Another well researched and solid book by Mark. A very difficult subject to tackle. Thought provoking. Loved the blossoming relationship between Thorne, Tanner and Hendricks. Look forward to the next outing.

Strong suspense read--full of twists and unexpected developments. Great characters.

Fiction – Crime

Score: 9/10


Coming off the heels of reading the new Angela Marsonsnovel, Dead Souls, which covered the hate crimes occurring in England, I read Mark Billingham’s latest novel which is all about honour killings in England by the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities. I am surprised that honour crimes are considered a separate type of crime to hate crimes, because to me it seems like another type of hate crime. A person within a family decides that they hate what another person is doing within their family. They perceive that person is disrespecting their family and decide to punish them by committing violence, rape or even murder to stop it and restore respect to the family. In this case, and it would appear to be the case in a large percentage of honour crimes, the slighted person pays someone else to commit the crimes in the hopes of getting away with it. It is very disturbing to think in this day and age that such outdated beliefts still occur. Surely people need to be a bit more understanding and tolerant of each other, particularly their own family members. Sadly this is not the case for Detective Tom Thorne and his team who are trying to uncover who is the middleman in the current spate of honour crimes as well as trying to uncover the two men that are being paid to carry them out. Despite being a bit depressing and somewhat troubling, given that this fiction book is clearly based on reality, it was an excellent read.

Tom Thorne co-stars in this mystery with DI Nicola Tanner who we met in last years "Die Of Shame" and the two have great chemistry on the pages. Tanner is investigating what appears to be several honor killings, and when she gets a dire warning......a tragedy close to home to try and scare her off, Thorne joins in, since he also investigated an unsolved honor killing a couple of years ago.

A horrific, yet fascinating story that unfolds at a wonderful pace. Not always an easy read as the subject matter is ghastly, this book grew on me the further I got into it. Always a great pleasure to visit with Tom Thorne, Phil Hendricks and the rest of this gang. Loved it !

Thanks to the publisher and Net galley for an ARC.

The 14th book in the D I Tom Thorne series and it's a cracker! Honour killing is the theme of the book and it is handled with sensitivity and great insight. An excellent plot with that twist at the end, I never saw coming. Fans will love this book, especially some of the dialogue between Thorne and Hendricks. As for the t shirts...you need to make up your own mind! Many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I recommend this book. I reviewed on Goodreads.

This is the 14th book in the Tom Thorne series by author Mark Billingham. I have read and enjoyed all the previous books in this series so it was a pleasure to read this one. As always the plot was excellent, the characters continue to develop and the overall story well paced.
I am so familiar with these characters that the books are so easy to read that I look forward to each new book in the series.
In this book DI Nicola Tanner needs Tom Thorne’s help. Her partner, Susan, has been brutally murdered and Tanner is convinced that it was a case of mistaken identity and that she was the real target. The murderer’s motive might have something to do with Tanner’s recent work on a string of cold-case honour killings she believes to be related. Tanner is now on compassionate leave but insists on pursuing the case off the books and knows Thorne is just the man to jump into the fire with her. He agrees but quickly finds that working in such controversial territory is dangerous in more ways than one. And when a young couple goes missing, they have a chance to investigate a case that is anything but cold.

This is an excellent addition to the series and I would not only recommend this book but the series itself to any lover of Thrillers.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Love Like Blood’, the fourteenth in the DI Tom Thorne series of novels and written by Mark Billingham, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
DI Nicola Tanner’s partner Susan has been brutally murdered. Could the reason be mistaken identify? Could the two killers, Riaz and Muldoon, be responsible not only for the ‘honour killings’ but also the death of Susan? Is Nicola getting too close to the discovery of who’s been arranging ‘honour killings’ in the Muslim community? Nicola unofficially enlists the help of DI Tom Thorne in the hope that he’ll stir things up and help her find the truth.
Mark Billingham has written another gripping novel with a shockingly horrifying account of what families will do to protect themselves from shame. There are unexpected twists and turns with a thrilling conclusion that’ll be sure to keep the reader on tenterhooks till the end.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of Love Like Blood, the 14th police procedural to feature DI Tom Thorne.

The novel opens with Tom Thorne bumping into DI Nicola Tanner whom he worked with in Die Of Shame. Nicola is grieving for her partner, Susan, who was murdered a couple of weeks earlier and is on compassionate leave. She is obviously excluded from the investigation which she believes was a case of mistaken identity linked to her investigation into contract honour killers and she wants Tom to help her in an unofficial investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed Love Like Blood and was glued to the pages. The plot has some amazing twists and turns and I was reading furiously to find out what was coming next. It is well paced with information coming, initially, in dribs and drabs but speeding up as the novel progresses. Tom reckons that misdirection is required to cover up Nicola's participation but the whole novel is cleverly full of it and it fooled me.

The subject matter, honour killings, is not something I know much about as it is necessarily secretive and a political hot potato, as is made abundantly clear in the novel. Mr Billingham, however, is informative on both the mindset and the politics and does an excellent job of presenting all sides of the argument although some of it is quite distressing.

Throughout the novel Tom and his sidekick, pathologist Phil Hendricks, leaven the read with their childish bickering and banter although, listening to my husband and his friends, it is extremely authentic. They have become old friends as the series progresses. The characterisation is great. Tom has lost some of his bolshiness but not all - there is a great scene involving t-shirts which had me laughing out loud - and seems to be settling down with Helen. Again their banter seems very realistic. Even Phil has found love. Nicola is a work in progress but she starts to unbutton as the novel progresses and I would like to see more of her in future novels.

Love Like Blood is an accomplished, complete novel with a serious subject matter which deserves more publicity, set in a genre which is typically regarded as entertainment rather than literature and Mr Billingham carries it off extremely well. I have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent read.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

DI Nicola Tanner meets DI Tom Thorne after he testifies at a trial. She tells him of the death of her partner Susan. She was murdered when someone mistook her for Nicola.

It seems that a team has been carrying out contract honor killings – for hire. Nicola is sure the two young people who are now missing, a young man and a woman, have been taken or murdered by a person or persons unknown. It must be more than one to take both young people.

After teaming up, they re-interview the parents. Then Nicola gets ahold of some illuminating video.

This book is interspersed with small glimpses of Nicola and Tom’s family lives. This breaks up the tension and adds a human touch to the book.

They finally get to the pair that is doing the honor kills for hire. It is very sad. And DI Thorne solves Susan’s murder as well. That is both explosive and head-shaking.

This is a very well written and plotted novel, like all of Mark Billingham’s books. It is both suspenseful and full of emotion. Of, course I am looking forward to the next in the series!

I want to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book to read.

Mark Billingham is one of the finest crime writers currently active and DI Tom Thorne is undoubtedly one of the best cops in fiction, alongside John Rebus and Roy Grace. This is the fourteenth instalment in a very impressive series, and this book grabs the attention from the outset. It feels contemporary as it deals with so-called honour killings and the multi-faceted nature of our capital city is beautifully portrayed. Billingham shows Thorne to be both an astute and yet flawed policeman as he makes mistakes in his desire to get to the truth but solves the central crime through brave and clever police work. Superb!

Tom Thorne is back! Di Nicola Tanner wants him to help prove that while her partner Susan was murdered, it was Nicola that was the real target. She believes it may be connected to the recent case she has been working on and even though she is on leave for the death of her partner, she’s eager to find the killer, but she needs Thorne’s help. Thorne, of course, agrees, but it’s not long before he realizes he’s gotten himself into a situation he might not be able to extricate himself from. Billingham can always be counted on to provide a first-rate mystery full of red herrings, suspense and characters so well written, they seem real