I had me some Thorne

Do I love Tom Thorne? I must because I read Death Message in record time.

I have to admit that it's more difficult for me to pinpoint what I love about something than what I hate about something. I have read all of this series. This is one that I buy the day it comes out. And sometimes order from UK if publishers are too slow here. But I'm not completely certain what I love about it so very much.

Tom is a maverick and a curmudgeon. He is a source of exasperation to his girlfriend, his best friend, and his bosses. But as with any maverick detective, he does get things done. This book was incredibly satifying because Thorne got how own back on several people. Finally.

Billingham's plots wind all over the place. This story presented itself as a straightforward vendetta plot. Except the killer is wrong about the responsible party. Thorne, in his usual out of left field way, helps the killer zero in on the right person. Doesn't every cop help the serial killers in his bailiwick?

I like the development of Thorne through the books. He's less tortured and more human now that he has a girlfriend. And he needed to add to his circle of people to piss off. He can't always be mucking things up for Phil or Holland. Louise makes for a change.

For those of you living under a rock, Mark Billingham is also a stand up comedian. This leads to many hilarious throw away lines. Thorne has taken the investigation into his own hands by giving the person sending him death messages another number. So his colleagues are monitoring his other phones for messages while he's still getting them on this other new line. He muses to himself: "To wonder if it was the stupidest thing he'd ever done.

It was a tough chart to top. . ."

That little two line thought reveals so much of his character. He recognizes the stupidity of his actions and carries forward with them. Convicted of his own righteousness.

And these little bits of rueful self-awareness break the tension of a tightly wound plot. A reader catches her breath, laughs, moves on. Wow, he's good. If he didn't have his pacing down this well, the reader would pass out from holding her breath.

Billingham also changes up the sort of villain that Thorne is trying to catch. This killer had recognizable motives. Some of the others are more in the Norman Bates arena. Thorne goes at each one the same way. Head first.

If you haven't read Mark Billingham, start with Sleepyhead, and read all the way through. Truly a roller coaster ride.