On her way to work, London police detective and young
mother Helen Weeks makes her regular stop at the local
newsagent's shop. Helen is shocked when she and another
customer are unexpectedly taken hostage by the gun-wielding
owner of the shop, Mr. Akhtar, who's desperate to know what
really happened to his beloved son, who died while in youth
custody. Though ruled a suicide, Akhtar knows his son would
never kill himself, so it had to be murder. By holding
Helen at gunpoint, Akhtar is sure he can force the one
person who knows more about the case than anyone else,
Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, to reinvestigate his son's
death.
As the situation goes from bad to worse in the back room of
Akhtar's shop, Thorne is investigating the case as fast as
humanly possible. His obsessive perseverance pays off, but
Thorne is shocked at the insidious conspiracy he uncovers,
especially as more people turn up dead along the way. Will
Thorne be able to bring the killer to justice before time
runs out for Helen -- and Akhtar?
Mark Billingham pulls out all the stops in this
intriguing, top-notch crime thriller. The surprises are
nonstop as Thorne uncovers secret after secret on the way
to a compelling conclusion. I could not put this book down
and highly recommend it. This is the second book I've
read/reviewed in this enthralling series, and I've enjoyed
them so much I am now looking for the earlier books.
The Crime The customers in a London convenience
store are taken captive. Among them is young mother,
Detective Helen Weeks. She is told her life depends on the
co-operation of one of her colleagues - detective Tom
Thorne.
The Demand Akhtar is desperate to know what really
happened to his beloved son, who died a year before in
prison. He is convinced the death was not an accident and
forces the one man who knows more about the case than any
other, Thorne, to re-investigate.
The Twist What Thorne discovers will upend
everything he thought he knew about the fate of those he's
put away...but will it be enough to fulfill the wishes of
a grieving and potentially violent father?