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In The Dark [Paperback]

Mark Billingham
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)

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Book Description

7 Aug 2008

A rainy night in London. Shots are fired into a car which swerves on to the pavement, ploughing into a bus stop. It seems that a chilling gang initiation has cost an innocent victim their life. But the reality is far more sinister...

One life is wiped out and three more are changed forever: the young man whose finger was on the trigger; an ageing gangster planning a deadly revenge, and the pregnant woman who struggles desperately to uncover the truth. Two weeks away from giving birth, how will she deal with a world where death is an occupational hazard?

In a city where violence can be random or meticulously planned, where teenage gangs clash with career criminals and where loyalty is paid for in blood, anything is possible. Secrets are uncovered as fast as bodies, and the story's final twist is as breathtakingly surprising as they come.



Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; Export ed edition (7 Aug 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1408700700
  • ISBN-13: 978-1408700709
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 23.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,435,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

'Right up there with this country's dark masters such as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid' Time Out '[A] brisk, racy read' The Times 'Assured and shocking thriller' The Guardian 'A cunning variation on the serial-murder theme' Sunday Telegraph 'Scary, pell-mell, cliff-hanging thriller' Literary Review

Book Description

A uniquely disturbing thriller from the bestselling creator of the Inspector Thorne novels

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By G. J. Oxley TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Mark Billingham's crime-writing career got off to a turbo-charged start with `Sleepy Head' and `Scaredy Cat'. These books were written with a real freshness of approach that confirmed him as a major new voice in the pantheon of British crime writers. His policeman DI Tom Thorne was a well-drawn maverick investigator (yes, another one!) with a world-weary sense of humour. One or two of the subsequent five novels in the series were a touch unsatisfactory for me - maybe a little bit tired - so I was greatly looking forward to his first standalone `In The Dark'.

First impressions were: `This looks like a horror novel!' You have the dark, plain cover, featuring the illuminated title: 'IN THE DARK' and beneath that, the tag line... `It's where fear lives' Of course we know it's nothing of the sort. It is what it purports to be: a crime novel.

It begins with what appears to be a gang initiation costing off-duty policeman Paul Hopwood his life. In addition to the police investigation into the affair, his heavily pregnant lady friend Helen Weeks (also a police officer) decides on a parallel investigation of her own. She initially uncovers evidence that Paul had become involved with at least two local 'businessmen' (a euphemism for gangster) and wonders what other shady dealings he may have become embroiled in. But is everything as it seems?

The book reaches a satisfactory conclusion, but I'm afraid I spotted the much vaunted `twist' a mile off (no matter: there's a couple of others). I was puzzled all the way through as to why a gangland boss, Frank Kinnell, who Paul had befriended during a past investigation, was exacting such terrible retribution on his behalf. It's only in the last few pages that Billingham brilliantly reveals the reason/s why.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Steady as she goes 20 May 2011
By Michael Watson TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I keep dipping into the author's books but this one being a 'new venture' tempted me to read the copy. It's certainly well written and excellently described but it seems I've read it all before.

Not that we have many pregnant leading ladies though. Helen Weeks does her thing and it makes for a different take on police procedures. The original crime she investigates turns out to be much more than a gangland shooting which causes the death of an innocent bystander, literally standing at a bus-stop, since that bystander is her own husband. On maternity leave, she is determined to find out the whys and the wherefores and this is where the author excels. The gradual unravelling of a much deeper plot makes for good reading and yet, somehow, at the end, you (well, me, anyway) are left thinking more should have happened.

Still, it's good to get away from Tom Thorne for a while though, as has been mentioned, the author cannot keep him completely out of the picture. Never mind, eh. We'll move on to his next book and see where that takes us.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Bit of a letdown 12 May 2011
Format:Paperback
I actually enjoyed reading most of this, but agree with other reviewers that the much-hyped "twist" at the end never actually happens, unless I'm missing something.

It's well written, and the majority of it was compelling reading, but when I came to the last page, I turned over expecting to find a further chapter... but that was it! After ploughing through a fairly lengthy novel, I couldn't help feeling a bit cheated.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!! 11 May 2010
By Louise
Format:Paperback
Am really surprised by all the negative comments on here as I couldn't put this book down?! When I first got this book (I buy all of Mark Billingham's books) I must admit the description of the storyline put me off, BUT he is such a fantastic writer that he can make any storyline interesting! I absolutely love the way he writes and I loved the fact that it was a stand-alone story (but with a small appearance by my hero, Tom Thorne!). I also love the fact that the chapters are short....which means I was constantly thinking "Oooh I'll just read one more....!" Brilliant, the best crime writer by far.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but not as "brilliant" as reviewers claim 22 Jan 2011
By Jl Adcock VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
With the Tom Thorne series feeling a little jaded, it was interesting to read a "standalone" novel from Billingham to see what he could come up with. The result? Well, pretty much the same fayre to be honest, but told from a slightly different narrative perspective. Fair play to Mark Billingham that the story works well enough, carried by a strong female lead character (yes, a policewoman on maternity leave); but the landscape of the story - the crime badlands of London - is familiar territory. The book seems quite realistic and well-researched on gang culture and life on the margins of society, and satisfyingly most of the unpleasant characters who appear in the book tend to get what they deserve as the story unfolds.

To call this a non-Tom Thorne book is slightly misleading. He's there in the background, viewed from a slightly different viewpoint, but there nonetheless, albeit in cameo role. As for the "brilliant" twist at the end of the book - you'll either be excited by it or think "so, what" - Billingham is a story teller so don't expect things to pan out as you'd expect; the punchline is always going to be a bit what you weren't looking for.

"In The Dark" takes itself more seriously than some Mark Billingham books. The themes of his stories are always pretty bleak, but the Thorne books contain moments of light relief and comic interplay between the characters. There's not much of that on show here, and the narrative style seems more tightly controlled and sombre - so much the better for that in my opinion.

It's okay - well-written enough for this type of book, but overall you get the feeling that the author is looking for some new direction but hasn't quite found it yet. As a couple more Thorne books have followed this one, perhaps he's still looking.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Another brilliant book from the pen of Mark Billingham. A must read- once you start you won't want to put it down.
Published 3 months ago by Pat O'Meara
4.0 out of 5 stars Stand alone or not
I didn't realise that this was going to be a 'stand alone' novel. It fits into the Tom Thorne series. I read it after the story in the series to which this relates. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Cathy
5.0 out of 5 stars n the dark
Couldn't put it down - I have not read Mark Billingham before a friend lent a book to me and then I bought 8 in one go and read the lot. Great read - thanks Mark
Published 5 months ago by Mary
5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Billingham In the Dark
Excellent read highly recommend. Have all his books and they continue to hold you from the very start. Look forward to his next book
Published 5 months ago by B. Batsford
4.0 out of 5 stars Another compelling read!
This is, yet again, another great book from this author. Superb storyline, twists and turns and suspense to the end.
Published 5 months ago by Bpar
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but don't believe it's take on Lewisham
I had a frisson of excitement reading this book. I live near Lewisham in South East London and large parts of it are set in the area. Read more
Published 8 months ago by F.R. Jameson
5.0 out of 5 stars A New Experience
In the Dark This is the first book I've read from this author and I am pleased to say it's a really gripping novel I've enjoyed every minute of it, I could hardly put it down. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kay
1.0 out of 5 stars Billingham Bore
I should know better than to pick up a Billingham book-I think it was probably Sleepyhead which made me think it might be worth reading more of his work
This was cringe-worthy... Read more
Published 12 months ago by kaijai
5.0 out of 5 stars In the Dark
Mark Billingham is one of the top crime writers in the UK. As far as I am aware, this is his first standalone (outside of the Tom Thorne series). Read more
Published 14 months ago by Bookaholic76
4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, graphic not for the squeamish
I love this author. His representation of the police and modern policing seems to me thoroughly believable and leaves behind other 'soft' crime writers who continue to write as... Read more
Published 22 months ago by smartesthorse
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