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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 Book

HarperCollins
2008
Hardcover
9780061432736
Mystery
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
NOTE:

The Reviewer

Heather Buchanan
Reviewed 2009
NOTE: Reviewer Heather Buchanan is the author of Dark River: A Novel of Suspense.
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