I just realized I never reviewed this. I really enjoy the Tom Thorne books, really anything by Billingham. This was a very solid entry and really helped move along some underlying threads. I very much enjoy how long and interconnected all the Thorne stories are and this one was a very good example of that.

Great thrilling novel which kept me turning the pages, would highly recommend to others. Brilliant writing, plot and characters.

Wow, what a thrilling book! It starts off with an innocent case, the death of a number of cats that appears weird, ending up with a serial killer! This was a very well written book, gripping, and I couldn't wait to see if they caught the sick individual at the end. Recommended.

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

What do synthetic drugs and murder have in common? When a rash of cat killings points to a larger problem, will Detectives Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner be able to put the investigation in order and capture the suspicious parties?

There are a lot of plot lines that intersect and converge during the book, leaving it a little disjointed until the conclusion. I personally did not care for the different perspectives, as each chapter is voiced by alternating characters. I am not a fan of police procedural thrillers when they divulge the identity of the perpetrator(s) early in the book, as it takes away the surprise element. The ending, although shocking, was not surprising to me, as I could see that the progression of the bond between Nicola and Tom might lead into this direction. The Killing Habit was a good read, but there was just too much going on in the book to make it great.

I love Mark BIllinghams books, but for me, this one just didnt do it. Still a good enough read if you need a holiday book, but it just wasnt as intensely written for me.

Book Review: The Killing Habit by Mark Billingham - Brilliant to see the Thorne and Tanner double act in action again.- This is not for cat lovers
So, this is the blurb for The Killing Habit and, after reading this I defy you not to be intrigued.
How do you catch a killer who is yet to kill?
We all know the signs. Cruelty, lack of empathy, the killing of animals. Now, pets on suburban London streets are being stalked by a shadow, and it could just be the start.
DI Tom Thorne knows the psychological profile of such offenders all too well, so when he is tasked with catching a notorious killer of domestic cats, he sees the chance to stop a series of homicides before they happen.
Others are less convinced, so once more, Thorne relies on DI Nicola Tanner to help him solve the case, before the culprit starts hunting people. It's a journey that brings them face to face with a killer who will tear their lives apart.
I always look forward to a good Mark Billingham and whilst The Killing Habit doesn't evoke the gut wrenching anger that Love Like Blood did, it is an entertaining read with a hell of a lot of action and a fair few tense moments.
Billingham again draws on a factual case, this time involving a serial cat killer, once more proving that Fact is indeed stranger (and often more deadly) than Fiction.
For me though, what really attracts is the relationship between Thorne and Tanner. As she struggles through her grief, Thorne provides a foil to her anger. The domesticity of Thorne's homelife is under threat and again that adds a valuable third dimension to the writing.
Whilst the intrepid duo juggle their two cases: The cat killer turned (as you'd expect) serial killer and the drug gang that are killing with impunity throughout London we see Thorne question his lifestyle and Tanner face a truly horrible adversary, just as she's trying to put her life together again.

There are enough little seeds left dangling in the killing habit to make me look forward to Billingham's next offering, which I hope will continue this partnership.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown for an advance copy of The Killing Habit by Mark Billingham.

I love reading books by Mark Billingham and look forward to each new release. However, I have to admit to being a tad disappointed by this one. It felt a bit rushed or unedited, and the Kindle version I had, the layout was all over the place with dialogue from different speakers running together and paragraphs splitting mid-sentence.

The book itself started, I feel, amid a load of jumble. I had no idea where we were or who we were reading about and I had to go back to the start several times to get it straight inside my own head. Then it jumped around without any hints or tips in the way of subheadings or times or anything like that. And every time it switched viewpoint, I had to re-read it to make sure I knew where I was.

There were too many characters. Far too many. I lost track of who was who. In one part, we had Thorne holding a report written by one person (not him) that had been authorised by another person and passed along by someone else and he was giving it to someone else. And there were far too many characters with names beginning with the letter T - Tom, Thorne, Tanner, Treasure, Tim, Tracey, Terry, Trevor, Tony - which didn't help at all. Along with too much backstory.

If you've never read a Tom Thorne book before, or a book by Mark Billingham, then don't start with this one. It's not his greatest.

Tom Thorne is back! In “the Killing Habit” he is shunted off to investigate a crime that seems to be a major departure from his usual murder investigations - a series of cat killings and mutilations. But with the help of consulting psychiatrist Dr. Melita Perera, Thorne realizes he could be hunting a serial killer of both animals and humans, one who follows an atypical pattern of escalation and de-escalation in regards to his victims. In partnership with DI Nicola Tanner, they pursue a tangled trail to find the killer while also investigating a prison drug ring. Thorne’s personal life is in turmoil with romantic troubles at home and his concerns about potentially diminishing skills and passion for hunting down criminals. (No need to question yourself Thorne - you’ve still got it!) The conclusion of the book is a stunner with the shocking and totally unexpected behavior of straight-laced, by the book DI Tanner.

Billingham continues to excel at taking actual crimes, in this case the Croydon Cat Killings (which are still occurring and have claimed the lives of hundreds of pets) and through his fiction raising awareness of important and sometimes overlooked issues. He is one of my favorite crime fiction authors and his characters, particularly Tom Thorne, Phil Hendricks, and Nicola Tanner are people I delight in getting to know better. Another great book by Billingham and highly recommended.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 7/11/18.

As always, Mark Billingham has written a fast-paced, exciting thriller. Tom Thorne, Nicola Tanner and all the old favourites are engaged in solving a range of very topical, cleverly intertwined cases, including themes such as animal cruelty, drug addiction and online dating. The personal lives of the policemen and women are an interesting addition to the main plot of the story. Highly recommended. Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC.

Brilliant. Mark Billingham is one of my favourite authors and I think that Thorne is a great character. There is a lot of action in this book. I read this book in one afternoon. I was hooked from the start. This is a complicated plot which is great. I like a book where you have to think about what is happening. I hope there are more Tom Thorne books to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I'm always happy to see another book featuring DI Tom Thorne. I've read most, if not all, of this author's books ... feels like Thorne is almost family.

WARNING: For those who cannot abide animal cruelty .... there are cats, many cats, killed and/or tortured within these pages. The descriptions are not generally graphic, but it is impossible to just skip over the pages where these things are talked about.

The killing of animals, cats,dogs, birds, together with fire starting and persistent bed wetting is one of the telltale traits that make up the characteristics that may help to identify serial offenders.

NOTE FROM AUTHOR: The series of cat killings fictionalized in this book is based on a real and disturbing case that remains unsolved to this day. Police began their investigation in 2015 ... they have named it the UK Cat Killer.

Thorne cannot believe that he has been called on to investigate the multiple killings of cats---until he equates these killings with possible killings of humans. The killer may be using his time as a cat killer to cool down from his human killings.

And although a serious crime, Thorne is getting his share of kitty jokes. One person suggests maybe it's a copycat' killer. This case will take some thinking outside the (litter) 'box'. Maybe this is a grudge against the feline bird killers.

Meanwhile, DI Nicole Tanner is investigating a deadly new drug that has hit the streets. Whatever she thinks she knows ... is not what she thinks it is.

Two very different killers ... with a connection to each other. Thorne and Tanner will have to sift through a lot of lies and coverups, including blackmail to stop the killings.

There's twists and turns that the reader doesn't see coming, accompanied by almost non-stop action. Thorne and Tanner are solid characters with other characters from previous books always lending an air of credibility.

Many thanks to the author / Atlantic Monthly Press / Grove Atlantic / Netgalley / Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

EXCERPT: Tanner could only blink for a few seconds. The surge of adrenaline left her dry mouthed and dizzy as she wrestled with the picture, willing it to make sense. She knew exactly who he was, of course, but he should not have been here.

'What are you ---?'

Then she saw what was in the man's hand and the moment of clarity punched through the roaring in her ears. Left only terror. She understood how stupid she had been - they had all been.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: From “one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today” (Gillian Flynn), The Killing Habit again brings together favorite wild-card detective Tom Thorne and straight-laced DI Nicola Tanner on a pair of lethally high-stakes cases.

While DI Nicola Tanner investigates the deadly spread of a dangerous new drug, Tom Thorne is handed a case that he doesn’t take too seriously, until a spate of animal killings points to the work of a serial killer. When the two cases come together in a way that neither could have foreseen, both Thorne and Tanner must risk everything to catch two very different killers.

MY THOUGHTS: Although I don't like reading about either drugs or animal killings, and this book contains both (nothing graphic!), Billingham has managed to produce yet another 4.5-star read for me. 15 books into the D I Tom Thorne series, and my respect for both the series and the author continues to grow. It is no mean feat to continue to grow the characters and come up with fresh and interesting plots after so many books.

The series of cat killings mentioned in this book is based on a real and disturbing case that, at the time Billingham wrote The Killing Habit, remained unsolved. I sincerely hope that they have, by now, caught this maniac. If not, then the thought of what may lay ahead is chilling. . .

And this premise, that people who harm animals will go on to harm people, is the basis for Billingham's The Killing Habit. But, as is usual with Billingham's plots, nothing is quite that straight forward. There are plenty of loops, diversions, twists and turns to keep the thriller aficionado turning the pages, nicely balanced with snapshots of Thorne's and Tanner's private lives.

A very satisfying read, and I am already eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Killing Habit by Mark Billingham for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

I enjoyed this book which had me enthralled with twists and turns. I never guessed the killer and that for me is really good and what a special thriller is all about.. Love Tom Thorne and have read them all Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the.chance to review it.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Tom Thorne is back and is assigned a contentious case of someone torturing and killing cats. This is obviously gruesome and the subject matter is going to be very distasteful for some people. However Billingham has a knack for injecting just the right amount of humour.

Meanwhile Thorne is also assisting DI Nicola Tanner with the shooting by a motorcyclist. I really like the dynamic between these two and hope we see more of it in further books. We also have the usual cast of supporting characters and their back stories.

Another solid well paced book in the series.

Another great novel from Mark Billingham. This series is one of the very best in contemporary crime fiction and Tom Thorne one of its finest creations. Even though he is a devoted and able cop, he doubts his commitment and skill, and those around him all have issues of some sort. This case involves the slaughter of cats and whether animal cruelty can lead to murder. Well-written and gripping, this is a splendid read!

Really liked this book I’m going to be reading more of this author. I had stopped reading his about 10 years ago so I have a few to catch up on

I stumbled across Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne series at number 13. Amazingly it wasn't a problem at all that I'd missed the first dozen and the two (Time of Death and Love Like Blood) I've read since could easily be read as stand-alone novels for those who haven't previously met the English homicide detective. (Bringing me to the 15th book in the series and my third!)

(INSERT BLURB)

I really like Nicola Tanner so am enjoying her increased role in this series. In fact, I'm possibly engaging more with her character than Thorne in many ways. That could - of course - be because I seem to struggle with Thorne's girlfriend, Helen and I've mentioned my antipathy towards her in my review of Time of Death. I know I shouldn't be as judge-y because - as a fellow cop - she often provides useful and insightful suggestions from time to time.

Happily - errrr, sorry - there was a sense of trouble-in-paradise here. It's sort of resolved at the end but I am kinda hoping there's a story arc afoot and Thorne moves on. Or at least their relationship becomes more affectionate / loving / believable (or one I could care about).

As the above blurb mentions there are two cases featured here, though the convergence is probably a little less obvious or predictable than it suggests. In fact it comes a bit from left field. Although I may be just saying that because I didn't guess whodunnit.

I very much enjoy Billingham's witty and easy writing and I like his imperfect leads - including some of our extended cast - and appreciate (that) he features diverse characters - several are gay and from a range of cultures.

Although I enjoyed the investigation, the plot itself felt a bit weaker than usual. Well, the main plot - the crime Thorne’s investigating (though I did enjoy some of the cat-puns....!).

I get the whole serial killer indicator thing (the Macdonald triad - though hadn’t known it was called that so appreciate that info!) and know the torture and killing of animals is usually a hop skip and a jump to inflicting it on a person but Thorne’s gym analogy (I won’t say more cos that would mean it’s a spoiler) doesn’t entirely make sense. And the leap from cats to women and how they identify potential victims felt a bit tenuous. (Not to mention the fact the cat-killing / investigation seemed to get lost somewhere).

And of course, then at the end we’re left wondering how correct Thorne’s 'workout' theory was anyway….

The plot around the Duchess (a woman who gets prisoners addicted to drugs; hooking them in for payback on the outside) was more believable - though probably a tad less interesting. (As real life tends to be!)

All of that said, this was another solid and engaging outing in this series and I look forward to the next!

3.5 stars

Hard to believe this is book 15 in the Tom Thorne series. This latest case is a serial cat killer, or is it? The old familiar characters are all back along with their emotional baggage! The series just keeps improving and I definitely recommend reading Mark Billingham books. You won't be disappointed as Mark is up there with the best of crime writers today. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I loved it! A very easy 5 stars from me. Reviewed on Facebook and Goodreads.

I would like to thank Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Killing Habit’ written by Mark Billingham in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
DI Tom Thorne is called in to assist DI Nicola Tanner who’s looking for Adnan Jandali's killerwho gets around on a motorbike wearing a crash helmet that hides his identity. They need to find the ‘Duchess’ who delivers drugs and illicit mobile phones around the prisons and detention centres. Nicola believes that if they can find the ‘Duchess’ she’ll be able to give them the name of Adnan Jandali’s killer.
Meanwhile, Tom is investigating the killing and mutilation of hundreds of cats in London and district. He knows from psychological profiling that if a person kills cats he is very likely to escalate to killing people. Is this person responsible for the killing of women taking place not just in London but around the country? Tom and Nicola devise a plan that their senior officers aren’t happy with, but will this plan put their jobs and possibly their lives at risk?
‘The Killing Habit’ is a gripping and fast-paced thriller with a well-written and ingenious plot, twists and turns, a number of suspects to baffle and perplex, and an exciting and nail-biting cliffhanger of an ending. I was intrigued to find that this fictional novel is based on an actual case of a cat-killer who was never caught. I’ve thorough enjoyed reading this thriller, as I have with all novels from the Tom Thorne series, and very much hope they’ll be another.

If you haven't read these novels before, this is a fine place to start. Billingham has created two dynamic characters in Nicola Tanner and Tom Thorne. He alternates their voices in this well plotted procedural. Thorne is working a case of cat killings- which seems beneath him (and thank goodness they aren't described in detail) but he goes down the as yet unproven path that they are connected to a serial killer. You'll also get some insight into that fiend's mind. Nicola, at the same time, is working a topical case of bad drugs. Things really get going when the Nicola and Tom team up again. No spoilers but this has some good twists and devilish complexities but it's never hard to keep track of what's going on. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.