|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Readers might have been forgiven for wondering if Mark Billingham's first Tom Thorne novel, SLEEPYHEAD, was perhaps a one-book wonder. After all, its chilling premise was one that he was unlikely to rival anytime soon. Then came SCAREDYCAT, and it was clear that there was nothing fragile about Billingham's talent, as this time he was perhaps a little less startling, but just as gripping. And now there is LAZYBONES, another serial-killer challenge to Tom Thorne. In the first two books, there was no question of what side the reader was on--these killers were very bad people indeed, and the sooner they were caught the better for us all. But this time, the victims are all themselves perpetrators of horrible crimes--they are all convicted rapists and all are found appropriately anally raped, hog-tied, slashed, and strangled. More than one policeman has to ask himself whether moving too swiftly in the case is a good idea and certainly, when the press gets hold of the story, there is no doubt that the tabloids, at least, view the killer as a kind of dark hero. Moral questions arise concerning the Sexual Offenders' Register, questions which, incidentally and properly, crop up in a number of recent British crime novels. Even the perpetrator muses, at one point, that if convicted, the sentence was likely to be short. Thorne is not divided on the issue, however; bodies generally are a bad thing, no matter whose they are. If SLEEPYHEAD engaged the reader by tapping into an almost primitive terror, LAZYBONES gets us in that uncomfortable place where our emotions are at odds with our moral sense. This is not, however, an intellectual puzzle. There is ample tension as the police get gradually closer to their quarry and considerable question about who the next victim will be and whether he will deserve his fate. Additionally, Thorne is deeper, more complicated, and involved in ways that he did not anticipate. This is an involving and challenging book and one that ought not be missed.
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, July 2003
This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
|
