Buried

Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is assigned to investigate the disappearance of the son of former detective Tony Mullen. When evidence lead police to suspect kidnapping rather than a runaway, Thorne digs into Mullen's ex-cases for answers. BURIED is a all about the human beings, their frailties, and a penchant for secrets, enhanced by characters who come alive through the writing of Mark Billingham. All the characterizations feel real and dimensional. It helps to have a sympathetic everyman protagonist. The slightly taciturn Tom Thorne, grieves for his father, has a love of country music, while is well-respected on the job has made enough enemies to him slightly off-balance. I liked that there while there was a love-interest, the relationship didn't take front and center. The star of the story was a well-plotted storyline with enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning well into the night.

Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001. Though still occasionally working as a stand-up comic, Mark now concentrates on writing the series of crime novels featuring London-based detective Tom Thorne. Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children. For any new readers who have not read any of the DI Thorne books, you are missing a real treat. Start reading them now, I am sure you will not be disappointed. Buried is the sixth book in the Tom Thorne series and they have all been equally good. It is not always easy for an author to maintain the high standard they have set themselves with previous books and even the best of them have the odd bad novel, but Mark Billingham seems to have been able to maintain a high standard with all of his offerings and long may that continue. A sixteen-year-old boy has disappeared and the obvious conclusion must be that he has been kidnapped. Luke Mullen, to make matters worse is the son of a former high-ranking police officer. While no one is prepared to take the final step and say outright that the boy must be dead. Detective Inspector Thorne is brought on to the squad of officers dedicated to locating Luke. The first and most obvious thing to do is identify and locate anyone who may have had a grudge against his father, a man who incarcerated a lot of villains in his years as a police officer. This case is going to be complicated and it is going to take time to sift through the suspects. Unfortunately time is the one commodity they have not got . . .

Here is your one-word review of BURIED by Mark Billingham: Amazing. Incapable of writing badly, Billingham ups his own ante with his sixth novel featuring London Detective Inspector Tom Thorne. Billingham's trademark elements are all in place here and kicking along on eight cylinders. First and foremost, there is a mystery, puzzling and intriguing, with a clock ticking loudly in the background. In the case of BURIED, the mystery is the kidnapping of teenager Luke Mullen, done in plain sight and with the apparent cooperation --- at least initially --- of the victim. Actually, there is more than one mystery connected with the abduction. Along with the "whodunit" is the issue of the "whydunit," given that the kidnapper(s) --- there may be more than one --- has/have not been heard from. There are more than enough suspects, given that young Luke's father is a retired Detective Chief Superintendent and of course had no problem acquiring enemies among the criminal element during the daily course of his duties. Thorne is assigned to a team assisting the kidnap unit, and it is here that Billingham's additional story elements come into play. His stories are as much about how the police bureaucracy actually impedes its officers with respect to solving a crime as they are about the crime itself. In BURIED, the elder Mullen happens to be friends with Thorne's superior, which not only results in but also encourages meddling from any number of sources. Thorne's ongoing reactions to this state of affairs --- sometimes bemused, other times not so much --- are worth the price of admission alone. The inclusion of the kidnap unit also gives Billingham the opportunity to introduce a couple of new and interesting characters to play off of Thorne, so that the dialogue --- an area where the author excels --- is at its absolute best. It is the mystery in BURIED, however, that makes it a page-turning, read-in-one-sitting joy. The reader knows early on that the kidnapper(s) is/are deadly serious here. But about a third of the way through, Billingham suddenly takes his plot off-road into unfamiliar terrain; everything you thought you knew about the kidnapping is wrong. In fact, this is true about more than the kidnapping. A cold case ties in, but for all the wrong reasons, history rears its head. Mullen the Elder isn't telling everything he knows, and not just for the reasons you might think of on your own. More than a mystery, BURIED is a classic procedural novel from an author who should be considered one of our finest. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Thorne is back in this tale that weaves the procedural aspects of the last two books with the psycho killer vibe of the first three. As usual the pace is swift, Billingham expertly teases out the climax for close to 80 pages. I'm a strong Billingham / Thorne advocate. Yes, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson are the reigning grandmasters and perhaps both are better writers. It's just that their books aren't as entertaining Billingham's. My one problem is the scene when Thorne roughs up a civilian lawyer. He comes off as a self-righteous bully and it belies the heroic, cynical humanism that we love Tom Thorne for.

My review will be very simple. I've read every one of Mark Billingham's novels, and he just gets better. He has truly brought Tom Thorne to life. Billingham is gritty (ok, Mark, you probably hate that word, I know!!), funny (well, of COURSE!), and never lets you go from the first page. All I can say about Mark Billingham and BURIED is.....Cheers!