Detective Declan Miller the new protagonist from Mark Billingham has huge shoes to fill following on from the Tom Thorne series but manages to do it. The character has a funny, dry and dark sense of humour and is very sarcastic which is the polar opposite to his new partner Sara Xiu making them the ideal pairing. The investigation/procedural side of the story was well written and I enjoyed the story and enjoyed getting to know the new characters. Looking forward to reading more in this series.

I was a bit apprehensive about the new detective series from Mark Billingham because I love the Tom Thorne books so much but I was pleasantly surprised with Declan Miller. Declan and his partner Xiu are an interesting combination and I’m excited for what the future holds for them.

Miller is very jokey for a detective which I thought made more sense when I read that the books had been wrote to be a Tv series.

I would recommend this book and will be reading the rest of the series when they are released.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reading copy.

Declan Miller is on his first day back at work following the death of his wife, Alex. He is obviously the kind of detective who can be a pain for his boss and makes constant jokes / snide remarks. He is team with Sarah Xui who is very straight but seems to work well with him. They are investigating a double murder with no apparent link between the victims. Alongside this, Declan is trying to find out who killed Alex. This is clearly going to be an arc across more than one book. He talks to Alex about the case and everyday things. I thought the case was interesting and not easy to guess. Miller knows the local gang leaders well and also some of the petty criminals. As detectives go, I found him sympathetic and amusing although still in the same ‘flawed’ way that is often used. I found the parts with Finn quite touching. I would definitely read more in this series. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Declan Miller is an enthusiastic amateur ballroom dancer, and a detective sergeant in the Blackpool police. He is also a grieving widower following the murder of his wife just a few weeks earlier and should still be on compassionate leave. Declan however is not known for following what he sees as unnecessary or unwelcome instructions and so is back at work far earlier than anyone expected.

A quiet few days to get acquainted with his new partner, DS Sara Xiu, would have been nice but almost immediately after he reclaims his desk a call comes in and they are assigned to a murder investigation which has the potential to be one of his most complicated yet. With Xiu still getting used to him and his irreverent way of doing things, Miller is glad he has friends to fall back on as well as his wife, with whom he chats regularly. As things begin to become clearer and the clues fall into some type of order it seems they might just crack this case, but as
the danger gets ever closer to home have they already lost their chance?

This first instalment of Mark Billingham's new series hits the ground running and is so well written that the feeling of newness is fleeting. Declan Miller must be an absolute nightmare to work with, his sense of humour and random comments putting everyone off balance whenever they meet. He is also someone I immediately related to as I went from wanting to throw him out the nearest window, through to rooting for him totally in almost every scene.

I was able to read an advanced copy of The Last Dance by Mark Billingham thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Grove Atlantic, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which will definitely be one of my favourite reads of 2023. 5 stars all the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the eARC.
The first book in the new DS Declan Miller series was a very different readcompared to the Tom Thorne series, which I love. In the beginning I was a bit irritated at Dec's constant wisecracking, but as the story went on to explain the pain he's in because of the loss of his wife and his frustration with the department that's looking into her murder, I started to understand where he was coming from. He has a new partner, Sara Xiu, who has no sense of humor whatsoever, which is funny in itself, and a saucy secret life. They rub along well and are looking into the murders of two men, in side-by-side rooms in a hotel.
I really liked the different characters, especially Finn, a homeless girl and loved his 2 pet rats and his ballroom dancing friends. There are some quite funny parts that had me chuckling and I will definitely read no.2 in the series!
Highly recommended!

By now, Mark Billingham must be even older than me, his first novel "Sleepy Head" featuring his seminal detective, Tom Thorne, of the London Metropolitan Police Murder Squad, was published in 2001, 17 more followed, the last published in 2022, but he's had the audacity to seek a fresh start, and a very fresh start it is too!

At the beginning of the novel we walk in on a middle aged guy getting ready to go to work saying goodbye to his two pet rats and climbing onto his putt-putt scooter. At the office, his colleagues are rather taken aback to see him... Welcome to the world of Declan Miller, devout ballroom dancer, inveterate joker, Detective Sergeant in the Blackpool Murder Squad, and, following the very recent murder of his wife and fellow police officer, Alex, bereft widower.




For those that do not know, Blackpool is like the Benidorm of Britain, but far seedier and with much less sun. I've never read a crime novel set there, but it is a location ripe for the genre, comparable to Brighton, the setting of Graham Greene's grim thriller, Brighton Rock.
Two men are shot one night in contiguous rooms in an upscale hotel with the same weapon. One is the unfaithful scion of a local criminal gang, the other an IT nerd. What, if any, is the link between them and who wanted them dead?

DS Miller with his new sidekick are put on the case. DS Sara Xiu, of Chinese ethnicity and in her early thirties, is a brilliant foil for Miller, initially she comes over as cautious and introverted, perhaps a little shy, but she soon flowers into a lightly cynical counterbalance to her exuberant partner and we discover she has a rather racy private life.

Borne along by Miller's countless dad jokes which adeptly conceal a very sharp mind and a broken heart, leavened by the setting (one of the rival gangs' godfathers is actually a drag queen), and a think tank comprised of erstwhile coppers, now keen ballroom dancers, this is a thoroughly entertaining read, funny without being silly, with a solid plot and a great final hook.

This is a brilliant beginning to a new saga, I need more.

[Many thanks to NetGalley for making this ARC available to me]

It's DS Miller's first case back from bereavement leave - and the spectre of his wife Alex has never really left. The victims are the son of a local gangster and a mild-mannered IT professional - the target is obvious, but is everything always as it seems?

As a huge fan of the Tom Thorne series, I was eagerly awaiting this book and it did not disappoint! As with most Mark Billingham books that don't feature Tom, there is a small crossover/reference to him, but other than that it can be read completely standalone. An easy 5*.

Mark Billingham has long been one of our foremost crime writers and the long-running Tom Thorne series is consistently excellent. Here he takes a break from Thorne to introduce a very different central character, Blackpool-based Declan Miller, who is unconventional, to say the least! He is returning to work after his wife's murder, he has a new partner to get to know, and he wisecracks his way through the case. Superb, I can't wait for more Dec.

DS Declan Miller is a widower. His wife walked out of the dance hall where they were competing and disappeared. He has decided to return to work shortly because, really, what else can he do? Someone has to feed Fred and Ginger, his pet rats. He gets thrown headfirst into two murders that took place in adjacent rooms at a local no-tell motel. Soon, another murder takes place and Miller feels directly responsible for this one since he had the man transported from London for his inquiries. Miller is also working with a new partner, DS Sara Xiu, who does not appreciate his sense of humor. When his dead wife, Alex, keeps showing up to take over the cases with him, Miller knows there has to be a connection between the events. There is always a danger is beginning a new series after writing about the same character for many years. Declan Miller is not Tom Thorne. I will be interested to see how Billingham develops this new character and his group of allies, including the folks who work with his dancing.

I always look forward to reading the new Mark Billingham books and this one did not disappoint. Loved the new characters and the new direction and thoroughly enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading more..

I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Billingham’s new character DS Declan Miller. I’ve always enjoyed reading Mark’s books, especially those in the Tom Thorne series so I wasn’t sure how I would take to a new lead character but I gradually warmed to him! I found myself laughing out loud sometimes and feeling frustrated with his constant jokes at others. The plot was engaging and interesting and had me hooked in after a few chapters. I was a little surprised at the ending but hopefully the next book in the series will tie up a few loose ends so I’m looking forward to reading more. Overall, a great read, lots of interesting characters and well written. I’d definitely recommend it to Tom Thorne fans!

The Last Dance proved to be, for me, a difficult novel to get into. Declan Miller's wife died, yet he talks to her. Okay, I can understand that. But where author Mark Billingham lost me is when she responds to him. That struck me as just silliness and made it hard for me to take the novel seriously. Otherwise it just wasn't that interesting.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the first in a new series featuring Declan Miller and his colleague Sara Xiu. Xiu has character quirks aplenty, but I particularly loved the way she never got Declan's (constant) jokes. To be fair, I think some of them went over my head. The blurb is correct in that this features ballroom dancing and Declan talking to his dead wife Alex, but the dancing bits are spaced out and the talking to a 'ghost' is in the context of a recent bereavement. This was basically a funny, well-paced police procedural about two contract killings, with the overarching mystery of what happened to Alex left to be continued into the rest of the series.

Highly recommended.

The Last Dance by Mark Billingham(Declan Miller #1)- A new series by Mark Billingham is exciting to read, not that we're out of love with Tom Thorne, but a different approach is greatly appreciated. DS Declan Miller is slowly working his way back into his job with Lancashire PD, and trying to get over his wife's recent murder. She was a police also, working on a case involving some heavy-duty criminals. So, as soon as he's on the scene he's given a new partner and a high profile case that involves some of the people his wife was investigating. Miller uses sly observations and jokes to make his way through the day and Billingham is very good with this sort of exposition. Things move along at a brisk pace and are never boring. Thanks NetGalley for this entertaining ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Last Dance.

I'm always up for a police procedural, especially if I can read the first book in a new series.

Declan Miller has returned to work after the death of his wife. He's partnered with a fresh faced new detective named Sara Xiu, and their first assignment is the death of a gangland scion's son and a mild mannered computer geek.

What does these two people have in common?

As Declan tries to get back into the crime solving game, he's burdened by the lack of progress in the investigation of his wife's murder. He's alienating his colleagues, and desperate for answers.

Will he risk his own life to solve his wife's murder?

I liked Declan; his love for his wife, pet rats, and ballroom dancing made him a unique and interesting character you would like to know better.

I did feel his sarcasm and constant joking got tiresome, though it was plain to see he used banter and jokes as a way to deflect painful questions and not get too close to anyone.

I was pleased to see an Asian detective included in the cast and hope she'll get more to do in future books.

The mystery itself was okay; nothing earth shattering though I did like the identity of the killer.

Alex's unsolved murder is by far the most intriguing aspect of the narrative.

I'll continue to read this series to see how Declan and Sara progress as a team and why Alex was murdered.

This is my first full length novel by Mark Billingham, I have read only 1 Tom Thorne short story.
I don’t know whether to bucket this under detective mystery or humor. It was too flippant and irreverent for a detective novel.
AT times I liked Miller but most of the time he was irritating. I didn't warm up to other characters as well. Why was his partner Xiu even there?
The murder mystery was good though. I am kicking myself for missing the clue in the beginning. I thought it was an editing mistake because I was reading the ARC.
There was another murder which was not resolved (actually the 1st and 4th murders) I don't like loose ends, I know it is a hook to read the next book, but I am not sure if I will read the next one.

<i> Thanks to Net Galley, the Publisher and the Author for the ARC</i>

The first in a new (hopefully long) detective series. Who wouldn’t love a grieving, ballroom dancing, wise-cracking detective?! Looking forward to more. This is my second book by this author and the plots could not be more different. The common denominators…quality writing and compelling characters.

I loved this quirky detective story, and am delighted that a series is forthcoming! I wasn't familiar with Billingham's work before this one, although I've since looked him up and added a slew of his titles to my TBR list... I really enjoy his writing style. His characterizations are deliciously irreverent and quirky, and his bone-dry wit and originality so refreshing in a genre that is starting to feel a bit monotonal to me these days... I found the multiple threaded storylines, some of which resolved themselves and some of which are clearly set-ups for the series, to be woven together seamlessly. There was just enough misdirection to keep me guessing but also enough resolution to leave me satisfied and definitely wanting more. I loved the amalgamation of ballroom dance, dead ghost-wives, and former drag queen gangsters - it was fresh and original and a truly engaging story that I keep talking about!

A solid story from an experienced author. This was an easy decision to read. Interesting plot and characters. Having not read his other series, I didn't any adjustments to make that long-times fan might have. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

I am a big Tom Thorne fan so I was cautiously optimistic that ’The Last Dance’ was going to be a good read. I wasn’t disappointed. Mark Billingham worked his usual magic with the plot and, although I didn’t see where it was going, I was impressed and entertained when it finally reached its destination. There are some excellent twists (which I also didn’t see coming), but key to the novel’s success is the characterisation. Declan Miller is a maverick detective with a dry sense of humour and some of his digressions and put downs had me laughing aloud, prompting concerned looks from my wife. His partnership with Xiu and his relationship with Finn show promise and I am already looking forward to where they might be going in the next instalment in what I am certain will be another excellent series.