Love Like Blood by Mark Billingham

Val Penny ♦ July 11, 2018 ♦ Leave a comment

I very much enjoy Mark Billingham novels. It is no surprise to me his series of novels featuring D.I. Tom Thorne has twice won him the Crime Novel Of The Year Award as well as the Sherlock Award for Best British Detective and been nominated for seven CWA Daggers. His debut novel, Sleepyhead was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 books that had shaped the decade. Each of his novels has been a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. It is reviewed here: https://bookreviewstoday.info/2013/06/16/sleepyhead-by-mark-billingham/.

A television series based on the Thorne novels was screened in Autumn 2010, starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne and series based on the standalone thrillers In the Dark and Rush of Blood are currently in development with the BBC.

In Love like Blood, his fourteenth novel with his character Tom Thorne, Billingham tackles the difficult subject of honour killings. Here Thorne pairs up with perfectionist detective inspector Nicola Tanner of Die of Shame on an investigation that ventures into politically sensitive territory. Die of Shame is reviewed here: https://bookreviewstoday.info/2017/12/08/die-of-shame-by-mark-billingham/.

Tanner needs Tom Thorne’s help because her partner, Susan, has been brutally murdered but Tanner is convinced that she, personally, was the real target. The murderer’s motive might have something to do with Tanner’s recent work on a string of cold-case honour killings she believes to be related.

Although Tanner is now on compassionate leave, she insists on pursuing the case off the books and knows Thorne is just the man to jump into the fire with her. He agrees but quickly finds that working in such controversial territory is dangerous in more ways than one. Then a young couple goes missing and Thorne and Tanner a chance to investigate a case that is anything but cold.

This is an excellent and finely written book. Love Like Blood is tense, exciting and provocative. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy crime thrillers.

Val Penny