In the Dark
A Novel
by Mark Billingham
On a rainy night, a 17-year-old wantonly fires a gun into a woman’s car, and that is only the beginning of a tense
new thriller by Mark Billingham. Billingham is known for his Detective Inspector Thorne series, but in this
novel, In the Dark, the author enters the mind of Detective Constable Helen Weeks, a member of the
Metropolitan Police. Weeks uncovers shocking secrets that cast a dark shadow over the seemingly accidental death
of the father of her child.
Billingham does a great job of evoking the uncertainty and awkwardness of Helen’s situation, that of being two
weeks away from bringing a child into the world. She is full of doubt and worry, and communication with the baby’s
father, Paul, is strained and uncertain. While everyone tells her that things will get better once the baby is born,
Helen is not so sure. Paul is then killed somewhat indirectly by the gang shooting into the woman’s car, but the
detective in Helen is convinced that his death was not an accident.
Billingham’s thriller is buoyed along by the unmistakably crisp British dialogue found in fine mysteries. The
story is told from several viewpoints, but the author is in control. For American readers, the dark underworld of
British gang rites is both disturbingly familiar, yet otherworldly at the same time. In spite of her own human
frailties, Helen is smart and determined and makes for a very believable female character. In the Dark is
an exciting and intelligent read. |
The Reviewer |
Heather Buchanan |
Reviewed 2009 |
NOTE: Reviewer Heather Buchanan
is the author of Dark River: A Novel of Suspense. |
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