A 2012 World Book Night selection.

He doesn't want you alive. He doesn't want you dead. He wants you somewhere in between ...

Comparison: Chris Simms, Michael Marshall, Simon Kernick
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Synopsis

A 2012 World Book Night selection.

It's rare for a young woman to die from a stroke and when three such deaths occur in short order it starts to look like an epidemic. Then a sharp pathologist notices traces of benzodiazepine in one of the victim's blood samples and just traceable damage to the ligaments in her neck, and their cause of death is changed from 'natural' to murder. The police aren't making much progress in their hunt for the killer until he appears to make a mistake: Alison Willetts is found alive and D.I. Tom Thorne believes the murderer has made a mistake, which ought to allow them to get on his tracks. But it was the others who were his mistakes: he doesn't want to take life, he just wants to put people into a state where they cannot move, cannot talk, cannot do anything but think. When Thorne, helped by the neurologist looking after Alison, starts to realise what he is up against he knows the case is not going to be solved by normal methods - before he can find out who did it he has to understand why he's doing it.

About the Author

Mark Billingham is a stand-up comedian, appearing regularly at the Comedy Store. He has been awarded the 2003 Sherlock Award as the creator of the Best Detective created by a British writer. He has also written drama for children's television, including Knight School which won the Royal Television Society Award for best children's drama. Photograph © Charlie Hopkinson   Maxim Jakubowski's view on DI TOM THORNE... A dogged London cop whose beat somehow invariably crosses into the dark side and confronts evil at its cleverest. DEATH MESSAGE is the 7th in the series, and BLOOD LINE appears in August 2009.   D I Thorne series: 1. Sleepyhead 2. Scaredy Cat 3. Lazybones 4. The Burning Girl 5. Lifeless 6. Buried 7. Death Message More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation