Die of Shame by Mark Billingham

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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Author Website: http://www.markbillingham.com/

Twitter: @MarkBillingham

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My reviews of other books by Mark Billingham:

The Dying Hours

Time of Death

The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham

Description from Goodreads:

"A fantastic, never-before-published Tom Thorne novel by England's crime king.

It's been twenty-five years since Tom Thorne last went to work wearing the "Queen's cloth" but now, having stepped out of line once too often, he's back in uniform. He's no longer a detective, and he hates it.

Still struggling to adjust, Thorne becomes convinced that a spate of suicides among the elderly in London are something more sinister. His concerns are dismissed by the Murder Squad he was once part of and he is forced to investigate alone.

Now, unable to trust anybody, Thorne risks losing those closest to him as well as endangering those being targeted by a killer unlike any he has hunted before. A man with nothing to lose and a growing list of victims. A man who appears to have the power to make people take their own lives."

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This is the 11th instalment in the saga that is Tom Thorne; a fantastic, interesting and unorthodox police officer wonderfully created by Mark Billingham and I want to thank my local library for lending me a copy at no cost :)

The synopsis pretty much explains the story of the book so I won't repeat it but what I will say is how much I enjoyed reading this.  Once again, Mark successfully manages to keep the Tom Thorne novels feeling new and refreshing and although you don't have to have read the previous 10 books, it does help and if you do, Tom will very quickly become an old friend.

The story flows well and is easy to read with a fantastic cast of characters.  The plot itself is, I feel, quite creative and it makes a change to have the "baddie" as a senior citizen; this brings a unique and different perspective to that of other books.

I felt that this particular story provided more insight into Tom's character especially his almost obsessive and selfish desire to prove his theory is correct that the apparent suicide victims are actually being murdered.  Tom is single-minded in his quest to prove that he is right despite the very real danger he has of losing his trusted colleagues and friends.  Having said that, it also shows a vulnerable side to the hard-nosed detective which is well explored throughout and brings a new and more human dimension to the character.

Overall, a great read ... probably not as enthralling as previous Tom Thorne stories ... but pretty damn good all the same and I would most definitely recommend it to others who enjoy this genre and also to people who don't ;)

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Author Website:  http://www.markbillingham.com/

Twitter:  @MarkBillingham

UK Publisher:  Little, Brown Book Group

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I was lucky enough to have been sent an eBook copy of Mark's latest Tom Thorne novel - Time of Death - which is the 13th instalment and it is captivating, thrilling, absorbing, exciting and all the other superlatives that you normally use to describe a brilliant read.  As you can see, you don't have to read these books in the correct order to enjoy them ... just buy or borrow them :)

Time of Death by Mark Billingham

Description from Goodreads:

“The astonishing thirteenth Tom Thorne novel is a story of kidnapping, the tabloid press, and a frightening case of mistaken identity.

Tom Thorne is on holiday with his girlfriend DS Helen Weeks, when two girls are abducted in Helen’s home town. When a body is discovered and a man is arrested, Helen recognizes the suspect’s wife as an old school-friend and returns home for the first time in twenty-five years to lend her support. As his partner faces up to a past she has tried desperately to forget and a media storm engulfs the town, Thorne becomes convinced that, despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, the police have got the wrong man. There is still an extremely clever and killer on the loose and a missing girl who Thorne believes might still be alive.”

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I am a massive fan of Mark Billingham and I absolutely love his character - Tom Thorne - neither have ever disappointed me and, after reading this, they still haven’t. This book is ace as are all previous 12 novels. I am usually one of the first to the bookshop when a new one comes out but this time I was lucky enough to have been sent an eBook copy via NetGalley and I want to thank the publisher, Grove Atlantic, for this in return for an unbiased review.

I won’t go into any details about the storyline as the description above says it all but I will say that it is captivating, thrilling, absorbing, exciting and all the other superlatives that you normally use to describe a brilliant read.

This book deals with some pretty despicable crimes but does so in a way that is not sensationalised or gratuitous but rather in a thought-provoking and sensitive manner. Now don’t get me wrong, this book isn't all about the heinous crimes, there are some laugh-out-loud moments to lighten the mood particularly when the unorthodox pathologist Phil Hendricks appears from London to lend a hand. He is like a breath of fresh air and his relationship with Thorne is just fantastic and so natural as is Thorne’s budding relationship with Helen.

The story moves at great pace with an easy to read style of writing which makes this book difficult to put down. There are twists and turns aplenty and just when you go “aha, I know who did it”, Mr Billingham goes and throws a spanner in the works again … you know it’s coming but are still surprised when it does.

This may be the 13th instalment in the Tom Thorne series and you might think that Mr Billingham couldn't think of new and innovative scrapes, crisis, crimes and miscreants for Tom Thorne to get involved with and in but he seems to be able to manage it with ease and still he makes it feel fresh and new. You can get away with reading this as a standalone but I would highly recommend reading the others as Thorne will quickly become an old friend who you love to get reacquainted with with each new book.

Would I recommend this to anyone else? Hell yes - go and buy it now :)