LIFELESS
MARK BILLINGHAM
ISBN#978-0-06-084167-6/0-06-084167-2
June 2007
HarperCollins
10 East 53rd Street, New York, New York 10022-5299
Paperback
$7.99 USA
434 Pages
Fiction
Rating: 5 Cups

Tom Thorne, Detective inspector for the Serious Crime Group in London England had suffered a severe blow when his father had died in a house fire that looked suspiciously like retribution for his investigations in to purported mob activity. Having been given bereavement leave to recover he had found himself with too much time to think and wonder. When the murders of the rough sleepers or homeless began to create a pattern, he started speculating about the motives and to keep busy had suggested he go undercover because the homeless had closed ranks against policemen. After being given the go ahead, he had started “Sleeping Rough” and making friends amongst the people who inhabited the underground and dingy doorways of the West End of London.

Dave Holland was a Detective Inspector who had been given the task of being Tom Thorne’s only link to the police department. Knowing his whereabouts kept the detective away from the real motives and identity of the killer. The killer who so far had eluded detection and planned on it staying that way had tried to keep a low profile while still feeding his need to experience the thrill and adrenaline rush of killing, had attempted to kill Tom Thorne but had failed. The killer was suspected of being a policeman and had all of those involved on pins and needles, looking at each other as possible perpetrators but only one amongst them knew the truth and he was not telling. As long as he knew where the investigations were leading, he could stay one step ahead of them finding out the truth.

Tom Thorne and the killer are playing a cat and mouse game with neither knowing exactly who knows what. Tom was working on the premise that because several of the rough sleepers had been involved with a war atrocity during the First Gulf War, he could try and find the survivors and possibly a motive. The killer having failed to kill the one man capable of finding the truth was getting antsy. Would Tom Thorne be able to figure out the killer’s identity before he was the next victim?

Mr. Mark Billingham has written a spine-tingling thriller with enough twists and turns to make a roller coaster rider dizzy. Tom Thorne is a man trying to find meaning in a world turned upside down by the loss of his father. The puzzle of the Rough Sleeper killings is just what he needs to keep his mind off of his grief and sorrow. The minor characters were so artfully crafted that you started to feel for the homeless people who littered the doorways of London and the killer and his motives were so well hidden as to be undetectable until the end. I would definitely recommend this book to any one who enjoys a good mystery.

Kathy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books