|
|||||
Good as Dead (Tom Thorne Novels)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Good As Dead (Tom Thorne Novels) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Special Offers and Product Promotions
-
Seasonal Offer:
This title is part of our Seasonal Offers promotion.
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
A rollercoaster of a read... confirms Billingham's status as one of the finest crime writers around Daily Express Taut and tense, with an unusually sympathetic hostage-taker The Times
Book Description
Thorne is back, and bigger than ever
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
97 of 103 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The last Mark Billingham book I read was In The Dark, which I found a refreshing and successful change for the author, both in writing style and in taking the focus away from his regular character DI Thorne. It wasn't a change that was to everyone's taste however, so while I was slightly disappointed to find that Good As Dead is back more or less to the standard procedural of crime investigation with Tom Thorne back in the driving seat, that's still not a bad place to be, demonstrating as it does the author's strong authentic characterisation and awareness of the contemporary issues relating to police investigation. Often that's in relation to the difficult areas of race, social, political and internal police affairs, but Billingham also introduces a few interesting touches of its own here in what turns out to be an intriguing case.
At the start however, Good As Dead seems like it's setting up a fairly standard situation, when the Indian owner of a cornershop, seemingly fed-up with the daily hassle and abuse he has to put up with from young kids, cracks and barricades himself into the shop, holding a couple of hostages at gunpoint. One of the people being held is police officer Helen Weeks (introduced in In The Dark), and it's no coincidence either. The man, Mr Akhtar, is actually upset about the death of his son Amin, who recently died in a prison cell. Akhtar doesn't believe the official verdict of suicide and he's going to hold the siege for as long as it takes for DI Thorne, who was involved in the original case, to find out the truth behind his boy's death. Time is of the essence and, looking into the matter, Thorne - with help from his regular team of officers - indeed finds that something isn't quite right about the case. Not only is it difficult however to find any evidence for what he believes to be the reality of the situation, but he isn't sure that the boy's father will be at all appeased by what he finds out.
That much seems like standard police procedural, but it gradually becomes clear that things are not that straightforward. What is also not straightforward or regular is Mark Billingham's treatment of the subject. Billingham is not afraid to delve into contentious areas in the matter of police investigation - Thorne, Weeks, Hendricks, Holland and Kitson are all human and prone to lapses of judgement - or in the area of race and social issues that reflects the reality on the streets of the London and the UK. Sometimes this is evident in just simple little touches and humour that reveals a lot about the characters, and sometimes, it gets right to the heart of prejudices, discrimination and criminality on a bigger scale, revealing the complications that make handling of such matters politically sensitive as well as personally hazardous.
Good As Dead has two things going for it then that help it rise above just being an average crime procedural. On the one hand, you have a character like Thorne, who reacts like most people would in relation to what happens here and occasionally has moments when he would like to take the law into his own hands (and the reader would love to see him do it), but he knows, on balance, just how far to push this. Secondly, Billingham orchestrates events brilliantly, even in a regular investigation and a siege situation, bringing the resolution around to an immensely satisfying conclusion. You really can't ask for more than that.
At the start however, Good As Dead seems like it's setting up a fairly standard situation, when the Indian owner of a cornershop, seemingly fed-up with the daily hassle and abuse he has to put up with from young kids, cracks and barricades himself into the shop, holding a couple of hostages at gunpoint. One of the people being held is police officer Helen Weeks (introduced in In The Dark), and it's no coincidence either. The man, Mr Akhtar, is actually upset about the death of his son Amin, who recently died in a prison cell. Akhtar doesn't believe the official verdict of suicide and he's going to hold the siege for as long as it takes for DI Thorne, who was involved in the original case, to find out the truth behind his boy's death. Time is of the essence and, looking into the matter, Thorne - with help from his regular team of officers - indeed finds that something isn't quite right about the case. Not only is it difficult however to find any evidence for what he believes to be the reality of the situation, but he isn't sure that the boy's father will be at all appeased by what he finds out.
That much seems like standard police procedural, but it gradually becomes clear that things are not that straightforward. What is also not straightforward or regular is Mark Billingham's treatment of the subject. Billingham is not afraid to delve into contentious areas in the matter of police investigation - Thorne, Weeks, Hendricks, Holland and Kitson are all human and prone to lapses of judgement - or in the area of race and social issues that reflects the reality on the streets of the London and the UK. Sometimes this is evident in just simple little touches and humour that reveals a lot about the characters, and sometimes, it gets right to the heart of prejudices, discrimination and criminality on a bigger scale, revealing the complications that make handling of such matters politically sensitive as well as personally hazardous.
Good As Dead has two things going for it then that help it rise above just being an average crime procedural. On the one hand, you have a character like Thorne, who reacts like most people would in relation to what happens here and occasionally has moments when he would like to take the law into his own hands (and the reader would love to see him do it), but he knows, on balance, just how far to push this. Secondly, Billingham orchestrates events brilliantly, even in a regular investigation and a siege situation, bringing the resolution around to an immensely satisfying conclusion. You really can't ask for more than that.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
DS Helen Weeks goes into her local newsagents for a bar of chocolate and some chewing gum. Within minutes she and a fellow customer are being held hostage at gunpoint by the owner Javed Akter who believes his son was murdered whilst in prison despite the official verdict being suicide.
Akter insists that DI Tom Thorne reinvestigates what happened and retore justice otherwise he will kill his prisoners.
This was a completely gripping book with action alternating between what was happening inside the shop, the responses of the hostage negotiators and Thorne's investigations. It was impossible not to feel sympathy with many of the characters as they were all well rounded and believeable. I had no idea how the book was going to end and it was only towards the end that Thorne's investigations dominated the storyline.
Brilliant installment in the series- can't wait for the next one now!!
Akter insists that DI Tom Thorne reinvestigates what happened and retore justice otherwise he will kill his prisoners.
This was a completely gripping book with action alternating between what was happening inside the shop, the responses of the hostage negotiators and Thorne's investigations. It was impossible not to feel sympathy with many of the characters as they were all well rounded and believeable. I had no idea how the book was going to end and it was only towards the end that Thorne's investigations dominated the storyline.
Brilliant installment in the series- can't wait for the next one now!!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Couldnt wait to read this book-Mark Billingham is a recent discovery, as recommended by my local library. I am reading my way through his previous books but cheated when this was published.To say he keeps you involved every step of the way through highs and lows, twists and turns is an understatement!He has restored my faith in crime/thriller writing-try the book you will be hooked.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Review of Good as Dead
Once more Mark Billingham is to be commended for the absolute readability of this finely woven story for me he has steered clear of falsely pushing Thorne into an atypical... Read more
Published 1 day ago by John H Glen
Crime Novel
If you enjoy a good story give Mr Thorne a go, very well written and very hard to put down, every time I start one of his books I can't wait to see how it ends, then have to look... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Jean Naysmith
Uhm Not too sure
As usual Thorne was at his thorny best, his detecting and laconic attitude are always welcome. There is a 'but' however I cannot quite work out what that 'but' is? Read more
Published 10 days ago by Stevejay
Brilliant!
a book you cant put down brilliant writing that conects u with he stars and victims in this story. Sharon from London
Published 20 days ago by sharon
Another cracking Thorne novel from Billingham...
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mark Billingham is a great writer and his creation, Thorne is a great character. Read more
Published 1 month ago by 28daysearlier
Thorne's back on track.
As one who found From The Dead,the previous book in this series,a massive disappointment I was glad to find that Thorne,and Mark Billingham,are back on form. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Oldbiker
Bit disappointing :(
I'm a big fan of Mark Billingham and have read all his other books. Thorne is such a great character so I was looking forward to this one. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S5228
Weak and Feeble
i have read all the "Thorne" novels; some have been good and some very good, if a little predictable e.g. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Attila the Hen
Dead Good
Crime is the dominant genre for fiction right now so the pressure is on writers. Publishers want a continuous stream of material from their authors whilst the public is busy... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mick Read
A good read, but implausible plot
I rarely take time to post reviews, but I've just finished the book and felt compelled on this occasion.
This book has really left me in two minds. Read more
This book has really left me in two minds. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Edinburgh Al.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
