A murder-for-hire goes wrong in this thriller by ';one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today' (Gillian Flynn). After Alan Langford's charred remains were found in his burnt-out Jaguar, his abused, long-suffering wife, Donna, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to ten years at Wakefield Prison. It was worth the time. But shortly before her release, Donna receives a nasty shock: an anonymous letter containing a recent photo of her husbandthe man she despised and feared, the man she paid to have killed, the man she's now begging London inspector Tom Thorne to find. Even for a seasoned DI like Thorne, this is a first: tracking a man who's come back from the dead. But when Donna's daughter suddenly disappears, Thorne finds himself following two trails of revenge and double cross. And they're both leading into the menacing shadow of a killer who wants the case buried for good. With his multiple award-winning series, ';Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre' (George Pelecanos). From the Dead is not only ';a good crime story, but... [a] novel...about the complexities and pitfalls of love' (The Washington Post). ';Engrossing... chillingly clever.' Publishers Weekly ';Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers.' Harlan Coben ';Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books.' Karin Slaughter, New York Timesbestselling author
'While Billingham has well and truly mastered the modern police procedural, the thing that sets him apart from the crowd is not just his emotional insight, but the way he invariably packs such a heart-wrenching punch... Billingham's most desperately gripping read yet' Mirror
'As fictional detectives go, Thorne is one of the most believable and Billingham's deserved status as a world-class crime fiction writer will surely be confirmed when a new television series based on some of his novels is aired this autumn' Daily Mail
'Billingham is well aware that we're au fait with most police procedural scenarios and is always working to ring clever and inventive changes on the formula...the tension is fine-tuned with all the usual skill' Daily Express
'Most fictional sleuths are flawed but invariably triumphant; Billingham is unusually willing to show his series hero making blunder after blunder' Sunday Times
'A fast moving, straight-up cop story in a series that is about to hit television' Literary Review
'Billingham pulls it off with his usual panache and good writing' The Times
'Unputdownable tale' Bella
'Excellent' The Sun
'A well plotted police procedural with touchingly human characters' Choice
'A guaranteed page-turner' Sport
'Energetic, subtle writing and fully fleshed characters' Morning Star
'An absorbing and disturbing thriller... the ending brilliantly blindsides the reader... A crime novel for grown-ups' Evening Standard
'When it comes to rough justice with a cold hard edge of authenticity, no one does it better than the brutal but brilliant Mr Billingham' Daily Record
Author
About Mark Billingham
Mark Billingham has been awarded the 2003 Sherlock Award as the creator of the Best Detective created by a British writer and has twice won the Theakston's Old Peculier prize for best novel of the year.
Each of the novels featuring Detective Inspector Tom Thorne has been a Sunday Times bestseller. Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat were made into a hit TV series on Sky 1 starring David Morrissey as Thorne, and a series based on the novels In the Dark and Time of Death was broadcast on BBC1.
Mark lives in north London with his wife and two children.
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.
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