Review:
When speaking to book groups, the author Mark Billingham displays the kind of sardonic humour that reflects his background in stand-up comedy. But his highly professional crime novels featuring DI Tom Thorne are quite unlike the humorous crime writing of such authors as Christopher Brookmyre. Books such as the latest Thorne,
From the Dead, are odysseys into the darkest reaches of human behaviour. It's interesting that Billingham's books have a reputation for extreme violence, as they actually deal more in the purveying of atmosphere – a real sense of dread is unerringly conveyed to the reader.
A man is burnt to death in a car in Epping Forest, the victim of professional hitmen. The evidence suggest that the dead man’s wife, Donna Langford, hired the killers, and she is found guilty of conspiracy to murder. A decade passes, and just before her release from prison, Donna is sent a photo: it is that of her supposedly murdered spouse. Is he, in fact, dead? And if not, whose was the charred body in the burnt-out Jaguar? Shortly after, DI Tom Thorne is contacted by a woman, Anna Carpenter. Anna is making a living (and hating it) by working for a detective agency that cynically uses her as a ‘pretend prostitute’ to trap men into sexually compromising set-ups in divorce cases. Anna is on the side of the worried Donna Langford, and asks a reluctant Thorne for help. The detective is not to be persuaded – until he realises that the supposedly late Alan Langford is very much alive, and wants payback – in the worst way.
Mark Billingham is (as ever) to be applauded for the sheer readability of his work on From the Dead, but his most impressive achievement is the sure-footed orchestration of tension. He avoids artificially pushing Thorne into uncharactistic behaviour, and trusts that we will accept the familiar character tropes, delivered as effectively as ever. But if there are no surprises in the development of his main protagonist, Billingham’s real achievement here is in the creation of the vulnerable, compromised tyro detective, Anna – she’s a wonderful creation. --Barry Forshaw
Review:
Praise for Mark Billingham:
"Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us--don't miss him."--Lee Child
"Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre."--George Pelecanos
"Billingham is a world-class crime writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books."--Karin Slaughter
"Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers."--Harlan Coben
"Billingham leaps to the upper echelons of crime fiction in one bound."--John Harvey
"With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don't want to leave."--Michael Connelly
"DI Tom Thorne is the most convincing cop in British crime fiction."--"Daily Telegraph"
"A chillingly clever criminal boosts this intelligent procedural."--"Publishers Weekly"
"Mark Billingham is a first-rate British crime writer who is too little known in this country. . . . ["From the Dead" is] a good crime story, but in time the reader may realize that at another level the novel is about the complexities and pitfalls of love."--"Washington Post"
"[A] fine, well-plotted work . . . Billingham's dark humor, often shot through with irony, is in full play here."--Joe Hartlaub, "Book Reporter"
"A nice mix of police procedure and chatty scenes, and some nice scenery."--Salem Macknee, "Charlotte Observer"
"Once again, the author has written a deep police procedural with significant insights into the characters.... Written with smoothness and urbanity, the plot moves forward in unexpected ways. Recommended."--"The Midwest Book Review"
Praise for Mark Billingham:
"With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don't want to leave."--Michael Connelly
"Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us--don't miss him."--Lee Child
"Billingham is one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today."--Gillian Flynn
"Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre."--George Pelecanos
"Billingham is a world-class crime writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books."--Karin Slaughter
"Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers."--Harlan Coben
"Billingham leaps to the upper echelons of crime fiction in one bound."--John Harvey
"DI Tom Thorne is the most convincing cop in British crime fiction."--"Daily Telegraph"
Praise for "From the Dead"
"Mark Billingham is a first-rate British crime writer who is too little known in this country. . . . The police procedural is a deceptively simple genre. You need a crime, a cop, suspects, complications and finally a solution. The art, of course, lies in the ingenuity of the crime, the depth of the characterizations and the quality of the writing. Billingham excels in all regards." --Patrick Anderson, "Washington Post"
"Billingham's ninth Tom Thorne thriller sees our hero working on a case in which a man long dead appears to be very much alive--to the chagrin of his wife, who had paid to ensure his expiration."--"Entertainment Weekly"
"Once again, [Billingham] has written a deep police procedural with significant insights into the characters. . . . Written with smoothness and urbanity, the plot moves forward in unexpected ways. Recommended."--Theodore Feit, "The Midwest Book Review"
"[A] fine, well-plotted work . . . Billingham's dark humor, often shot through with irony, is in full play here."--Joe Hartlaub, Book Reporter
"A chillingly clever criminal boosts this intelligent procedural."--"Publishers Weekly"
"A nice mix of police procedure and chatty scenes, and some nice scenery."--Salem Macknee, "Charlotte Observer"
Praise for Mark Billingham
"With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don't want to leave."--Michael Connelly
"Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us--don't miss him."--Lee Child
"Billingham is one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today."--Gillian Flynn
"Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre."--George Pelecanos
"Billingham is a world-class crime writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books."--Karin Slaughter
"Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers."--Harlan Coben
"Billingham leaps to the upper echelons of crime fiction in one bound."--John Harvey
Praise for From the Dead
"Mark Billingham is a first-rate British crime writer who is too little known in this country. . . . The police procedural is a deceptively simple genre. You need a crime, a cop, suspects, complications and finally a solution. The art, of course, lies in the ingenuity of the crime, the depth of the characterizations and the quality of the writing. Billingham excels in all regards." --Patrick Anderson, Washington Post
"Billingham's ninth Tom Thorne thriller sees our hero working on a case in which a man long dead appears to be very much alive--to the chagrin of his wife, who had paid to ensure his expiration."--Entertainment Weekly
"Once again, [Billingham] has written a deep police procedural with significant insights into the characters. . . . Written with smoothness and urbanity, the plot moves forward in unexpected ways. Recommended."--Theodore Feit, The Midwest Book Review
"[A] fine, well-plotted work . . . Billingham's dark humor, often shot through with irony, is in full play here."--Joe Hartlaub, Book Reporter
"A chillingly clever criminal boosts this intelligent procedural."--Publishers Weekly
"A nice mix of police procedure and chatty scenes, and some nice scenery."--Salem Macknee, Charlotte Observer
Praise for Mark Billingham
"With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don't want to leave."--Michael Connelly
"Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us--don't miss him."--Lee Child
"Billingham is one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today."--Gillian Flynn
"Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre."--George Pelecanos
"Billingham is a world-class crime writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books."--Karin Slaughter
"Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers."--Harlan Coben
"Billingham leaps to the upper echelons of crime fiction in one bound."--John Harvey
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