Synopsis from Goodreads:
“From British thriller master Mark Billingham, a recent finalist for the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library, Die of Shame is a chilling story of addiction, subterfuge, and murder.
Every Monday evening, six people gather in a smart North London house to talk about shame. A respected doctor, a well-heeled housewife, a young male prostitute . . . they could not be more different. All they have in common is a history of addiction. But when one of the group is murdered, it quickly becomes apparent that someone else in that circle is responsible. The investigation is hampered by the strict confidentiality that binds these individuals and their therapist together, which makes things difficult for Detective Inspector Nicola Tanner, a woman who can appreciate the desire to keep personal matters private. If she is to find the killer, she will need to use less obvious means. The question is: What could be shameful enough to cost someone their life? And how do you find the truth when secrets, lies, and denial are second nature to all of your suspects?”
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I am a huge Mark Billingham fan and am at the front of the queue when a new book comes out so it is with massive regret that I have to say that this one just didn’t grab me by the neck like his other books have - you have no idea how upset this makes me feel. It’s not that it is a bad book - it’s well written, has interesting characters and a good story line - but I found myself being rather indifferent about reading it and it took me a little longer than it normally does to read it when I compare it to others written by the same author.
The story, as the synopsis indicates, is set around a support group for people who have addictions and when one of the members is murdered, it becomes clear that another of the group is the culprit. The book is written in the “now” and “then” with the “now” covering the investigation of the murder and the “then” covering a period of time before the murder happened. At times I did find this a little confusing but I think it’s because I was reading it on a Kindle which made it a little harder to flick back and forth to double check which time period you were reading; had it been a physical book, I really don’t think I would have any problems with this.
The characters are interesting however not particularly likeable and this includes the lead investigating officer DI Nicola Tanner who has very few redeeming qualities and whom I found to be cold, rude and antisocial. I could not connect to anyone and found myself not caring about them, their stories or what happened to them.
The story itself is a little slow going with a lot of it covering the group sessions; this, together with tidbits of life outside the group for its members provided plenty of suspects to the murder which kept me guessing and re-evaluating who I thought did it and although I didn’t guess right, it did take quite a while to get there and there weren’t many twists or turns on the way.
Overall, although not a bad read, it just didn’t capture me in the way I would like but please, please don’t let this put you off from reading other Mark Billingham books.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review.
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Twitter: @MarkBillingham
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My reviews of other books by Mark Billingham:
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