Rush of Blood

I listened to this over a couple of days on holiday and it had myself and my husband absolutely gripped. A departure from Billingham's Thorne series and probably even better. Toby Longworth narrates this brilliantly and for me this was a perfect audiobook . As I cannot read due to illness at the moment I feel very frustrated at not being able to read my favourite crime novels, listening to them is somehow not the same. However, the narration and structure of this book is audio perfect there are no wasted words or scenes which can
sometimes be a problem on audio books. The characterisation is brilliant and the dinner party scenes perfectly done; funny and excruciating. A fantastic holiday listen

I have read all of Mark's books to date and have enjoyed most of them. His laconic hero is, I feel, a more realistic hero than the flash super sleuths of other authors. This book strays from his previously successful formula. He builds the characters of the group of new friends superbly but the story lacks drive (for me) and I kept wishing someone would get on with it. I shall regard this as a blip on Billingham's series of books and eagerly await his return to the detective hero I have come to enjoy.

nothing special, i'm sure there was something better i could have been doing like stripping wall paper. From the off you feel you know where this is going and when the "twist" comes if you can call it a "twist" you realise your story was far better than the writers.

It took me a little while to catch onto the fact that the story swung back and forth from before and after the disappearance of a young girl and the involvement of three British couples on holiday in Florida. Thereafter I was engrossed by the development of the plot and the way the investigation progressed. The various characters are well-drawn and I was eager to find out what had happened. The narrator is good and kept me listening.

I normally love Mark Billinghams' books, but I just didn't get this one....I found it really boring, it just seemed to go on and on and on about the daily lives of the characters, who I didn't really like, and I didn't really care what happened to them. In fact, nothing really does happen, I found the book totally mundane and kept hoping that shortly something interesting would occur...but it didn't....it was a struggle to finish...definitely not for me.

I thought this book took a long time to get going. I didn't really bond with the characters and found that once the story was in full swing I didn't much care how it ended. The best bit for me was the last 5-10 minutes. Was it all worth the wait? Not in my opinion.

This book was a real page-turner from the moment it began. The prose flowed so easily enhanced by authentic dialogue, and the characters were drawn with such attention to detail that they were entirely credible and recognizable. I had to keep listening - putting aside all else to do so - sifting the clues and swapping potential killers in my mind as Mark so cleverly incorporated the red herrings. It was an excellent whodunnit - well-paced and thoroughly engaging. Toby Longworth was a splendid narrator, bringing the text to life for the listener with a strong sense of spontaneity and never intruding. It would be good to hear more of him. Altogether a great purchase.

The pace is slow and the ending predictable. Unless you enjoy spying on your neighbours and listening to their back-stabbing comments regarding their new-found "holiday" friends, this is not the book for you. It certainly wasn't for me.

Another fantastic book that didn't disappoint. A great fan of this author and yet to be let down by any of his books.



Buy it - you won't be disappointed!! Hurry up with the next one please!

A good holiday read (as this is part of the story) easy to pick up on if left for a while. Took me a while in to the book to remember which couple was married to whom - but such a good plot and twist.