Unlucky for some but not for Billingham, this the thirteenth book in the Thorne series and is a cracker. Thorne's girlfriend, Police Officer Helen Weeks returns to the small Warwickshire town where she grew up when two school girls are abducted and Helen wants to show support to the accused. The police believe they have their murderer in custody, but Helen has Thorne in tow and he is the one man who believes otherwise. With a girl still missing, Thorne in his own inimitable style sets himself on a collision course with the whole community as they close ranks and let's not forget the cold-hearted killer. As always, Billingham keeps you guessing 'til the final page as you shout for Billingham's finest creation, the cop you can't help but admire.
Two schoolgirls are abducted in the small, dying Warwickshire town of Polesford, driving a knife into the heart of the community where police officer Helen Weeks grew up and from which she long ago escaped. But this is a place full of secrets, where dangerous truths lie buried.
The Accused
When it's splashed all over the press that family man Stephen Bates has been arrested, Helen and her partner Tom Thorne head to the flooded town to support Bates' wife - an old school friend of Helen's - who is living under siege with two teenage children and convinced of her husband's innocence.
The Dead
As residents and media bay for Bates' blood, a decomposing body is found. The police believe they have their murderer in custody, but one man believes otherwise. With a girl still missing, Thorne sets himself on a collision course with local police, townsfolk - and a merciless killer. Tom Thorne returns in a chilling mystery that will keep readers guessing until the final page. Time of Death is Mark Billingham's most timely, atmospheric thriller to date.
Ingenious ... what is most impressive about this novel, however, is the astute observation -- Laura Wilson The Guardian
The writing displays the virtues that have made Mark Billingham a bestseller: wit, careful plotting, attention to detail and great characterisation... won't disappoint Billingham's legions of fans The Telegraph
The plot element on which this gruesome mystery turns is certainly one of the cleverest and most satisfying that I've read for ages. Morning Star
What lingers in the memory is the group portrait of the Polesford locals brutally closing ranks against a man they're certain deserves to die. Kirkus
Author
About Mark Billingham
Mark Billingham has been awarded the 2003 Sherlock Award as the creator of the Best Detective created by a British writer and has twice won the Theakston's Old Peculier prize for best novel of the year.
Each of the novels featuring Detective Inspector Tom Thorne has been a Sunday Times bestseller. Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat were made into a hit TV series on Sky 1 starring David Morrissey as Thorne, and a series based on the novels In the Dark and Time of Death was broadcast on BBC1.
Mark lives in north London with his wife and two children.
A dogged London cop whose beat somehow invariably crosses into the dark side and confronts evil at its cleverest.DEATH MESSAGE is the 7th in the series, and BLOOD LINE appears in August 2009.
