Nineteen Eighty: The Red Riding Quartet, Book Three

by David Peace

Book Overview

Continuing the narrative begun with Nineteen Seventy-Four and Nineteen Seventy-Seven , this electrifying third installment of David Peace's Red Riding Quartet demonstrates a skill that goes above and beyond the limits of the genre. While Yorkshire is terrorized by the Ripper, the corrupt police continue to prosper. To give the case some new life, Peter Hunter, a "clean" cop from nearby Manchester, is brought in to offer a fresh perspective. As he...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307455122
• ISBN13: 9780307455123
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Nineteen Eighty by David Peace

Book three of the Red Riding Quartet. David Peace is really doing something amazing with this series. I felt that there was something in this book that I was missing. I didn't figure it out until earlier this week when I was about 100 pages away from the end of the book. *****SPOILER START******** The serial killer, who is the focus of the story, does not kill anyone in this book. The police discuss his crimes, but the only people killed during the time frame of the book are murdered by the corrupt police force to cover up their crimes. *****END SPOILER****** This book centers on Peter Hunter, a clean cop brought in to form a team of outsiders to rework the Yorkshire Ripper case. He's also asked to look into anything else he sees in the Yorkshire police force. Having read the two previous books I knew things would not end well for Peter. And yeah, the stuff does hit the fan. I'm really enjoying Peace's writing style. Almost like James Ellroy, but different enough to not be a clone. This book was very dialogue heavy, and that made it a pretty fast read. I'm going to move on and start Nineteen Eighty-Three today. I don't remember the last time I read four books in a row by the same author. This is new territory for me.

Don't Read if You Have a Weak Heart

This is the third volume of the "Red Riding" quartet and the best so far. We pick-up the story of the "Yorkshire Ripper" three years after the last volume. Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Peter Hunter is brought in to try and make some sense of the (now) seven year killing spree. The local cops are no closer to catching the 'Ripper' than they have been since the beginning. Hunter is brought in ostensibly to create a "Brain Trust" to review all the cases and determine whether any leads were missed and whether the local 'lads' are doing the best job they can. In reality, Hunter has been brought in to find out if there is a cover-up and that the locals are some how involved in some of the murders. Hunter and his group are resented by the 'locals' from the beginning and he gets the feeling that he's being stonewalled and misdirected from the start. When a good friend of his ends up being the subject of an 'investigation' and then Hunter becomes the subject of an 'inquiry', things begin to happen. Then someone burns Hunters house down. The "Ripper" is captured, but he says that three of the murders, "belong to the other guy". 'The other guy' is the one who has been sending the tapes and letters. So who is the 'other guy' and is 'he' really 'them', and are they now after Hunter? The third volume ends with a 'bang' but we don't know if it's a metaphor or a shotgun blast. Stay tuned for 1983. Zeb Kantrowitz