The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham
May. 26th, 2014 07:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The suicides.
A cluster of suicides among the elderly. Such things are not unknown to the police and the deaths are quickly dismissed. Only one man is convinced that something more sinister is taking place.
The suspicion.
Having stepped out of line once too often, Tom Thorne is back in uniform and he hates it. Patronised and abused by his new colleagues, Thorne’s suspicions about the suicides are dismissed by the Murder Squad he was once part of and he is forced to investigate alone.
The secret.
Unable to trust anyone, Thorne must gamble with the lives of those targeted by a killer unlike any he has hunted before. A man with the power to make people take their own lives.
It’s 3 months since GOOD AS DEAD. DI Tom Thorne has been busted back to uniform and worse, sent south of the river to Lewisham, where he spends his time dealing with drunks, gangs and mundane reality. On the plus side, he’s also now in a relationship with DC Helen Weeks and has moved in with her and her young son Alfie.
When Thorne is called out to the suicide of an elderly couple he can sense that something is off about it but DCI Neil Hackett who heads the local CID couldn’t care less and makes it clear that Thorne’s not welcome on his turf. Determined to prove Hackett wrong, Thorne soon discovers that there’s been a spate of strange suicides recently and as he enlists the illicit help of Holland, Kitson and Hendricks he discovers a horrifying connection between them and a killer who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get revenge …
The 11th in Mark Billingham’s TOM THORNE SERIES is another page-turning crime thriller that takes Thorne to the edge of his reckless nature and puts everything he holds dear at risk in a bid to reclaim the job he loves. I hadn’t read GOOD AS DEAD, and although you don’t need to in order to follow this it may help to explain the relationship between Thorne and Helen, which I found a bit jarring given how she was first introduced to the series. While I understood the killer’s motivation for the murders, I didn’t understand their actions in the final chapters and I also thought Thorne was a bit slow in grasping why the victims took their own lives. However, there’s some sharp humour in the book (I particularly loved the story for how a sergeant got the nickname ‘Two Cats’), I still enjoy the friendship between Thorne and Hendricks and I liked how Thorne’s change in circumstance has affected his relationship with his old colleagues. It’s another solid book in the TOM THORNE SERIES and although I hated the cliff hanger ending I will definitely read the next one.
I enjoyed the introduction of new characters Treasure and Hackett because of the different elements they bring to Thorne and his work – especially Treasure who loves being in uniform and gives Thorne sage advice on his new role. I hope to see them in future books, which I will definitely check out.
The Verdict:
The 11th in Mark Billingham’s TOM THORNE SERIES is another page-turning crime thriller that takes Thorne to the edge of his reckless nature and puts everything he holds dear at risk in a bid to reclaim the job he loves. I hadn’t read GOOD AS DEAD, and although you don’t need to in order to follow this it may help to explain the relationship between Thorne and Helen, which I found a bit jarring given how she was first introduced to the series. While I understood the killer’s motivation for the murders, I didn’t understand their actions in the final chapters and I also thought Thorne was a bit slow in grasping why the victims took their own lives. However, there’s some sharp humour in the book (I particularly loved the story for how a sergeant got the nickname ‘Two Cats’), I still enjoy the friendship between Thorne and Hendricks and I liked how Thorne’s change in circumstance has affected his relationship with his old colleagues. It’s another solid book in the TOM THORNE SERIES and although I hated the cliff hanger ending I will definitely read the next one.
A cluster of suicides among the elderly. Such things are not unknown to the police and the deaths are quickly dismissed. Only one man is convinced that something more sinister is taking place.
Having stepped out of line once too often, Tom Thorne is back in uniform and he hates it. Patronised and abused by his new colleagues, Thorne’s suspicions about the suicides are dismissed by the Murder Squad he was once part of and he is forced to investigate alone.
Unable to trust anyone, Thorne must gamble with the lives of those targeted by a killer unlike any he has hunted before. A man with the power to make people take their own lives.
It’s 3 months since GOOD AS DEAD. DI Tom Thorne has been busted back to uniform and worse, sent south of the river to Lewisham, where he spends his time dealing with drunks, gangs and mundane reality. On the plus side, he’s also now in a relationship with DC Helen Weeks and has moved in with her and her young son Alfie.
When Thorne is called out to the suicide of an elderly couple he can sense that something is off about it but DCI Neil Hackett who heads the local CID couldn’t care less and makes it clear that Thorne’s not welcome on his turf. Determined to prove Hackett wrong, Thorne soon discovers that there’s been a spate of strange suicides recently and as he enlists the illicit help of Holland, Kitson and Hendricks he discovers a horrifying connection between them and a killer who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get revenge …
The 11th in Mark Billingham’s TOM THORNE SERIES is another page-turning crime thriller that takes Thorne to the edge of his reckless nature and puts everything he holds dear at risk in a bid to reclaim the job he loves. I hadn’t read GOOD AS DEAD, and although you don’t need to in order to follow this it may help to explain the relationship between Thorne and Helen, which I found a bit jarring given how she was first introduced to the series. While I understood the killer’s motivation for the murders, I didn’t understand their actions in the final chapters and I also thought Thorne was a bit slow in grasping why the victims took their own lives. However, there’s some sharp humour in the book (I particularly loved the story for how a sergeant got the nickname ‘Two Cats’), I still enjoy the friendship between Thorne and Hendricks and I liked how Thorne’s change in circumstance has affected his relationship with his old colleagues. It’s another solid book in the TOM THORNE SERIES and although I hated the cliff hanger ending I will definitely read the next one.
I enjoyed the introduction of new characters Treasure and Hackett because of the different elements they bring to Thorne and his work – especially Treasure who loves being in uniform and gives Thorne sage advice on his new role. I hope to see them in future books, which I will definitely check out.
The Verdict:
The 11th in Mark Billingham’s TOM THORNE SERIES is another page-turning crime thriller that takes Thorne to the edge of his reckless nature and puts everything he holds dear at risk in a bid to reclaim the job he loves. I hadn’t read GOOD AS DEAD, and although you don’t need to in order to follow this it may help to explain the relationship between Thorne and Helen, which I found a bit jarring given how she was first introduced to the series. While I understood the killer’s motivation for the murders, I didn’t understand their actions in the final chapters and I also thought Thorne was a bit slow in grasping why the victims took their own lives. However, there’s some sharp humour in the book (I particularly loved the story for how a sergeant got the nickname ‘Two Cats’), I still enjoy the friendship between Thorne and Hendricks and I liked how Thorne’s change in circumstance has affected his relationship with his old colleagues. It’s another solid book in the TOM THORNE SERIES and although I hated the cliff hanger ending I will definitely read the next one.
