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The Burning Girl (Tom Thorne Novels)
 
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The Burning Girl (Tom Thorne Novels) (Hardcover)

by Mark Billingham (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
Price: £12.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

The Burning Girl (Tom Thorne Novels) + Lifeless (Tom Thorne Novels) + Lazybones (Tom Thorne Novels)
Price For All Three: £22.20

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; First Edition First Printing. edition (15 Jul 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316725749
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316725743
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 14.6 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 314,730 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

With The Burning Girl, Mark Billingham steps away from the inventively vicious serial killers of his earlier thrillers to have his police detective Thorne investigate something equally unpleasant--the men who kill for money not kicks and the gangsters who ruthlessly employ them. Thorne's retired friend Carol put Rooker away years ago for setting fire to a girl--whom he mistakenly believed to be the daughter of gang-boss Kelly; the girl did not die, then, but wished she had. Now someone is ringing Carol, saying it was them that burned the girl, and Rooker is promising to tell the truth; Ryan, Alison Kelly's ex-husband and her father's chosen successor, is caught up in gang warfare with a new North London Turkish mafia. As always, Billingham delivers psychological insights you half wish you didn't have, along with a profound sense of just how far the damaged Thorne will go in the name of justice. Anyone who knows North London will recognise this as being as atmospheric as it is moody--Billingham continues to develop from book to book. --Roz Kaveney


Review

'Murder and mystery do not come better than this.' What's On in London '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
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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Addition To A Very Impressive Series, 25 Jul 2004
By G. J. Oxley "Gaz" (Tyne & Wear, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Mark Billingham is the hottest new British crime writer on the block. His maverick cop is DI Thorne, who, like Rankin's Rebus, has a healthy disrespect for his inferior superiors, and a real talent for getting up a nose or two.

Both detectives also have despicable vices: Rebus has an inability to pass any pub without nipping in for a pint, or several, while Thorne is an aficionado of Country music: by far the bigger sin. The similarity ends there however: Thorne is very much his own man.

In a year where I've slogged through the new novels by more established names, Mark's new book comes as a breath of fresh air.

For a start, it's beautifully paced and, despite its brooding atmosphere, has several laugh-out-loud moments - not an easy trick to pull off. One scene in particular, set in a massage parlour, is an absolute scream.

And he's not repeating a formula; this book is very different to his first three and shows already that he isn't taking the easy option of sticking to familiar ground.

I won't discuss the plot here - you can read a synopsis anywhere - but I do wish to state that Billingham is an expert at the twist that really surprises.

We get a brace of them near the end here (although I have to confess I did spot one of them coming - but not the other) and then a further final twist in the last chapter, which gives the book a nice dark and ambiguous ending.

For fans of his earlier novels, the relationship between Thorne and his friend, the gay, shaven-headed pathologist Phil Hendricks, is further explored, and provides a nice sub-plot.

I also won't debate the book's merits as a piece of literature; this isn't the forum for in-depth analysis. All I'll say is it's supremely readable, interesting and surprising. And I'll take a well-written crime or suspense novel over Jane Austen any day.

If your palate has become jaded through too many predictable crime thrillers, beg, borrow or steal this book. The very least you'll get out of it is great entertainment.

.... Oh, and read his three previous novels too!.
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32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Story about an 'old flame' isn't Mark's hottest novel, 24 Jun 2005
By OEJ (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The Burning Girl (Tom Thorne Novels) (Paperback)
Mark Billingham is one of those authors on my 'Buy Everything he Writes' list - he made a strong impact on me with his earlier works (Sleepy Head, Scaredy Cat and, in particular, Lazy Bones) and I will definitely order his new novel Lifeless; to be honest though I didn't think The Burning Girl is Mark's best effort, not up to the high standard of his previous contributions to the DI Thorne series. He's one of few writers I know to actually be able to instil a sense of fear using no more than the written page, and capable of creating some pretty sinister, dark characters too. The Burning Girl, however, in spite of some trademark nasty scenes, didn't have that same fear-factor that I kind of expected - although I thought that the examinations of Thorne's character were rather better executed than in (for example) Scaredy Cat.

For anyone who has bought The Burning Girl as their first foray into the writing skills of Mark Billingham, I would urge them to buy all three of this previous novels because in my humble opinion they are each considerably better. I hope that those high standards return in Lifeless - I'm sure they will.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Billingham is slipping, 28 Oct 2004
What can I say? Having read Billinghams previous work I couldn't wait to get stuck into the Burning Girl and enjoy another of DI Thorne's cases. Although Billinghams last books kept me wide awake and turning the pages avidly, unfortunately this last book seems lacking in suspense to say the least. Billinghams attempt to move into the 'mafia' type of storyline has failed. He should have stuck to your everyday psychotic killer. This book is average and not one I have recommended to friends and family. Billingham seems to be slipping and one gets the impression that he was not greatly inspired when he wrote this book which is a shame as the first three books promised and delivered such great suspense. Unfortunately The Burning Girl does not hold the reader and is fairly predictable in its plot. Let's hope the next of DI Thorne's cases is a return to Billinghams previously fantastic way of writing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great Tom Thorne tale
Tom Thorne is again 'on the case'.
I was a little disappointed because Tom didn't get the bad guys at the end - I like my cops to beat the bad guys! Read more
Published 8 days ago by V. Goddard

4.0 out of 5 stars A POT BOILER, YES - BUT A DAMNED GOOD ONE AT THAT!!!!!
This really is a page turner from Mark Billingham - His latest, In The Dark, despite it's promise, dissapointed me, BUT this is excellent. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Adam Jackson

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but not great
Don't get me wrong, I love Mark Billingham. But this steps too far away from the "Thorne trying to solve a murder" plots of the earlier books. Read more
Published 13 months ago by H. Butler

4.0 out of 5 stars Bruised by the murky world he inhabits
Thorne's patch is London and it's obvious that Billingham knows the territory and describes it well. Read more
Published 20 months ago by R. Nicholson-morton

4.0 out of 5 stars Fourth Book in the Series

Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel... Read more
Published 24 months ago by J. Chippindale

3.0 out of 5 stars Not His Best
I found that this book was not as enjoyable a read, as some of his other books, most notably Scaredy Cay and Lazy Bones. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2007 by J.Flood

3.0 out of 5 stars A Book that Lacks Spark
20 years ago a girl was set on fire whist talking to friends in a playground. The man who confessed to the attack is nearing his time of parole and he now wants to tell the... Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2007 by Sam

3.0 out of 5 stars A page-turner but with too contrived a plot
The problem I have with this book is that the book jacket blurb bears little resemblence to the actual plot of the book. Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2007 by quippe

2.0 out of 5 stars Does Not Leave you holding your breath for the next one.
Well its been a long time since I have read a Mark Billingham novel. To be honest it will be a long time since I rush out and buy another one. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2007 by D. Newstead

1.0 out of 5 stars what a load of rubbish
Having read and enjoyed all the previous Mark Billingham books i was looking forward to this one, what a disappointment, no suspense, no twists or turns and a crap ending, i was... Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2006 by C. HUTCHINSON

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