The Fields is a cleverly conceived crime novel that brings to mind the work of Karin Slaughter and Robert Dugoni. Erin Young seamlessly weaves in hard-hitting, ripped-from-the-headlines themes like Big Agriculture, addiction and even political corruption, making her book feel urgent and timely. She then grounds these complicated ideas with a heroine who readers can truly relate to and root for ... Stellar characters aside, the first third of The Fields suffered from a serious case of information-dumping. While I enjoyed learning about Big Agriculture, it occasionally felt like Young drew upon her background as a historical fiction writer too much, supplying 10 details when one would suffice or shoving an entire backstory into a quick scene of dialogue. When the novel picked up in the second half, I was grateful for the details, but it took a bit too long to get there. The pace was further slowed down by its secondary plotline, featuring a gubernatorial election occurring in the background of Riley’s investigation that often left me scratching my head. While both plots were tied together in a satisfying way, I believe The Fields could have been much stronger had Young focused on one big scandal or the other rather than both at once.
There is a lot going on here as Riley confronts family issues, and the serial murder investigation leads to a political conspiracy, but well-crafted procedural details and vivid portraits of Black Hawk’s denizens provide a compelling draw.
... [a] promising if overstuffed series launch ... Despite a labored setup and a convoluted denouement, Young delivers a disturbing, twist-riddled thriller stocked with well-drawn characters. Fans of Midwestern crime fiction will be pleased.
Young is at her best when she’s writing from Riley’s point of view: Riley’s battles with personal demons and casual sexism in the police department make her a solid foundation for a recurring series. But the complexity of the plot requires too many points of view—even the killer weighs in in overwrought asides—and Young is forced into too much explanation and exposition. She’s determined to shine a light on a real problem—the destruction of family farms to feed corporate greed—but the book’s overly complicated narrative gets in the way of her ability to simply tell a good story. A complicated plot overshadows solid character development in this gory debut.
