Quick Synopsis

A breakneck procedural that is beautifully written and masterfully crafted, Erin Young’s The Fields is a dynamite debut―crime fiction at its very finest.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Some things don’t stay buried.

It starts with a body―a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture.

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 dark past she thought she’d left behind.

The investigation grows complicated as more victims are found. Drawn deeper in, Riley soon discovers implications far beyond her Midwest town.

Book Review

The Fields is a debut crime thriller that follows Riley Fisher as she solves some mysterious murders in Black Hawk County, Iowa. The murders start with a body in a corn field, who turns out to be Riley’s childhood friend. As Riley works these homicide cases, she must also face the emotions that arise from her past shared with the victims.

I knew I was going to read this novel as soon as I learned about it back in December 2021. It is rare for me to read books set where I grew or where my family lives. So I was shocked to learn that The Fields takes place in rural Iowa, in towns with which I am familiar. After reading this book, I was even more surprised to learn that Erin Young, the author, has no connection to the boo’s setting. Instead, she is a British author who took a research trip to the area. Young does an excellent job capturing the setting and the people who reside there despite not being intimately familiar with them.

The Fields is one of the most uniquely plotted books I have read in ages. Again, some of this goes back to the book’s setting. Beside the murders, the plot explores Big Agriculture and its effect on people, politics, and food systems. While this may not sound exciting to some, I promise you that it effects you more than you know. Regardless, this cleverly plotted novel is refreshing change from currently popular thrillers.

The Fields is a blend of police procedural, murder mystery, and crime thriller. I would describe the first two-thirds as police procedural with suspense and the last third as a fast-paced thriller. Consequently, the pace is slow to start and speeds up over the course of the plot. I would have preferred a more consistent pace, or at least, a quicker start. Even so, I became sucked into the story (just a little farther in than I typically am) and raced to find out the ending.

Young’s writing in The Fields is pleasantly surprising for the genre. While it initially took me a few chapters to adjust to the prose, I really enjoyed that it is more descriptive than average and felt literary at times. Although descriptiveness can slow down the plot, I thought it only added to the mood and setting. I will warn those who are sensitive to graphic details that this is a crime novel with descriptions, and is, therefore, inherently graphic.

I thought the character development in The Fields is solid, particularly for a debut novel. Still, I wanted more character development, particularly with the protagonist. While I knew a lot about Riley’s life and past, I never felt like I knew her or had a sense of her personality. I hope that with the second novel in the Riley Fisher series, we will see more character development and get a better sense of who she is.

Overall, The Fields is a solid debut novel with a clever, original plot and characters you want more of. I think if you pick up this book knowing that it is descriptive and a procedural, you will enjoy it. I only do not recommend it to those who cannot handle graphic scenes.

Rating

Overall Rating

Writing

Plot

Character Development