Novelist Mark Billingham (https://www.markbillingham.com/) writes crime thrillers. He also works as a television screenwriter and has become a familiar face as an actor and stand up comedian. Billingham created Detective Inspector Tom Thorne for his 2001 debut novel Sleepyhead, where a case of locked-in syndrome reveals the dark depths of a twisted mind, as adept at toying with the police as with the victims. This central character has since featured in the most of his works, except In the Dark, released in August 2008, and Rush of Blood, released in August, 2012, in which Thorne has only very minor roles. The author writes that, “if writers want their readers to care about a character, they have to care themselves” and, as such, has imbued Thorne with a lot of his personal characteristics. The two share a birthday, a locale (London) and musical interests (a “love of country music both alt and cheesy” – although Billingham implies that it is Thorne‘s fictional musical tastes that have grown on the author).
In this latest standalone murder mystery the detective is Inspector Nicola Tanner. The summary is as follows. Every Monday evening, six people gather in a smart North London house to talk about addiction. Among their number is a respected doctor, a well-heeled housewife and a young male prostitute. There they share their deepest secrets: stories of lies, regret, and shame. Then one of them is killed – and the likelihood is one of the circle was responsible. Inspector Nicola Tanner quickly finds her investigation hampered by the strict confidentiality that binds these people and their therapist together. So what could be shameful enough to cost someone their life? How can Tanner uncover the truth when denial and deception are second nature to all of your suspects? Perhaps unconventional methods are required.
This is a recommendation for those of you addicted to crime fiction.
Sneak along to your local library or consult https://www.amazon.co.uk/Die-Shame-short-exclusive-hardback/dp/1408704838/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464501370&sr=8-1&keywords=die+of+shame for full bibliographic detail.
448 pages in Little Brown
First published 2016
ISBN 978-1408704837
Mark Billingham