Most Popular Books by Mark Billingham

"The next superstar detective" is back to stop a serial killer with a bizarre pattern—his victims are all taking their own lives (Lee Child). Recently demoted for stepping out of line once too often, prickly inspector Tom Thorne is convinced that a spate of suicides among the elderly in south London is something more sinister. When his concerns are dismissed by former colleagues at the CID, and even by his patient girlfriend, Thorne can only trust himself and his best friend—gay pub-crawling pathologist Phil Hendricks—with his suspicions of murder. Thorne draws a chilling connection between the deaths and a controversial case three decades old. But by going solo with his investigation, he not only risks the lives of those closest to him, but also further endangers those being targeted by a deranged killer—a man with the power and cold-blooded motives to coerce his vulnerable victims toward a breathtaking end. "Tom Thorne, the hero of a well-groomed series of police procedurals" by multiple award-winning Mark Billingham, returns—and he''s "on the hunt for a killer who proves to be extremely clever and really, really mean" ( The New York Times Book Review). "One of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today." —Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl "Fiendishly clever . . . with the last sharp twist saved for the final page." — Tampa Bay Times

Two British police detectives take on a case close to home: "One of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today" (Gillian Flynn). One of Entertainment Weekly''s "10 Great Summer Thrillers" Tom Thorne is on holiday with his girlfriend, DS Helen Weeks, when two girls are abducted in Helen''s hometown in Warwickshire. When a body is discovered and a man is arrested, Helen recognizes the suspect''s wife as an old school friend, and reluctantly returns home for the first time in twenty-five years to lend her support. As his partner faces up to a past she has tried desperately to forget and a media storm engulfs the town, Thorne becomes convinced that, despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, the police have got the wrong man. There is still an extremely clever killer on the loose—and a missing girl who Thorne believes might still be alive . . . "Some ingenious forensic footwork. What is most impressive about the novel, however, is the astute observation of the beleaguered Bates family, who turn in on themselves as the inhabitants of the town turn on them." — The Guardian

A spate of brutal murders threatens the newfound happiness of "one of the most credible and engaging heroes in contemporary crime fiction" (Ian Rankin). Tom Thorne finally has it all. In Nicola Tanner and Phil Hendricks, Thorne has good friends by his side. His love life is newly reformed by a promising relationship and he is happy in the job he has devoted his life to. As he sets off hunting the woman responsible for a series of grisly murders, Thorne has no way of knowing that he will be plunged into a nightmare from which he may never wake. A nightmare that has a name. Thorne''s past threatens to catch up with him and a ruinous secret is about to be revealed. If he wants to save himself and his friends, he will have to do the unthinkable. Tom Thorne finally has a lot to lose. Praise for the Tom Thorne series "Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us—don''t miss him." —Lee Child "Billingham is a world-class writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books." —Karin Slaughter "With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don''t want to leave." —Michael Connelly "Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre." —George Pelecanos "A fantastic thriller, combining a gripping plot and lead characters of remarkable depth . . . Readers who grab this one but aren''t familiar with its predecessors will be seeking them out. A series to savor." — Booklist (starred review)

The seventh book in the Tom Thorne series, from bestselling author Mark Billingham. THE MESSAGE DI Tom Thorne has seen plenty of dead bodies in his time. But when he starts receiving sick photos of murder victims on his mobile phone, he soon realises that the next body could be his. THE KILLER And even when the man who has been sending the photos is tracked down, the deadly threat remains, For some, the case is all but closed, but Thorne''s nightmare is just beginning. THE TWIST Because someone else is masterminding the death messages. The most vicious psychopath Thorne has ever faced is able to manipulate others even behind bars, and time has only deepened the deadly grudge he has against the policeman who put him away... ________________ The outstanding new Tom Thorne thriller, THEIR LITTLE SECRET, is out now!

The second book in the Tom Thorne series from bestselling author Mark Billingham, Scaredy Cat is a gripping, chilling tour-de-force; a book to keep you reading until deep into the night. ''Assured and shocking'' Guardian It was a vicious, calculated murder. The killer selected his victim at Euston station, followed her home on the tube, strangled her to death in front of her child. At the same time, killed in the same way, a second body is discovered at the back of King''s Cross station. And this grisly event eerily echoes the murder of two other women, stabbed to death months before on the same day. It is DI Tom Thorne who sees the link and comes to the horrifying conclusion. This is not a serial killer the police are up against. This is two of them - and two killers are way more deadly than one . . . __________ Read what everyone''s saying about the heart-racing Tom Thorne series: ''Literary superstar'' Mail on Sunday ''Ingenious'' Guardian ''Ground-breaking'' Sunday Times ''Mark Billingham gets better and better'' Michael Connelly ''A cracking read . . . I couldn''t put it down!'' Shari Lapena ''A damn fine storyteller'' Karin Slaughter ''Twisted and twisty'' Linwood Barclay ''One of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today'' Gillian Flynn ''The next superstar detective is already with us. Don''t miss him'' Lee Child

A stunning 20th anniversary paperback edition of the groundbreaking first Tom Thorne novel, a case that changed crime fiction forever . . . Alison Willetts has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by a skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel but she is completely unable to move or communicate. In leaving Alison Willetts alive, the police believe the killer''s made his first mistake. Then DI Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth: it isn''t Alison who is the mistake, it''s the three women already dead. Thorne must find a killer whose agenda is disturbingly unique, and Alison, the one person who holds the key to the killer''s identity, is unable to say anything . . . ''One of my favourite authors'' Harlan Coben ''A terrifically stylish debut novel'' Independent on Sunday ''The next superstar detective'' Lee Child

A brutal murder casts suspicion on a London therapy group in this thriller from the author of The Bones Beneath: "One of my favorite new writers" (Harlan Coben). Every Monday evening, six people gather in a smart North London house to talk about shame. Among them are a grieving surgeon, a betrayed housewife, a taunting gay model, a barely recovered heroin addict. All they have in common is a history of pain and compulsions—until they''re linked by the brutal murder of one of their members. Det. Inspector Nicola Tanner is drawn into this intimate circle to find the killer. Unfortunately, not a single one of them is willing to share. Now it''s up to Tanner to delve into their pasts on her own. But what secret could be so shameful as to kill for it? Or die for it? And how can she possibly find the truth when lies and denial are second nature to her suspects? From British thriller master Mark Billingham comes "one of the best crime novels of the year . . . Shocking, frightening, gripping" ( The Independent). "Billingham is one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today." —Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl "Keeps the reader guessing, and second-guessing." — Tampa Bay Times

"T he action moves swiftly toward a big twist and the satisfying conclusion . . . shows why Billingham stands at the forefront of British crime authors" ( Publishers Weekly). Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl and Sharp Objects, has called Mark Billingham "one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today," and this novel brings together his popular detective Tom Thorne and straitlaced DI Nicola Tanner on a pair of lethally high-stakes cases. While Tanner investigates the deadly spread of a dangerous new drug, Thorne is handed a case that he doesn''t take too seriously—until a spate of animal killings points to the work of a serial murderer. When the two cases come together unexpectedly, both Thorne and Tanner must risk everything to catch two very different killers. "Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us―don''t miss him." ―Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series "Tom Thorne [is] worth getting to know." — The Washington Post

In this "chilling and moving" international bestseller, two of London''s toughest detectives investigate the savage world of honor killings ( The Times, London). In Love Like Blood, DI Tom Thorne, "the next superstar detective," teams up with perfectionist DI Nicola Tanner, the protagonist of Billingham''s acclaimed stand-alone thriller Die of Shame (Lee Child). When her domestic partner Susan is brutally murdered, Nicola Tanner is convinced that she was the intended target. The murderer''s motive is likely connected to her recent work on a string of cold case honor killings. Despite being placed on leave, Tanner insists on pursuing justice for Susan—and she turns to fellow DI Tom Thorne for help. Agreeing to take the case, Thorne quickly finds that working in such controversial territory among London''s Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities can be dangerous in more ways than one. But when a young Bangladeshi couple goes missing, Tanner and Thorne must put everything on the line to investigate a case that is anything but cold. "Brilliant." — The Independent "Groundbreaking . . . a gripping, unsensational take on a type of crime that is happening more frequently than many of us realize." — The Sunday Times

The eighth book in the Tom Thorne series, from bestselling author Mark Billingham. When a dead body is found in a North London flat, it seems like a straightforward domestic murder until a bloodstained sliver of X-ray is found clutched in the dead woman''s fist - and it quickly becomes clear that this case is anything but ordinary. DI Thorne discovers that the victim''s mother had herself been murdered fifteen years before by infamous serial killer Raymond Garvey. The hunt to catch Garvey was one of the biggest in the history of the Met, and ended with seven women dead. When more bodies and more fragments of X-ray are discovered, Thorne has a macabre jigsaw to piece together until the horrifying picture finally emerges. A killer is targeting the children of Raymond Garvey''s victims. Thorne must move quickly to protect those still on the murderer''s list, but nothing and nobody are what they seem. Not when Thorne is dealing with one of the most twisted killers he has ever hunted... ________________ The outstanding new Tom Thorne thriller, THEIR LITTLE SECRET, is out now!

A murder-for-hire goes wrong in this thriller by "one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today" (Gillian Flynn). After Alan Langford''s charred remains were found in his burnt-out Jaguar, his abused, long-suffering wife, Donna, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to ten years at Wakefield Prison. It was worth the time. But shortly before her release, Donna receives a nasty shock: an anonymous letter containing a recent photo of her husband—the man she despised and feared, the man she paid to have killed, the man she''s now begging London inspector Tom Thorne to find. Even for a seasoned DI like Thorne, this is a first: tracking a man who''s come back from the dead. But when Donna''s daughter suddenly disappears, Thorne finds himself following two trails of revenge and double cross. And they''re both leading into the menacing shadow of a killer who wants the case buried for good. With his multiple award-winning series, "Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre" (George Pelecanos). From the Dead is not only "a good crime story, but . . . [a] novel . . .about the complexities and pitfalls of love" ( The Washington Post). "Engrossing . . . chillingly clever." — Publishers Weekly "Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers." —Harlan Coben "Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books." —Karin Slaughter, New York Times–bestselling author

On an island off the Welsh coast, I nspector Thorne faces a sadistic adversary who''ll "certainly make your skin crawl" ( The New York Times Book Review) . Who''d trust a depraved killer like Stuart Nicklin? Tom Thorne, the DI who put him away, has to. Nicklin has promised to bring closure to the grieving mother of one of his first victims by finally revealing where the body can be found. But there''s just one condition: Thorne must accompany him to the burial ground—the remote Bardsey Island, which is cut off from the mainland of Wales in more ways than one. Nicklin is in cuffs, surrounded by authorities, and under watchful eye. What could go wrong? As the macabre outing begins, so do Nicklin''s mind games—and it becomes clear that his motives are far from altruistic. There are more than bones buried on the storm-shrouded island. There are secrets, too. And as Thorne becomes entangled in the twisted schemes of a manipulative psychopath, he''ll be left with the most terrible choice he''s ever had to make. Gillian Flynn calls Mark Billingham "one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today"—and in The Bones Beneath he makes sure "readers'' nerves will be shredded . . . [in] a tour de force of suspense" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review). "Chilling . . . Billingham certainly knows how to make those pages turn even while your stomach churns." — Publishers Weekly "Billingham is a world-class writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books." —Karin Slaughter, New York Times–bestselling author

Perfect strangers. A perfect vacation. The perfect murder. . . . "Hugely effective and entertaining [with] many twists and shocks" ( The Times, London). Three British couples meet around the pool on their Florida holiday and become fast friends. But on Easter Sunday, the last day of their vacation, tragedy strikes: The fourteen-year-old daughter of an American vacationer goes missing, and her body is later found floating in the mangroves. When the shocked couples return home to the United Kingdom, they remain in contact, and over the course of three increasingly fraught dinner parties they come to know one another better. But they don''t always like what they find. Buried beneath these apparently normal exteriors are some unusual kinks and unpleasant vices. Then, a second girl goes missing, in Kent—not far from where the couples live. Could it be that one of these six has a secret far darker than anybody can imagine? Ambitiously plotted and laced with dark humor, Rush of Blood is a "sizzling thriller" by the international bestselling author of the Tom Thorne Novels ( The Globe and Mail, Toronto).

Winner of the Crime Novel of the Year, Lazybones is the third novel in the bestselling Tom Thorne series, a shocking, unputdownable novel from the master of psychological thrills. ''Never loosens its grip on your throat'' Daily Mail It''s only ten days since Douglas Remfry''s release from prison, having served seven years for rape, and now he''s dead: naked on a bare mattress in a grubby north London hotel room, his head hooded and his hands tied with a brown leather belt. Someone knew he was coming out. Someone wanted to mete out some punishment of his own. And when a second sex offender is found dead, DI Tom Thorne knows he has a vicious, calculating vigilante on his hands... __________ Read what everyone''s saying about the heart-racing Tom Thorne series: ''Literary superstar'' Mail on Sunday ''Ingenious'' Guardian ''Ground-breaking'' Sunday Times ''Mark Billingham gets better and better'' Michael Connelly ''A cracking read . . . I couldn''t put it down!'' Shari Lapena ''A damn fine storyteller'' Karin Slaughter ''Twisted and twisty'' Linwood Barclay ''One of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today'' Gillian Flynn ''The next superstar detective is already with us. Don''t miss him'' Lee Child

The sixteenth book in the Tom Thorne series, from bestselling author Mark Billingham. ''Hugely intelligent and authentic'' BELINDA BAUER, AUTHOR OF SNAP She says she''s an ordinary mother. He knows a liar when he sees one. Sarah thinks of herself as a normal single mum. It''s what she wants others to think of her. But the truth is, she needs something new, something thrilling. Meanwhile, DI Tom Thorne is investigating a woman''s suicide, convinced she was driven to do it by a man who preys on vulnerable women. A man who is about to change Sarah''s life. From number one, five-million-copy bestseller Mark Billingham comes a breathless new thriller starring Thorne and Tanner that readers will devour. PRAISE FOR MARK BILLINGHAM ''One of the great series of British crime fiction'' THE TIMES ''An unconventional literary superstar'' MAIL ON SUNDAY ''Billingham is a world-class writer'' KARIN SLAUGHTER ''A new Mark Billingham is always a treat'' SUSIE STEINER ''Finely paced and polished procedural, with twists and turns galore'' CARA HUNTER ''Perfectly executed and with a thoroughly unnerving twist'' GUARDIAN ''Thorne is a terrific invention'' IRISH INDEPENDENT ''Mark Billingham gets better and better'' MICHAEL CONNELLY

When the son of a former high-ranking police officer goes missing, Detective Inspector Tom Thorne finds himself in a grisly maze of past cases that places him in the direct path of a killer.

The Hostage - Police Officer Helen Weeks walks into her local newsagent''s on her way to work. It''s the last place she expects to be met with violence, but she comes face to face with a gunman. The Demand -The crazed hostage-taker is desperate to find out what happened to his son, who died in youth custody. By holding the Police Officer at gunpoint he forces the one man who knows the most about the case to step forward. That man is DI Tom Thorne. The Twist - While Helen fights to stay alive and the body-count rises, DI Tom Thorne must race against time if he is to bring a killer to justice and save a young mother''s life.

Some fires never go out ... X marks the spot -- and when that spot is a corpse''s naked back and the X is carved in blood, Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is in no doubt that the dead man is the latest victim of a particularly vicious contract killer. It''s morbid and messy -- but it''s a mystery with plenty of clues. This is turf warfare between North London gangs. Organized crime boss Billy Ryan is moving into someone else''s territory, and that someone is ready to stand up for what he believes is his. Thorne''s got plenty on his plate when he agrees to help out ex-DCI Carol Chamberlain rake through the ashes of an old case that has come back to haunt her. Schoolgirl Jessica Clarke was lit on fire twenty years ago. Now, Gordon Rooker, the man Chamberlain put away for the crime, is up for parole, and it seems there''s a copycat on the prowl. Or perhaps it''s someone trying to right a serious wrong: Jessica Clarke was the victim of mistaken identity. The intended target was the daughter of a gangland boss, a woman who would grow up to marry the current leader, Billy Ryan ... Thorne quickly identifies a tenuous link between the two crimes, and past and present fuse together to form a new, horrifying riddle. One that involves more killings, violence, greed, and a murderous family with no values -- except gain at any price. When an X is carved into his front door, Tom Thorne realizes that fires, once thought to be out, continue to burn.

Two boys run into the woods—but only one returns—in this new mystery from the award-winning "first-rate British crime writer" ( The Washington Post). In the summer of 1996, two boys run from a playground into the adjoining woods, but only one comes out. DS Tom Thorne takes on the case—which quickly spirals out of control when two people connected to the missing boy are murdered. As London prepares to host the European Soccer Championships, Thorne fights to keep on top of a baffling investigation while also dealing with the ugly fallout of his broken marriage . . . A prequel to Mark Billingham''s acclaimed debut Sleepyhead―which the Sunday Times voted one of the 100 books that shaped the decade―this chilling, compelling novel is the latest in "a series to savor" ( Booklist). "With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don''t want to leave." ―Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch series "Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre." ―George Pelecanos, bestselling author and Emmy-nominated writer

A uniquely disturbing thriller from the bestselling creator of the Inspector Thorne novels