Thorne has met many undesirable characters in his career, none more so than Stuart Nicklin. A somewhat childlike yet utterly evil psychopath who loves nothing more than to have you do his bidding for his own pleasure...................well, except chocolate maybe. In a story spanning several decades and with many twists we are taken to a wild and desolate island off the Welsh coast, where, as a 'young offender' Nicklin made his mark. Forging some lifelong 'friendships' as a youngster (I use parentheses as I doubt that anyone of his ilk can truly have friends) Nicklin once again utilises those bonds in the present to orchestrate events which will leave Thorne standing on a precipice of moral ambiguity and we, the readers, clenching our jaws, white-knuckled and drenched in cold and clammy sweat with the terror which unfolds. In a brilliant piece of misdirection one character's identity is not revealed until the last part of the book and at that point my heart sank, Noooooooooooo, surely Mr Billingham can't do this to perhaps the best and best loved character in this series, can he? Well, perhaps he can, and why not, it makes for some truly gripping writing and with the ending that followed had me panting with anticipation to get the next book to find out what might happen next. Brilliant stuff...............the stuff of nightmares certainly, but brilliant nonetheless.

A gripping story about the psychological games played by a serial killer and the detective who finally caught him. This is an unusual story with memorable characters that will keep you hooked from start to finish.

Tom Thorne returns in a story which is different from the norm in that he doesn't have to use his detective skills to catch the villain.....he is right beside Thorne and his team having been collected from the prison where he is serving a long stretch for other killings. The story unfolds like layers peeled from an onion, with the usual Mark Billingham twists and turns. Well worth a read.

Being an avid fan of Mark Billingham I received the latest Tom Thorne book in eager anticipation and I wasn't disappointed. Thorne is a cantankerous character who is offered the chance to be restored to his former post as Detective Inspector as long as he complies with certain conditions. As the story unfolds you expect certain twists and turns but I have to admit that I gasped out loud at one point. I would recommend these books to any crime thriller fans, they are easy to read and hard to put down.