The author brings another fast paced police procedural that keeps you on your toes. The characters are fantastic and I really enjoyed their interactions.
The great thing about this book is that even though it's part of a series you don't need to have read any of the other novels to get into this story

Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Love Like Blood. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Detective Tom Thorne, after being approached by Detective Nicola Tanner regarding the murder of her life partner, gets involved in what turns out to be so much more than a simple killing. With a possible link to a string of honor killing that Tanner has been investigating, Thorne has a stake in trying to solve the series of killings. A cold case of Tom's still haunts him and is possibly connected. Will Tom and Nicola be able to find the perpetrators before more innocence is lost?

There were a couple of things about this book that I did not like, but the overall flow and plot were very good. It bothered me that, despite the apparent threat posed to Nicola, she was not commanded or convinced to go other than to her own home. I was not really a fan of the repetitive nature of this book, with the flipping between the perspectives of the perpetrators and the police. The author took too long to get to the point and my interest waned towards the middle of the story. If the rating system would allow, I would give Love Like Blood three and a half stars. The characters are well developed and the investigative portion of the book is first rate. For these reasons, I would recommend the series of Tom Thorne novels. They do not necessarily have to be read from the beginning, but it would help the continuity of the character. Readers who like police procedural thrillers will find Tom Thorne to be a credible and well developed character.

Mark Billingham's books feature the very popular DI Tom Thorne and this is the fourteenth book in the series. Die hard fans will have read all of them, however new readers will be able to pick up this book and delve straight in and be in awe of DI Tom Thorne.
Tom Thorne is reunited with DI Nicola Tanner, who he met in Die of Shame as she is trying to find out who killed her lover, who she believes was killed instead of herself, due to becoming too close to solving a crime.
The storyline is brilliant and as with Mark's earlier book, the reader is lead on a trial which sees Thorne get deeper and deeper into the case, which is at times tough, as it involves honour killing across the religions where the modern world overtakes past beliefs. There is lots of great content and it gives the reader an insight into these homes where the younger generation are determined to make their own choices and not agree to those of their parents.
As with all of Mark's books, the reader makes many decisions about who is behind it all and what they believe to have happened but Mark always leaves a big surprise to the end and I was definitely not expecting this one!
Love Like Blood is definitely Mark Billingham's best book yet and I hope my blog readers enjoy it as much as I have.
Thank you to the author and Little Brown for inviting me to take part in this blog tour.

I haven't read any of the other books in the author's DI Tom Thorne series but I did read the prior DI Nicola Tanner book, "Die of Shame", which I liked more than I liked this book. However, this book works as a standalone. Tanner's partner Susan was recently murdered in their home and she is currently on compassionate leave. Tanner believes that she was actually the target of the killers because of her work on a series of honour killings within the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities and she enlists the help of Thorne to conduct an unofficial investigation of Susan's death. Their search is complicated when a teenaged couple disappears. The topic of honour killings was a novel one, but otherwise this was a straightforward police procedural. There was a lot of filler with Tanner's mourning and Thorne's home life with his girlfriend and her 3 year old son. I'm one of those readers who doesn't care about the lives of the detectives, so it felt like padding to me. The book was fine, though unexceptional, and I'd be willing to read more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Wow, can't believe it, its already the 14th book in the Tom Thorne series! I've read each and every book from number one, and can honestly say, they get better with each new book. The interaction between Tom and the new DCI Nicola was interesting, and the whole topic of honor killings were eye-opening for me. A brilliant book, can't wait for the next Tom adventure!

First published in Great Britain in 2017; published by Grove Atlantic on June 20, 2017

Love Like Blood is set in today’s England, where violent crimes against minorities are on the increase after Brexit, which some saw as mandate to be vicious. Honor crimes are the specific theme — crimes typically committed against women who have “dishonored” a family by, for instance, having sex — and the low priority that the police give to those crimes.

The second plotline involves the murder of Susan Best, the lover of DI Nicola Tanner. Although Tanner cannot officially investigate her lover’s murder, she enlists the help of Tom Thorne to do just that. Tanner met Thorne in Die of Shame.

Tanner has been investigating a series of honor killings carried out by a pair of hit men. She thinks those hit men were paid to kill her, to end the investigation, but they bungled the job and killed Susan Best by mistake. Of course, she carries the burden of guilt since she assumes her job got her lover killed.

The two hit men, an Irishman and a Pakistani, are developed with enough depth to make them credible. The killers actually have more personality than Thorne or Tanner, both of whom are rather bland.

The investigation of the killings is interesting for a time, and then it becomes a bit tedious as the investigators cover the same ground again and again. Billingham seems to be in love with his own prose. The prose is just fine, but there’s too much of it. In this case (as was true in Die in Shame), a tighter novel would have been a better novel.

The most revealing chapter of Love Like Blood comes near the end, when a culprit explains why honor killings promote “family values” that communities have a right to protect when the government refuses to see things through the lens of their religion. The speech applies equally to members of every religion who believe that their “family values” should outweigh laws that protect all of society. The novel makes the telling point that too many people believe any antisocial behavior, from discrimination to murder, can be justified if it is hidden behind the cloak of religion. Civil law protects all of us from religious law when members of a religion inflict their values on others by engaging in unlawful behavior.

The police manage to solve the honor killings and, at the very end, Susan Best’s killing. The solution to Best’s killing is forced and hard to swallow. The story has enough good moments to make the novel a modest success, but shining a light on honor killings (which have apparently been increasing in the UK) gives this book its value.

RECOMMENDED

Like many people, I watched the first episode of the TV series Written In Blood in which Simon Toyne interviewed Mark Billingham about the case which inspired his book, Love Like Blood. Now I don’t know anybody who wouldn’t have been moved an indeed horrified by the true story of Banaz Mahmod and the way in which she suffered at the hands of family for the simple act of falling in love with the wrong man. It is something in Western culture that we take for granted – the basic right to love and be loved by those whom we choose not those who are chosen for us. And yet in some cultures, this still remains an impossible dream. To those who disobey or ‘dishonour’ their family, a fate such as that which befell Banaz is sadly far more prevalent than any of us would like to accept.

The idea of honour killings – be it for love or some other inferred shame – is the central premise of this book. Mark Billingham has not tried to retell Banaz’s story. As he has said himself that is not his story to tell. But her story has most certainly inspired a book which becomes somewhat of a moral dilemma in the making. At the heart of this novel is real life horror dressed up here as a form of entertainment, art even. Should we really say that we enjoy it? Maybe, maybe not. However Billingham has found a near perfect balance, blending Thorne’s irresistible charm, an element of humour and the day to day mundane realities of family life, with an overwhelmingly depressing set of statistics and a case which puts the lives of Thorne’s friends and colleagues at risk. This is not a case of preaching the horrors of honour killings, although they are clearly outlined here, but it is also more than mere entertainment. Billingham skilfully gets his distaste at the subject across to the reader through Thorne’s reactions, while still leaving them the scope to make their own minds up about what has occurred.

The book opens on a fairly traumatic scene, the brutal attack and subsequent murder of DI Nicola Tanner’s partner Susan. While we are not, as readers, privy to the murder itself, the ongoing descriptions of the aftermath, the scene with which Tanner is left, are more than enough to make it clear to us what has happened without it being spelled out in all its glory detail. But just how does this fit in with the whole idea of the honour killings? Whatever the reason, for obvious reasons Tanner can’t investigate the murder herself and instead turns to Tom Thorne, a man who she has met only briefly and knows more by reputation, to help her find the answers she so desperately seeks.

The more that they look into the reasons for Susan’s murder, the clearer it becomes that it could well be linked to a series of open cases, potential honour killings, that Tanner had been working on. Could it be that her enquiries within the local Asian community had ruffled one too many of the wrong feathers. When two young Asian friends go missing after a night out, it becomes clear that this is no straight forward case of families taking revenge. It runs far deeper than that and the consequences of the investigation are potentially lethal.

Readers will be familiar with Tanner from Mark Billingham’s last novel, Die Of Shame, as she was the straight-laced DI tasked with uncovering a murderer. It is this very case which puts her in the path of Tom Thorne. She is every bit as straight talking and lacking in humour in this book, some would argue with good reason, but we also see the passionate side of her character and by learning more of her relationship with Susan perhaps come to understand the reasons for her personality more. It could certainly be argued that interacting with Thorne has a kind of humanizing influence on her and we see a more relaxed Nicola Tanner start to emerge. She will always be the work horse, focused and determined, but the pairing with Thorne is an inspired and complimentary one.

There is probably not a lot that can be said about Tom Thorne. Fans of the series already know it all> Newcomers to the series will just as quickly be hooked. There is a kind of charm to his reluctance to abide fully by the rules, and you find yourself hoping he will go out on a limb, as he typically does, in order to help Tanner. It is not fully straight forward, not written in stone that he will help, but there is one thing which puts him more in mind to help. The chance to help solve a murder which he was forced to leave open, one which may well link to these more recent murders and abductions. I really love the way in which his relationship with Helen and her son Alfie, and the scenes where he begins to think about the future will truly melt your hardened heart. Remind you that not all families are bad. And his friendship with Phil Hendricks, and with this book in particular, Hendricks’ casual bantering with Tanner, provide the moments of much needed light relief you come to rely upon.

The pacing and the tone of this book are just about perfect. There is always something driving you onward as a reader (or in my case listener). I was intrigued to find out about the person or persons behind the killings. The dynamic here was most unusual and yet at the same time believable. Although there were many seemingly unconnected threads throughout the book, including the harrowing case of two small children suspected of being abused that Helen was working on, Billingham gathers them all together at the time and pulls them in so tight that you struggle to see where they were ever seemed loose to begin with. The ending is surprising and somewhat shocking, so much so that it had me completely blindsided. And the conclusion of the case is as heart thumpingly tense as it satisfying and yet also, at times, surreally calm.

Do not come into this book looking for the gratuitous. You’ll be bitterly disappointed. Don’t come into it looking for outright condemnation and contempt at the practice of honour killing, although that is most certainly the context of the novel. It is not preaching to the reader, but it does bring to our attention a most heinous, sociocultural practice which is at odds with the freedom we associate with our country. The book doesn’t condemn any particular faith, but recognises the minority belief in many faiths that honour and respect for your family is held above all else, including murder. So yes, this book left me in a quandary. Can I really say I enjoyed it? The subject matter, the idea of the honour killing, then no. In no way can I say I enjoyed that. But Mark Billingham has done a brilliant job of moving the story past this subject matter alone without sensationalising, trivialising or glamourising it in any way, providing the reader with an entertaining, if not occasionally heart breaking story that I would highly recommend you read.

Great to see Tom Thorne back in the driving seat in Billingham's latest novel. He is drawn in by DI Nicola Tanner (Die of Shame) to work on an off the book investigation into a series of honour killings, after her partner Susan is murdered.
This is Billingham at his best, dealing with a very sensitive issue but lightening it up with his usual dark humour. Loved the scene with the box of T-shirts, very DI Tom Thorne.

I can pretty much guarantee that any book by Mark Billingham featuring Tom Thorne will be a 5 star before I even read it, and Love Like Blood is no exception.

In Tom Thorne's 14th instalment we welcome back DI Nicola Tanner who first appeared in the standalone Die Of Shame. Her partner Susan was recently killed in their home and Nicola is so hell-bent on tracking down her killers that she enlists the help of her colleague - the rather unorthodox Tom Thorne - knowing he is not averse to bending certain rules in order to get results.

This novel features the topic of honour killings which Mark has written extremely sensitively without detracting from the horror that this is something which is happening with shocking regularity in the UK.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

You would think that by book 14, you would get bored of reading about the same characters but no you won't. Once you open the book, it's like putting on a pair of comfy shoes that might be a bit worn but you always go back to them even if you've bought a new pair! The subject matter of this particular book is unpleasant but, as always, Mr Billingham approaches it with respect and clearly has done his research. Thought-provoking, fast paced and, well, just brilliant. Highly recommended.

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Denise Crawford's review Jul 16, 2017 · edit

"If you can kill your own flesh and blood because something they've done means you don't think you can hold your head up in a temple or in some poxy neighbourhood cafe...Jesus, I think I understand serial killers better than that."

This 14th book in the Tom Thorne series focused on honour killings in the UK. Thorne joins forces with Nicola Tanner (DIE OF SHAME - a recent standalone) to ferret out the ringleader and the hired killers. The narrative zips along, solid police procedural, with characters that have fully developed into familiar people throughout the course of the series. Aside from the plot, the statistics about the number and nature of the honour killings in the UK (further explained in an author's note at the end) are chilling and defy belief. The rationalization for it is still shocking and astounding, I hope, to all of us: "Respect is important, and you hold on to it by weeding out those who are misled. Those who choose to ignore rules about how to behave, how to dress, who they are supposed to have children with. Nothing is more important than dealing with dishonour in the right way...cutting out the rot."

This was fabulous writing and excellent reading and I highly recommend it. I've loved the Thorne books for a long time, and now enjoy the character of Nicola Tanner. The topic definitely will stimulate discussion of this heinous practice and hopefully lead to its termination.

This is the first ebook that I have read and I would like to thank NetGalley for the proof.
As always I cannot fault a Mark Billingham book. His characters are old friends and the places Tom Thorne and his cohorts frequent are as known to me as if I had actually been there
Prior to this book, I had no idea that honour killings existed outside countries like India or Pakistan. So I was horrified upon reading Marks notes at the end of the story, to find that this is a growing problem in The UK.
In Love like Blood, two young teens disappear and Thorne is sure it is connected to one of his unsolved cases from 4 years ago, where a young Indian woman disappeared. He is brought into the case unofficially by DI Nicola
Tanner, whose own partner was murdered in their home by what she assumes was a case of mistaken identity. Nicola is on bereavement leave so is carrying on her investigation under the radar. She knows from Tom Thornes reputation for not playing by the rules, that he is the one she needs to help her with her ongoing investigation. As before, her relentless enquiries into who could be behind what they are sure are honour killings, leads them both into danger. Excellent stuff.

I published a review at Reviewing the Evidence. Good book!

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Mark Billingham’s next Tom Thorne book, and “Love Like Blood” exceeded every expectation I had. Billingham has long been in my “must read” category and I think this book is his absolute best. It’s a great crime novel with fascinating characters, wry (and welcome) humor, and a plot filled with unexpected twists. I think the final twist is one most readers won’t see coming - I sure didn’t! What puts this novel above Billingham’s other outstanding books is his expert braiding together of a very suspenseful plot with the timely subject of honor killings. The rapid pace of the book never slows and it is apparent how profoundly occurrences of honor based violence have affected Billingham. Honor killings are a subject I didn’t know much about, but thanks to “Love Like Blood,” I’m now more informed. Informed and horrified - that in the name of religion families could commit violence and murder against female relatives who are accused of bringing shame to the family. I will be highly recommending “Love Like Blood” to everyone, not just crime fiction readers.

The book is dedicated to the memory of Banaz Mahmod and Rahmat Sulemani, and in his “Author’s Note” Billingham provides valuable information about honor-based violence in the UK, and the tragic true story of Banaz and Rahmat. For those who are interested, I discovered an excellent article in “The Independent” about their heart-breaking deaths and how Mark Billingham wrote “Love Like Blood” to bear witness and bring awareness.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/honour-killings-mark-billingham-love-like-blood-islam-hinduism-banaz-mahmod-tom-thorne-murder-a7727601.html

My review was posted on Goodreads on 7/4/17.

Brilliantly thought out. Brilliantly put together. Mark Billingham never disappoints. This book had me captivated the whole way through. I read this in one sitting. I really like Tom Thorne as a character. There is plenty of action and a lot packed into every book. As always there are a few surprises in the plot and the suspense is there right up to the end. I hope there are more Tom Thorne books to come.

Mark Billingham never disappoints and once again he has absolutely nailed it!!

This is the latest in his popular Tom Thorne series and this time the unconventional detective teams up with Nicola Tanner, another detective, who is trying to solve a very personal murder. Tom has no problem operating 'off the books' to help uncover a series of troubling murders.

Thorne and Tanner are drawn into the secretive world of religious Indian immigrants, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu, and their honour systems. These are good people who work hard and integrate into British society, who live in an atmosphere of derision and hate at the hands of the far right and who have come together in a spirit of unity. But these educated and prosperous businessmen are still ruled by the diktats of their traditional ways which are at odds with the British legal system.

This is a fast-paced and gripping novel in which Billingham has not flinched from tackling a difficult subject which he does with a delicate touch. The characters are as real as they can be and there is the usual tension between the detectives on the ground and their superiors as Thorne and Tanner go off the grid.

I thoroughly enjoyed the initially simple, but increasingly complex plot lines, the suspense and a fair sprinkling of misdirection. This all led to a satisfying and surprising conclusion.

I look forward to more from this very accomplished writer at the top of his game.

Pashtpaws


Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

I just happened to start reading Mark Billington's latest DI Thorne novel after hearing on the radio of a large increase in the number of so-called honour killings (or maybe rather on the reporting of them), so it is an interesting, thrilling and riveting take on a very topical subject. Tom Thorne is as maverick as ever but doing his best to toe the line sufficiently to prevent him falling foul of his bosses, while pursuing the best bet to unsettle suspects and catch the perpetrators of an odd series of deaths and attacks. His domestic life with Helen and her wee Alfie is strained by the demands they both experience, being in The Job, but provided a refuge from the horrible crimes being discovered at work, Phil Hendricks, his mate and handy pathologist, contributes to the story, as well as a newcomer, Nicola Tanner, a detective who is compassionate leave following the murder of her partner Susan at their home. There is danger, there are thrills and plenty of suspense and suspects: a very enjoyable and satisfying book.

Love like blood mark billingham

What can I say? Mark Billingham you never fail to get my undivided attention, as soon as I pick up a DI Tom Thorne novel I become absorbed in it.

DI Thorne meets up with DI Nicola Tanner a colleague from a previous case, her partner Susan Best was murdered a few weeks earlier and she believed that she was murdered instead of her, due to a case she had been working, involving honour killings within the community.. Nicola needs him and his sheer disregard for following procedures to the letter of the law to help her look for Susan's killer as she has obviously been excluded from the investigation, he agrees rather reluctantly if he were to be honest.
This investigation takes them into the murky side of what happens within some families and the wider Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities, honour killings mutilations and forced marriages that are being arranged by family and executed by hit men. We also have two teenagers who have seemingly run away for no apparent reason. There's also the sidebar story of two young brothers and child abuse involving Thorne's social worker partner.
A plot full of twists and turns, always keeping me guessing. Revisiting old favourites like Hendricks the police pathologist Thorne's only true friend who has a healthy obsession for tattoos and piercings. The pair get to together as often as they can for a pint or two or three to put the world to rights and talk shop, Hendricks loves to stir the pot and to almost play devils advocate at times.
This is made all the more touching as the murder of 19 year old Banaz Mahmood in 2006 is the inspiration for the book. Banaz was killed but the hit men paid for by her father and uncle, why? Because she fell in love with the wrong man, the wrong man who a decade later still heartbroken took his own life. The sad thing is, is we know this and things like it do happen and are happening all around us right here and right now.
Read for an honest review for Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group

Another great read from Mark Billingham. Like all of his books, it is written in an assured and confident manner, well-plotted and unnervingly creepy. I like Thorne's set-up with Helen and Alfie and there's some good humour and scenes with Hendricks. Some of the characters are truly terrifying and some are actually heart-breaking. There's also an interesting subplot with one of Helen's cases.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of Love Like Blood.

A pretty good read with lots of action. Held my attention throughout.