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    The Killing Habit: A Tom Thorne Novel
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    The Killing Habit: A Tom Thorne Novel
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    The Killing Habit: A Tom Thorne Novel
    Ebook465 pages7 hours

    The Killing Habit: A Tom Thorne Novel

    By Mark Billingham

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    From “one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today” (Gillian Flynn), The Killing Habit again brings together favorite wild-card detective Tom Thorne and straight-laced DI Nicola Tanner on a pair of lethally high-stakes cases.

    While DI Nicola Tanner investigates the deadly spread of a dangerous new drug, Tom Thorne is handed a case that he doesn’t take too seriously, until a spate of animal killings points to the work of a serial killer. When the two cases come together in a way that neither could have foreseen, both Thorne and Tanner must risk everything to catch two very different killers.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtlantic Monthly Press
    Release dateJun 19, 2018
    ISBN9780802146236
    Author

    Mark Billingham

    Mark Billingham is the author of nine novels, including Sleepyhead, Scaredy Cat, Lazybones, The Burning Girl, Lifeless, and Buried—all Times (London) bestsellers—as well as the stand-alone thriller In the Dark. For the creation of the Tom Thorne character, Billingham received the 2003 Sherlock Award for Best Detective created by a British writer, and he has twice won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. He has previously worked as an actor and stand-up comedian on British television and still writes regularly for the BBC. He lives in London with his wife and two children.

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    Reviews for The Killing Habit

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      It’s not a total mystery why I rate Mark Billingham as the best crime writer in Britain today. He’s created a wonderful lead character, Tom Thorne, with a great supporting cast who you actually grow to care about. His stories, set mostly in north London, are close to home, vivid, real. But it hit me as I read his newest book, what I really love about his work. A book like this one falls into the category of police procedurals, focussing on the nitty gritty of police work but also featuring the home lives of the protagonists. The police procedural is a genre invented by my favourite crime writer of all time, the late Ed McBain. I heard some years ago Ian Rankin described as Scotland’s Ed McBain; surely, Mark Billingham deserves the English title. He is indeed the English Ed McBain. P.S. Some years ago,when I once had the chance for a chat with McBain himself, I mentioned that Rankin had been called the Scottish Ed McBain. He smiled, and putting on a strong Scottish brogue said, “I thought I was the Scottish Ed McBain.”
    • 5/5
      Mark Billingham pens one of my favourite crime series - the Tom Thorne books. The fifteenth book in this series, The Killing Habit, has just released.Tom is handed a case that he doesn't take too seriously in the beginning - someone has been killing cats. But as he does delve further into the case, he relalizes there's more to these killings. Is it a serial killer ramping up? Or could it be an established killer winding down?DI Nicola Tanner is back as well. She's chasing down a murderer with ties to a killer new designer drug called Spice.These two characters are complete opposites and as such, play incredibly well off each other. Different strengths, styles and outlooks. As their investigations proceed, they join forces again.Billingham consistently comes up with dark, devious plots that hold the reader captive until the last page has been turned. On reading the author's notes, I discovered that the inspiration for the cat killing plotline is based in reality. A UK cat killer has dispatched over 400 pets and as of the release of the book, the killer remains at large.But what keeps me coming back book after book, are the characters. There are other 'regulars' that appear as well - coroner Phil Hendricks is another character I quite enjoy. Billingham keeps the lives of the cast moving forward through life complete with loves, losses, triumphs and struggles. Thorne is battling his own self doubt in this entry. Doubt about his skills and even his desire to catch criminals. His love life - or lack of - is also troubling to him. The ending surprised me - one character makes a choice that I didn't see coming. I wonder how this will affect this player's (and other's) behaviour and dynamics going forward?The title is clever - 'killing habit' applies to both murder and drugs. Another great read from Billingham and I look forward to the sixteenth entry in this series.
    • 3/5
      I haven't read any of the other books in the author's DI Tom Thorne series but I did read the prior DI Nicola Tanner book, "Die of Shame", which I liked more than I liked this book. However, this book works as a standalone. Tanner's partner Susan was recently murdered in their home and she is currently on compassionate leave. Tanner believes that she was actually the target of the killers because of her work on a series of honour killings within the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities and she enlists the help of Thorne to conduct an unofficial investigation of Susan's death. Their search is complicated when a teenaged couple disappears. The topic of honour killings was a novel one, but otherwise this was a straightforward police procedural. There was a lot of filler with Tanner's mourning and Thorne's home life with his girlfriend and her 3 year old son. I'm one of those readers who doesn't care about the lives of the detectives, so it felt like padding to me. The book was fine, though unexceptional, and I'd be willing to read more by this author. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
    • 4/5
      This was a great read with an extra bonus. I had no idea there was such a thing as honour killings. The act of killing a family member in certain religions because they are not "respectful". Such as women who want to wear makeup, go out to bars, etc. That was very enlightening and jaw dropping for me. The book went at a pretty fast pace and was very enjoyable. I really liked the characters, Tanner and Thorne. Tanner was a very hell bent woman and she was bound and determined to find the killers of her partner. Thorne was a likable character and I would definitely read another book wherein he is the main character.Thanks to Grove Atlantic and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      It's a great big welcome back to that Merle Haggard, country lovin' detective, Tom Thorne. In one particular chapter there is a great and memorable moment when D I Tom Thorne is driving down the road singing at the top of his voice..."The late great Merle Haggard provided the accompaniment on the drive to a retail park in Wembley and Thorne sang along to Silver Wings with rather more gusto than he managed in the school hall the day before....." After the rather poor "Die of Shame" where we were first introduced to DI Nicola Tanner, and Thorne had a very minor cameo role in the final chapter, (the only good part of that book) it's a day of rejoicing to have TT back to his investigating best...we forgive him that he enjoys the company of country music and reluctantly accepts the approach of middle age...here he is back doing what he does best solving crime and crime does not come more topical that Mark Billingham's Love like Blood.DI Nicola Tanner has been investigating a series of what appear to be honour killings when her partner Susan is murdered. Turning to her good friend Tom Thorne she persuades him to help her uncover the truth behind the killings within the Muslim community, contracted out to hired assassins. Reading this book it is a pleasure to catch up on the old familiar faces especially the heavily tattooed Phil Hendricks, police pathologist, who is arguably Thorne's only real friend and together they enjoy good beer and watching football. He is in a relationship with social worker Helen and her young son Alfie but I can't help feeling that there is little future between them. The sex they share is passable...."Neither of them, had they been inclined to talk honestly about it, would have claimed it was the best sex they ever had.." and Helen still misses Paul, her previous partner, who was tragically killed and in one poignant moment she reveals her true feelings towards Thorne....."I'm happy really. You need to know that. But I want to be honest with you, and if I could go back and stop him being killed, I would. I'd do anything to have Paul alive again"....So for fans of Mark Billingham, "Love Like Blood" will not disappoint, it's like putting on a well worn pair of comfy shoes! The subject matter is very well chosen and of the moment, the police investigation of the finest, the characterization and familiarity of the "cast" most welcome, and the perpetrators Muldoon and Riaz evil and well suited to the task of hired assassins. I only hope that when we next encounter DI Thorne that he has resolved his differences with the lovely Helen, but sadly I fear this relationship is doomed! Many thanks to the publishers Little Brown for supply me with a gratis copy in return for an honest review and that is what I have written.
    • 5/5
      If you enjoy British police procedurals, do not miss Mark Billingham. I think this is an especially good one. He tackles a horrific social issue without stereotyping. Not easy to do, and I'm glad he took on this issue in a thoughtful way.
    • 4/5
      A very solid entry in the continuing series of crime thrillers featuring the detective Tom Thorne. Thorne is co-opted by a colleague for an off-the-books investigation into the death of her partner which she believes was intended for her. The pair focus on investigations into ‘honour’ killings in the Asian community, believing that a pair of professional assassins are responsible, working through a local middle man.The culture clashes between Thorne and the Asian communities are both realistic and sensitively handled. Resolution comes through slow and painstaking police work rather than crash-bang violence and sudden bursts of investigative genius and is all the more real for that.The final twist takes the story in a completely different and rather shocking direction.
    • 4/5
      The book blurb does a good job of describing the main story line of #14 in the Tom Thorne series. DI Nicola Tanner is convinced her partner’s murder was a case of mistaken identity & she was the real target. Tanner has a theory about some recent honour killings in London. It’s a sensitive subject & she hasn’t exactly endeared herself to members of the religious communities involved.When she’s put on compassionate leave, some of her colleagues are hoping a little time away will help ease tension between the victim’s families & police.But Nicola has other plans. She figures her partner was killed because she was getting too close. All she needs is another cop willing to help, someone with a fluid regard for the rules who won’t mind colouring outside the lines if necessary. Someone like….oooh, I don’t know….Tom Thorne, maybe. They met on a previous case (“Die of Shame”) & although Tom is initially reluctant, Nicola isn’t above playing the sympathy card to get him on board. Besides, there’s a good chance one of his old unsolved homicides is related. “Nuff said about the main plot line. There are plenty of zigs & zags to keep you guessing, especially when you throw in several characters with questionable loyalties. But what really grips you is the subject matter. People of all religions find the concept of honour killings difficult to understand. Here, we are privy to the domestic situations of young men & women who are caught between parents’ traditional expectations & the freer lifestyle that a big city like London has to offer. The book also looks at the challenges faced by police when they attempt to investigate the crimes. Finding someone from the community willing to break the code of silence is difficult. If they press too hard, they may be accused of cultural insensitivity or racial prejudice. It’s a political hot potato that leaves both sides frustrated & many of the cases end up unsolved (see author’s comments at the end for a sobering dose of reality). But this is not a sermon about who’s right & who’s wrong. Instead, Billingham personalizes the issue by giving us relatable characters of all stripes who are just trying to live their lives. There are some nice twists along the way & he reserves a couple of whoppers for the final pages. One in particular, I gotta say….man, I did NOT see that coming.As usual, we get to enjoy Tom trading insults with ME Phil Hendricks over a few pints. I love Phil. If Lisbeth Salander & Quincy had a child (ok, a much younger Quincy) Phil might be the result. More time is given to Tom’s personal life & we get a closer look at his relationship with Helen as well as the challenges faced by 2 cops living under one roof.It’s an intricately plotted & pacey story that keeps you turning the pages to see how it all shakes out. Picking up one of these books is like running into old friends & I look forward to #15.
    • 4/5
      Tom Thorne is a hard-bitten, cynical detective, hewn from similar material to Michael Connelly’s Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch or Ian Rankin’s John Rebus. He has put in long years on the job, honing his detection skills and cop’s intuition, while simultaneously developing a cynical carapace. Bosch’s mantra is that ‘everyone counts or no-one counts’ – if ever the police reach a point where the plights of powerless or status-less victims of crime are overlooked, or lost in the margins of cost-effectiveness spreadsheets, then they might as well stop bothering. Thorne follows a similar approach, never losing a degree of empathy with the victims of the crimes he finds himself investigating.In this novel, there are several victims with whom to empathise, including fellow detective inspector, Nicola Tanner. She had been leading a unit looking into suspected honour killings among London’s Asian communities, and had felt that she was making headway, until her partner is murdered in their home Tanner is convinced that her girlfriend, who had borrowed Nicola’s car on that day, had been mistaken for her. Although she is ordered to take compassionate leave, she reaches out to Thorne and persuades him to help her out.One of the aspects of Billingham’s novels that I have always enjoyed is his choice of locale. The action always takes place in North London, not far from the area where I live, and Billingham’s descriptions are always spot on. He captures the feel if the different areas, many of which have their own village-like feel (just villages with no open country between them). Tanner is another strong character – almost as taciturn as Thorne, but where he is a maverick, going his own way and following his intuition, wherever it might lead him, she is a stickler for procedure. Surprisingly, the two contrasting methods work well together.This is a well-constructed and (sadly) all too plausible story.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      In Love Like Blood, DI Nicola Marsh turns to Tom Thorne for help following the murder of her girlfriend Susan Best.  The investigation focuses on honour killings in this fourteenth installment of Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne series.

      Having ruffled quite a few feathers while working for the Honour Crimes Unit, Nicola is certain she, not Susan, was killer’s intended target.  Currently on compassionate leave following Susan’s death, she enlists Tom’s help in an off the books investigation that might be linked to the four year old unsolved murder of Meena Athwal. Nicola’s theory that parents in the Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh communities are hiring hitmen to kill their daughters whose behavior brings shame to their families is plausible but it has made her some powerful enemies. Eager to solve his cold case, Thorne agrees to investigate Susan’s death but will they uncover the truth before it is too late?

      Tom is never afraid to step on toes, but he is uncharacteristically diplomatic as he tries to convince his boss DCI Brigstocke to let him investigate the current case of a missing young couple, Amaya Shah and Kamal Azim.  He is also surprisingly honest about the fact that he is looking into Susan’s murder but he is careful to downplay Nicola’s involvement in the investigation. Now he has Brigstocke’s blessing to look into the disappearance of Shah and Azim, Tom is deeply troubled after his interviews with the victims’ families. Fortunately CCTV footage gives Thorne and Marsh a strong lead that supports the hitman theory.  When Amaya’s body is discovered, Tom is frustrated when his boss insists he concentrate on locating her boyfriend Kamal after strong evidence leads everyone to believe he is most likely her killer.

      The various investigations unfold at a rather slow pace but Tom and Nicola have many intriguing leads to pursue. Nicola has uncovered a possible link to three leaders in the Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh communities who are working together to combat the hate crimes directed toward them. Arman Bannerjee is the most charismatic of the three leaders and at the urging of his son, Ravi, he previously lodged a complaint against Nicola. Needless to say, Bannerjee is less than enthused to see her and Thorne at their meetings. Tom and Nicola cannot help but wonder if Arman's animosity is an indication he is involved in the honour killings.  When an attempt is made on Nicola’s life, Tom is certain they are the right track, but will he locate the suspected hitmen before they strike again?

      Love Like Blood is a leisurely paced mystery with an refreshingly unique storyline.  Nicola and Tom are a formidable team as they tenaciously pursue numerous leads in the investigation into the honour killings and Susan’s murder.  Mark Billingham brings the novel to a jaw-dropping conclusion with a shocking plot twist that is impossible to predict.  This latest release is another brilliant addition to the Tom Thorne series that old and new fans are going to love.
    • 5/5
      LIKE BILLINGHAM, BUT NOT BOOK #15There is a serial pet killer loose in London! The killer is leaving the eviscerated remains of (mostly) cats all over the place – and how do you keep a count? How do you separate out roadkill and victims of animal predators? The victims are thought to be in the hundreds. And the killer sometimes displays the remains on the owners’ property to leave no doubt. And wait a minute, why would you care anyway…..? Well because police psychology staff think this all might be a warm up for a new serial killer of humans, the start of an evolution of sorts.Old, wizened, police detective Tom Thorne inherits the case and every dead cat joke imaginable, and surprise surprise takes it very seriously from the get go. He recruits Nicola Tanner, a data manipulator extraordinaire, Thorne shares his out-of-the-box theory and before, they’re on the hunt. Tanner is a character from an earlier Thorne novel, in which her lesbian lover was killed and Nicola was badly injured. Meanwhile things are not going so good for Thorne and partner Helen, mother of a four year old and sister to a younger woman who detests Thorne for unknown reasons. Given all of the above, most of these characters are cranky, very cranky. Like all of the time. Not a lot of happy moments here, few smiles, no laughs, even for all the dead cat jokes.Meanwhile Tanner is involved in another case as well, this one dealing with a debt collector for some drug (e.g. Spice) suppliers mostly to ex-cons. One of the users is shot dead, and Tanner feels she has an open and shut case until…..“The Killing Habit” (KH) is the 15th in Mark Billingham’s Thorne series; I have read them all. I have rated most of the previous books 5’s and 4’s, but I did not enjoy KH as much as most others. The story lacked tension, and I put it down often. For me, there was too much uninteresting family life, too much bickering, too much gloom. Thorne seemed to have become a cranky old man since the last book, maybe crankier is more accurate. Everybody seemed cranky. I did not find the case(s) especially interesting either. I’ll certainly read Thorne # 16, but if it’s along the same lines as this one, then sayonara TT.
    • 3/5
      I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.Thorne is (despite being a Homicide detective) tasked with looking into the violent killing of cats. He decides (in a leap which is taken on faith) that the perpetrator is killing cats as he "comes down" from killing women. In a further leap, he posits that the method of murder will be strangulation and manages to cobble together a group of unsolved strangulation murders to pin on the cat killer. (Of course, the murdered women do all turn out to have a common link eventually).Tanner is investigating the shooting of a drug addict and believes the prime suspect when he claims to have been framed. Tanner and Thorne end up helping each other out with the two cases. The opening was strong and I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the novel, despite struggling a little to keep on top of the enormous cast of characters (I only came into this series one book ago). Thorne is a flawed hero, which is OK, I suppose, although I fear for his future with Helen - he would rather go flat-hunting (something he claims to hate) with Tanner than go home to his family?I'm deducting one of my stars for the scene where the perpetrator was apprehended, which was initially faintly absurd and then (to me) totally unacceptable. The perpetrator was some one I did at one point suspect, but then the author threw me off course, so that was clever.
    • 3/5
      DI Nicola Tanner is investigating a series of killings. When her partner Susan is murdered she is taken off the case. She asks Tom Thorne to pursue the killers and the broker, which then leads both of them into the deadly world of honour killings.This is number 14 in the Tom Thorne series of novels. As always I would recommend that it is read in order to get to know Tom and his world. The books are about the character's own stories as well as the crime to be solved. Tom is still living with Helen Weeks and her son Alfie.One of my favourite characters of all time has to be Phil Hendriks, Tom's friend and pathologist. I always enjoy the banter that goes on between the two. This book for me has to be the worst Tom Thorne novel. The story was very now, and of our times but I felt it was too slow. A lot of the time not much was happening and it seemed a lot of book for what it was. I don't like not liking a book by one of my favourite authors and with characters I love but this book did nothing for me at all. I did finish the book but had to force myself.I love the series of books with a few that really stand out but this book just did not hit the mark. I won't be deterred from reading more in the future but if this book had been my first then it may have been my last.