David Peace’s quartet of books are set in Yorkshire in the seventies and eighties. The books – 1974, 1977, 1980 and 1983- deal with different aspects of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, which Peace has described as an obsession and key influence for him from childhood. Following corrupt cops, disillusioned journalists, and beleagured lawyers, the books chart a dark period in the history of the north. Peace’s other books, notably The Damned United, have skipped between fiction and non-fiction, and likewise the quartet skirts real-life darkness in a chilling and captivating way.
You should read it because: of the dazzling use of language; the pared-down characterisation, dialogue and description; the sheer darkness within; to see how to handle grim material with a masterful literary touch.
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