Far from Lifeless

One measure of really good whodunit is that you should 'get it' a satisfying time before it is all spelt out for you. This one really worked for me. It is an engrossing book which got me intrigued from the very first line. The main character is suitably flawed but sympathetic in the Bosch/Rebus tradition and the audio book has great atmosphere with music and sounds that add, for once, not distract. The feature I liked the best was the tough but compassionate treatment of the London homeless that is at the core of the book; it treads the tightrope between bleeding heart and bleeding heartless very successfully.
Essentially it's a great, if quite dark, mystery book with a strong plot and well developed characters who really make you care about what is going to happen to them. I don't often take abridgments but at 6 hours this leaves a very full meal of a book which is well worth the credit.

31 people found this helpful

Thorne on the streets

I've read a couple of Mark Billingham's earlier books and love the tortured character of Tom Thorne. This audio version of Thorne sounds just as I'd imagined him. In this book he is working undercover on the streets of London and the full grimy detail of what that involves is laid bare.
The story is gripping and draws you in as all good crime fiction should. I found the musical interludes a little distracting although they do provide a good breaking point as there are no chapter breaks.
I don't normally go for abridged books but this one works well. I look forward to the next book from Billingham.

1 person found this helpful

Ditch the musical interludes!

As always Mark Billingham’s characters engage the listener, as did the story.
But the narration seemed too much on one level for me, with a tendency to become monotonous.
The musical interludes seemed amateurish, adding nothing to the tension and, I thought, rather pointless really.

Didn’t like the music!

Not as good previous books and the music really did put me off. Great narration as usual

Great story, pity about the music

I've enjoyed the Tom Thorne books and this was no exception. Robert Glenister is a great narrator. What ruined this audio book for me was the insertion of a supposedly 'suspenseful' piece of music every so often. It was so jarring that I found it ripped me out of the immersion in the story that I'd felt before. A shame, because it was otherwise a very good story.

as ever an excellent enthralling listen

deeply absorbrbong full of plot twist and deviate just asvyoh think you know who ??

Brilliant as always but..

Great story, as always from Mark Billingham and perfectly interpreted and read by Robert Glenister. The only thing I found really off putting and distracting were the 2 pieces of short incidental music, one of which always made me think the theme tune to Crossroads was about to kick in 😱

Tom finds the dark waiting for him

The next chapter in Toms life and it really has got dark for him. He is suffering from the effects of his fathers death and the 'what if' demons in his head have begun to win over. His venture onto the streets of London is both harrowing and enlightening. I found it hard to 'enjoy' but was engrossed none the less.

I am a big fan of Tom Thorne and look forward to the next in the series.