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.