Lazybones

I don't know what surprised me more. THe fact that I had never heard of Mark Billingham, or that a book written purely from a Brits point of view (including the lingo) could hold my interest as well as entertain me. I picked this book up just browsing through my Barnes and Noble trying to find a beach read. The subject of the story a serial killer preying on rapists caught my attention so I gave it a read. Excellent writing, very entertaining. I recommend this book to anyone. Now of course I have to go back before I go foward to read the rest.

There is a serial killer on the loose in London and it's Detective Inspector Tom Thorne's job to catch him. However the victims are a little out of the ordinary, they are rapists right out of prison and the general consensus seems to be pretty much that they had it coming and they way they get it ain't pretty. However, murder is murder and someone has to put an end to it and besides, if not Thorne, who? I will admit that at first I thought this was going to be just another serial killer book. I hadn't read Billingham before, though I love British thrillers, especially those penned by Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson and Debra Crombie, so I wasn't prepared for the brilliant writing, the brilliant story and for the outstanding character of D.I. Thorne, who in kind of a crazy way kind of reminded me a a guy named Thorn (different spelling) who lives in Florida. I love James Hall's Thorn, and now I love mark Billingham's Thorne as well. I plan on going straight out and buying, "Sleepyhead" and "Scaredy Cat" and since I can't wait for them to release "The Burning Girl" in the U.S., I plan on going online and getting it from the U.K. Mr. Mark Billingham tells a super story, pick up one of his books and see if I'm not telling you true.

Mark Billingham continues his panache for gritty, involving and highly readable crime fiction with this latest installment in his Tom Thorne series.Thorne is involved this time in what appears to be some kind of vigilante killing. The posed naked dead body of a released rapist is found in a seedy hotel room. The victim had just been released from prison and is found posed rather prayerfully, his neck garroted, masked, etc. Thorne also finds out that someone called the local florist to arrange for a wreath to be sent to the hotel room. Through this accidental phone call, Thorne becomes involved with Eve Bloom, the lovely florist who took the call.Another body turns up, again a rapist recently released from prison, killed in the same method, different hotel.Thorne and his reliable partner, Dave Holland, dig deep into the case to try and find out who is responsible for these killings. Tackling the moral issue of whether this killer should be arrested or applauded, Billingham takes us on a nerve-wracking, surprising tale that climaxes in high fashion.Billingham gives us a little more insight into Thorne's private life, including the bittersweet relationship between Thorne and his Alzheimer-ridden father. Dave Holland is also going through an emotional crisis with the approaching birth of his first child.Billingham knows how to write..he keeps the reader totally engrossed in his tales, and gives us red herrings and hidden clues.This series is one of the best out there...enjoy!!!

This third installment featuring Detective Inspector Tom Thorne has him on the trail of a vigilante killer who preys on convicted rapists. It's hard for Tom to feel too motivated in finding the killer due to a lack of sympathy of the "victims". Bodies start piling up and a cold case is tied into the investigation. Thorne finally finds an emotional connection to the case. His ensuing passion for cracking the case leads to many twists and turns.This was a fast-paced thriller that got more suspenseful with each page. Toward the end of the book, I couldn't read fast enough to get to the climax. Tom Thorne was a very engaging and likable character. There was hardly any time spent on any of the details of the secondary characters brought up in past books that made it a little hard to follow. A little refresher on who everyone was would not have been remiss. Despite this slight failing this was an excellent read.