Their Little Secret: A Tom Thorne Novel

Loved it. Another great book by a great writer.

I enjoyed this book; it was exciting and had a diabolical twist at the end BUT I could not leave behind my questions about how Sarah was able to hang around the school every day, meet with the other parents for coffee and no one ever was troubled that they never saw her with her child. Also that she was ,on a least two occasions in different schools, able to enter the schools so freely. This gnawed at my mind throughout the story and led to my rating of 3.5 as opposed to a 4 or 4.5.

This was a fast-paced read and the plot hung together nicely.

So here's the rub...one well known crime writer is obliged to produce, not only for his adoring fans but more importantly for his publishers, one novel per year. Meet Sarah, single mum loves the school run and the early morning meet with fellow "mummies" exchanging gossip and good fellowship. But what's a girl to do with all that free time while the little one is attending to his studies? Enter Conrad gullible and loveable....Sarah and Conrad a Brady and Hindley for the 2020's.Sorry Mr Billingham but the latest outing for Tom Thorne, and his new partner in crime, Nicola Tanner, is frankly laughable.....there is a slight spoiler to follow.....Sarah it would appear is not a mother but is pretending to accompany her imaginary son to school each morning and amazingly no one seems to notice. Entwined with this nonsense are a number of unexplained and seemingly senseless murders and the perpertrators are proving impossible to find. Open your eyes Tom even a second rate plod could solve this riddle. Well the publishers may be happy but I am very disappointed, why bring out a book if it is not a worthy edition to the series. This type of publishing, in my opinion does, little to enhance the reputation of DI Thorne and leaves a sour taste in the mouth of readers who have come to expect much better from the hand of Mr Billingham.

Although this is part of quite a long series, with several minor plot threads connecting to previous novels, it works quite well as a stand-alone.The novel begins with the aftermath of a middle aged woman throwing herself under a train. Although this is obviously a suicide Tom Thorne becomes concerned with why she did it. He meets her sister and niece who tells him about how a con artist fleeced her of her savings. He would dearly like to find the con man and charge him with manslaughter.In the second chapter we meet Sarah, a young mum who has just dropped her son Jamie off at his new school. She is meeting other mums for coffee and she meets an older man.From these two starting points the novel quickly develops complexity and in surprising ways.A very good read.

Mark Bellingham describes himself as the one with “the twisted imagination”. This is a gross understatement. The story twists and turns in the most horrible and abnormal ways. If bizarre, weird and evil is your thing you will love this book. Did I forget to mention all the references to sex, sex and more sex? The writing is quirky and at times I thought it sounded like the dialog of the British TV show “Endeavour”. The story moves along it is just beyond the pale.

Mark Billingham has just released the sixteenth book in his DI Tom Thorne series - Their Little Secret. DI Nicola Tanner has been added to the series title in the last few entries.Thorne is currently assigned to the Homicide Assessment Team - a mobile unit that attends sudden death cases to see if they are suspicious and need investigation. A seeming suicide by train looks to be an open and shut suicide case, but Thorne thinks may be more to it. And indeed there is. Billingham's plot for this latest mystery is dark and twisted. (most of them are!) Or to quote Thorne: "The truth was, there was very little about this case that wasn't weird. Off-kilter, unnatural. It felt as though something misshapen had woken and begun crawling towards him into the light...."The reader has a window into both Thorne's investigation and the killer's thoughts, actions and moves. In this case, knowing who the killer is doesn't detract from enjoying the book at all. It only ramped up the tension and had me hooked. Thorne's dogged pursuit of answers and results isn't always by the book. Sometimes that works for him, other times not so much. But, I do love a driven, rebellious lead - and that is most definitely Thorne. Tanner and Thorne are complete opposites and as such, play incredibly well off each other. Different strengths, styles and outlooks.Now, Billinham's plotting is always great and his prose are a treat to read. But, what I really enjoy are the recurring characters. Their Little Secret picks up just after the last book. Now, not to spoil anything but there were some lines crossed by Thorne, Tanner and coroner Phil Hendricks in the last book. The undercurrent of those actions runs just under the surface and the effects are telling nine months later. Thorne's personal life has fallen apart - again. And Tanner's as well. Funnily enough, the 'wild card' of the bunch (Hendricks) has found solid ground.Billingham throws a curve into the last few chapters that I didn't see coming at all. And there's one unanswered question that will be perhaps answered in the next book?This is one of my favourite series and Their Little Secret is yet another excellent read from Mark Billingham

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.An excellent police procedural, with lots of material from the point of view of the criminals as the police close in on them. It is hard to write about this without spoiling the plot, but the various strands and viewpoints come together fairly quickly and the story is chilling without dwelling unduly on grim details. The characterization was generally good and the pace was fast, especially in the first half.There were developments in the on-going story of Tom and Nicola's personal lives, which I would have appreciated more if I could remember the terrible thing that they and Phil did in the last book. For what it's worth Helen is well shot of Tom; I've never read about some one so lukewarm about his relationships.I'm deducting a point for the utter unlikelihoodSPOILERSof being able to pretend for weeks at a time that you are meeting your child at the school gates when you don't have one. The other parents would expect to see your child and for theirs to have played with yours at playtime etc. Also, you can't just walk into a school unchallenged.Otherwise, gripping. Looking forward to the next instalment.

Thank you, Goodreads and Grove Atlantic, for my complimentary review copy. I am so thrilled to have come across this new-to-me series! I really enjoy M.J. Arlidge's DI Helen Grace books, my first introduction to the British police procedural genre. Although sixteenth in Billingham’s Tom Thorne crime fiction collection, it’s the first one I’ve read. It functioned well enough as a standalone, but admittedly, as with any series, I would have preferred to read them in chronological order. It gives me a better sense of the characters as they are introduced and their interpersonal relationship dynamics.Tom Thorne, the protagonist, is a middle-aged detective inspector living in London. He is investigating the gruesome suicide of a young woman. The victim was allegedly distraught about falling prey to a con-man. Meanwhile, Sarah is an ordinary single mom of a young son, Jaime. At least that’s the impression she wants to give to the other parents…As expected, other cases crop up. Are they random incidents or is there some connection? That is for Tom and his team to decipher.I was hooked from the very start. The story line was compelling, with lots of plot twists and an unpredictable ending. Also, the writing style was readable with its simple language, vivid descriptions, snappy dialogue, and short chapters. The third-person perspectives alternate amongst the principal characters. The characters, themselves, were distinct and well-developed. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan to read the series from the beginning. I’m also really looking forward to watching the TV adaptation of Sleepyhead(Tom Thorne #1).

Ah, l’amour…..ain’t it grand. Well, you might want to hold that thought. While many people exchange rings as a symbol of their union, you’re about to meet a couple who are a little…uh…less traditional.Tom Thorne is called to one of the underground stations where the body of a young woman lies across the tracks. There’s not much doubt she took her own life but in the interest of ticking all the boxes, he begins to dig into her background. It seems she was the victim of a charming scam artist who professed his love before emptying her bank account. And like her money, he’s gone. In alternate chapters we meet Sarah, a mysterious young woman who spends her mornings bonding with other moms after dropping her son at school. It’s a quiet life but that may be about to change. She recently met a charismatic man who’s obviously interested & begins to wonder if he could be “the one”. And that’s all I’ll say about that side of the story. Just know it took off in directions I never could have predicted with plenty of WTH moments along the way. Meanwhile Tom & DI Nicola Tanner have more than enough to keep them busy. Another body & another woman who believed she’d found true love. Right up until the guy disappeared with her savings. Tom begins to take the cases personally. His own love life is in shambles & if he can’t fix that, maybe he can find some justice for these women whose only mistake was to trust the wrong man. There’s a darker tone to this outing than previous books in the series. Partly due to the subject matter but also because of Tom. He’s (sort of) single again & not taking it well. Or maybe too well…he’s not sure. He’s more reflective than usual but veers away from examining himself too closely. Either way, he’s in a funk & moping has become a part time job. Thankfully, Phil Hendricks is around to verbally kick his butt in typical style. Tanner, also, is mourning lost love. As partners go, she & Tom are chalk & cheese but have learned to accept each others tics. To be honest, I’m still warming up to her character. And with both MC’s singing the blues, I found this instalment lacking a bit of the usual sparkle (thank God for Phil). However, it’s completely in keeping with the story lines. Love in all its forms is definitely the theme of the story. Fated, unrequited, lost or obsessive….we witness the degrees of happiness or carnage that can result when 2 lives collide. Just be warned: by the time the dust settles, you might start thinking of love as a four letter word.

Their Little Secret, the latest in the Tom Thorne series of crime novels, offers further proof of why author Mark Billingham is probably the best crime writer in Britain today -- and one of our very best writers, full stop. This complicated, deeply human story revolves entirely around an extraordinary woman named Sarah, who at the very start of the book appears as the next victim for a con artist named Conrad, but is actually so much more than that. In parallel with the Sarah and Conrad story is the ongoing struggle of DI Thorne to have a life outside of the Job. His fellow officer, Nicola Tanner, plans a key role in the story and her name now features in the series title. The only thing wrong with this book is that having devoured it in two days, I now have to wait a full year for the next book in the series.

My thanks to the Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for providing a copy of the eBook for my review and comment. The views expressed below are my own.This is a police procedural mystery set in present day England, and is the 16th book in the Tom Thorne series. Thorne is a police detective in London. The story begins with Thorne investigating a suspected suicide death on the underground; jumping in front of a speeding train is not a pleasant way to die. Readers are soon introduced to Conrad and Sarah who meet for the first time at a posh coffee shop where Sarah goes every day with a group of parents after they have dropped off their children at a local school. They are not your average Londoners though, Conrad being a trickster who preys on single women and Sarah having an imaginary son. We follow this creepy couple as they go about their twisted activity, pursued by Thorne and his colleague Nicole Tanner.This is a brilliant and edgy police thriller with truly interesting villains and police detectives. Their individual stories are well-blended into a compelling narrative that makes this a standout read. It's the second of the Thorne series that I have read, and I will definitely be looking fo enjoy future releases. This one can be read as a standalone even though it's the 16th in a series.