justice done. And Joanna and the media are his means. But will the killer ever be punished?
A compelling novel, thrilling yet profound...This book makes for a wonderful read, gripping until the last page. A masterpiece!
—— Financial Times DeutschlandA thrilling read as well as a terrific mental workout
—— Laura Wilson , GuardianAn intelligent an beautifully crafted existential thriller ... Zeh's lyricism and intellect lend the book a depth often lacking in mainstream thrillers
—— Big IssueA clever and truly entertaining read
—— The IndependentZeh constructs an impressive matrix of information for each of her key players and provides descriptions that are vivid and original ... Her often unexpected imagery is precise and pithy ... this philosophical thriller is well paced; one turns the pages impatient for the denouement
—— Times Literary SupplementDark Matter by Juli Zeh - a much-acclaimed German writer - is the kind of crime novel often described as philosophical, literary, psychological or even intellectual...That is no bad thing, but only if well executed, as Dark Matter undoubtedly is...Unusual and intriguing
—— Marcel Berlins , The TimesOne might think that such perfection, such erudition must leave the reader untouched...but it does not. For that, Zeh's labyrinth is built too cleverly, its corridors are adorned with witty elements, her sentences are of extraordinary brilliance
—— Die WeltA compulsive read ... ingenious and deftly-handled
—— New HumanistIt is certainly the best novel I've read so far this year, and should mark Zeh as one of Europe's brightest younger novelists
—— Crime TimeInteresting and original novel
—— Literary ReviewClever and gripping
—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent Summer ReadsEvery chapter is taut, suspenseful, almost Hitchcock-esque. Zeh's style is fluent but also elegantly sparse... An absolute gem of a book.
—— The BookbagFrom every angle - character study, philosophical discussion or straightforward plot - it shines with crystalline intensity, and so far as one can tell, nothing is lost in the translation. Complex and supremely elegant, this is a book to relish
—— Joanna Hines , GuardianThis is a book and a half
—— Giles Broadbent , Wharf