Scaredy Cat: A Tom Thorne Novel (DI Tom Thorne Series, 2)

A true whodunnit, with plenty of red herrings. I'll be reading more novels in this series. I bought two more today. The primary characters are well developed and fully fleshed, and the author keeps you guessing. In this novel, the murders, with one exception, are not described in gruesome detail; the reader is told what happened once the deed is done. The reveal in the last chapter was a real surprise to me. All in all, this was a thoroughly entertaining book.

Tom Thorne has a new member on his team now that the crime divisions have been reorganized. Sarah McEnvoy is new to the team and the area but seems to be fitting in to the Serious Crime team. But fitting in has to happen fast because crime is never in short supply. The most recent case is one that hits Thorne hard. A woman is killed, strangled to death in her home and in front of her son, barely more than a toddler. In a coincidence, another woman is found the same day, killed the same way and left in a tube station. As the team investigates, they find another pairing of murders several months back. Those two women were both stabbed. Although the methods are different, the chances of pairs of murders, done the same way, on the same day, just doesn't seem likely to happen by chance. The team realizes that they have a pair of murderers. Although the murderers are killing at the same time, one is much more savage than the other. Thorne realizes that like most pairs of killers, there is one who is leading the way and planning the murders and another who is doing his job according to instructions from the leader. Is this a male/female pair as many of these duel killers are? Are they men who recently found each other and created a new past time, or men who might have been friends from childhood, when the roles of leader and follower are created in friendships? Even more important, can Thorne and his team find them before they kill again? This is the second novel in the Tom Thorne series. While this series has been a huge hit in England, where Billingham lives, it is not as well known in the United States, although it should be. This is an intricate police procedural that delivers twists and turns. The book explores the relationships between the various members of the team and the hierarchy that is concerned with numbers and the press. There are now nineteen books in this series and I can't wait to continue to read about Thorne and his team. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Because it was set in England, the words don't flow as well, but after a few chapters you do get used to it. It moved a little slowly at times, but the good twist to the story made it worth the read. I'd read his novels again, but I wouldn't put it at the top of my reading list.

School ties and master slave relationships make for a murderous romp from those formative years to adulthood. Great unforgettable characters living loving, lusting, and killing through some fast turning pages or blurring kindle screens. So far Mark Billingham 's only failure is to disappoint.

He may not be a secret in UK, but I wasn't familiar with his work before browsing online. I read thrillers and crime stories, lots of them, and it was a joy to discover a new author (to me) with an extensive backlist. This is my second Thorne, and won't be my last. These are solid, well-written stories, and while they differ a bit from American crime stories in structure with a bit too much of flashback alternating chapters, they are so well written that it doesn't interfere with the pacing of the story. If you haven't read any of Billingham yet, you're in for a treat. I look forward to continuing my journey with Thorne and also reading the stand alone books. If you're thinking of trying this author, don't. Worth the time.

Like these books. would like to see more of them.

enjoying the development of this series and how the main character developes though out the series, I started this series as I enjoy both Zoe Sharpes - Charles Fox and Lee Child's - Jack Reacher and enjoy getting to know the main character within the stories. If you enjoy a good detective series then look at this.

Highly recommend. Great detective story and solid characters Very hard to put down. Will read others in series for sure.

SUPER CONTENTA! ARRIVATO MOLTO PRIMA DEL TEMPO STABILITO ED IN OTTIME CONDIZIONI! VERAMENTE SI PUÒ CONTARE SU DI VOI - SARETE SEMPRE IL MIO NUMBER 1 QUANDO ORDINO LIBBRI - UN GRAZIE INFINITO!

Excellent second DI Thorne story. I’m well hooked!

Oft langatmig, dann wieder sprunghaft. Die Bezüge werden nicht immer klar. Das war schon bei Sleepy Head so. Das ging jedoch mehr unter die Haut.

Lots of interesting characters, fleshed out well. Unusual plot, but not into the realms of fantasy. About four fifths of the way through the book, I suspected who the protagonist was. But the author included a few other possibilities to sustain the suspense. Recommend.

The second book in the DI Tom Thorne was a pleasure to read and meet the recurring characters and their bond with each other and the plot was very good as usual in the author books and I will recommend this book to the mystery and thriller lovers.