The result is an intelligent and hugely entertaining thriller that treats its subject with sensitivity. Translated by Quentin Bates — The Dancer is Icelandic author Óskar Guðmundsson’s second book translated into English, following The Commandments in 2021. Tanner wants to work the case unofficially as she believes that Susan was targeted as she had been driving Tanner's car and it was a case of mistaken identity.

I only hope that when we next encounter DI Thorne that he has resolved his differences with the lovely Helen, but sadly I fear this relationship is doomed!Thorne joins forces with Nicola Tanner (DIE OF SHAME - a recent standalone) to ferret out the ringleader and the hired killers. Her theory is that a sophisticated network is in place whereby go-betweens set up the murders for Asian families, using third-party assassins. She’s set upon by two assailants who squirt bleach in her eyes and then go on to do the unspeakable. 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. Two teenagers go missing and the body of Amaya Shah is found and her boyfriend Kamal Azim is missing.

the reviews i read were admiring his out of the main police stream but i found only his t-shirt and living in the south bank of london as signs for this. Billingham's passionate depiction of the injustice and brutality that flow from these killings spills from every page, making this one of his most powerful crime novels, written with a fury that does both him and Thorne justice. Tanner seems completed unbothered that people want to kill her and barely seems touched by her partner being killed.No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. 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.

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A few weeks back I had a good few hours to kill driving to Stirling and back to attend Bloody Scotland so I figured what the hell, bought the audio book (I’m slowly collecting the entire Tom Thorne back catalogue that way any how) and set it to play. It is about "honor" killings in the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim communities in the UK, namely members of families whose honor has been damaged by the behavior of a sister, brother, daughter. Thorne's partner Helen is also a police officer and is investigation possible child abuse of two boys who attend the school where Susan Best taught. 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.

It seemed well balanced, and though I guessed one twist early and barely understood the other, it didn't spoil my enjoyment at all. Billingham's skillful plotting is everywhere in evidence here, and Thorne remains a compelling character, comparable to Connelly's Bosch and Rankin's Rebus.Thorne’s gut is telling him that the parents of both missing teenagers are behind it, and he leans hard on them without the evidence to back it up.