From the Dead – Mark Billingham
From the Dead is the ninth novel in Mark Billingham’s series featuring Detective Inspector Tom Thorne.
Donna was charged with conspiracy to murder her husband after his body was found in his burned-out car. She’s about to be released from prison after serving a ten-year sentence, when she receives an anonymous letter – and in it is a photo of her husband, looking very much alive.
Where is he? Who sent the photo, and why? At first, Thorne is understandably reluctant to pick up the case of a murder that never was, but before long, the murders start becoming all too real…
Actor and stand-up comedian Mark Billingham also happens to be one of Britain’s favourite crime writers with a solid string of best-sellers to his name. He has twice won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Award for Best Crime Novel and also bagged a Sherlock Award for the Best Detective created by a British writer. DI Tom Thorne is a complex, slightly world-weary creation, whose character seems to grow and develop with every novel. His first outing, Sleepyhead, was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 books that shaped the decade.
Sleepyhead and Scaredycat were also adapted for Sky TV to great critical acclaim in 2010. Like Alfred Hitchcock, Billingham appeared in a small cameo as an unnamed detective in a background shot, but ended up on the cutting room floor! We’re hoping he’ll get another chance with the BBC, when adaptations of his two standalone thrillers, In the Dark and Rush of Blood, go into production later this year.
Highly recommended, but don’t just take my word for it!
“Billingham is a world-class crime writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation.” – Karin Slaughter
