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Tom Thorne #5
Lifeless
It appears that someone is targeting London's homeless community so DI Tom Thorne goes undercover amongst them. The information he gleans is that this is no random killer, it is someone with a specific list of victims.
470 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
257 people are currently reading
1943 people want to read
About the author
Mark Billingham
106 books2,205 followersAlso writes as Will Peterson with Peter Cocks.
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 was published in 2001. Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children.
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 was published in 2001. Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 266 reviews
May 30, 2020
Tom Thorne book 5: This series is as good, if not actually sometimes better than Ian Rankin's Rebus and Henning Mankell's Wallander books! DI Tom Thorne is on the outs and somehow gets himself assigned to an undercover role where he has to pose as a homeless man for months to track a serial killer who is killing the homeless in London. Billingham writes an assured tale in which the myriad issues affecting the homeless are laid out detracting from the core investigation in the book. It also goes without saying that the characterisations of both key and minor players is very good. I am really enjoying this detective series, but like Wallander, maybe because I have been going through the books slowly and not all on one go? 8 out of 12.
November 20, 2020
Voor mij is dit pas het tweede boek dat ik van Billingham las en ik moet nog steeds een beetje wennen. Het taalgebruik van Billingham zorgt er voor dat je als lezer nogal wat verbanden zelf moet leggen, en dat lukt mij gewoon niet altijd. In dit geval zijn er ook weer laagjes over laagjes: Tom Thorne gaat ‘undercover’ omdat er enkele zwervers dood zijn aangetroffen. En niet zomaar dood, nee, op een akelige manier vermoord, en dan met een briefje van 20 op hun borst gespeld. Met Tom Thorne gaat het na de dood van z’n vader helemaal niet goed, en hij krijgt dus verlof. Tijdens dat verlof, vind hij zelf, kan hij dan mooi als zwerver gaan leven om te kijken of hij niet wat meer kan uitvinden dan zijn ‘gewone’ collega’s.
Het zwerversleven valt Thorne in het begin niet mee – wie wel, zou je zeggen. Gelukkig vat ene Spike direct vriendschap voor hem op. Spike vertelt Thorne alles wat hij moet weten om het op straat te overleven.
Nu schreef George Orwell in 1932 een boek getiteld Aan de grond in Londen en Parijs. Ik heb dat boek meermalen met bijzondere interesse gelezen. Het boek beschrijft uiteraard het zwerversleven in Londen en Parijs, en nu onderhand dus al ruim 70 jaar geleden. Ik kan u vertellen, lezer, dat er in elk geval in Londen op sommige punten helemaal niks is veranderd… Nog steeds zijn er overnachtingsplaatsen waar zwervers gratis onderdak en eten kunnen krijgen, maar hoe mooi dit ook klinkt, het is niet alles. Wat ook gebleven is is het Londense vuil, en in de zomer de hitte en in de winter de akelige kou. En de hardheid van de stenen waar de zwervers ’s nachts op slapen. Mocht Mark Billingham dit boek van Orwell toevallig niet gelezen hebben, dan bewonder ik hem nog meer vanwege het feit dat hij de zaken zo accuraat weergeeft.
Thorne heeft er niet heel lang voor nodig om er achter te komen dat er een verband bestaat tussen de vermoorde zwervers – ik vertel hier uiteraard niet wat dat is. Maar dan nog zorgen dat de boosdoener gepakt wordt…
Het is niet ‘leest lekker weg’, het taalgebruik van Billingham. Je moet er echt goed voor gaan zitten. Zijn grote kracht ligt in het beschrijven van spannende en goed doorwrochte plots die zich op een relatief klein stukje wereld afspelen.
Het zwerversleven valt Thorne in het begin niet mee – wie wel, zou je zeggen. Gelukkig vat ene Spike direct vriendschap voor hem op. Spike vertelt Thorne alles wat hij moet weten om het op straat te overleven.
Nu schreef George Orwell in 1932 een boek getiteld Aan de grond in Londen en Parijs. Ik heb dat boek meermalen met bijzondere interesse gelezen. Het boek beschrijft uiteraard het zwerversleven in Londen en Parijs, en nu onderhand dus al ruim 70 jaar geleden. Ik kan u vertellen, lezer, dat er in elk geval in Londen op sommige punten helemaal niks is veranderd… Nog steeds zijn er overnachtingsplaatsen waar zwervers gratis onderdak en eten kunnen krijgen, maar hoe mooi dit ook klinkt, het is niet alles. Wat ook gebleven is is het Londense vuil, en in de zomer de hitte en in de winter de akelige kou. En de hardheid van de stenen waar de zwervers ’s nachts op slapen. Mocht Mark Billingham dit boek van Orwell toevallig niet gelezen hebben, dan bewonder ik hem nog meer vanwege het feit dat hij de zaken zo accuraat weergeeft.
Thorne heeft er niet heel lang voor nodig om er achter te komen dat er een verband bestaat tussen de vermoorde zwervers – ik vertel hier uiteraard niet wat dat is. Maar dan nog zorgen dat de boosdoener gepakt wordt…
Het is niet ‘leest lekker weg’, het taalgebruik van Billingham. Je moet er echt goed voor gaan zitten. Zijn grote kracht ligt in het beschrijven van spannende en goed doorwrochte plots die zich op een relatief klein stukje wereld afspelen.
February 7, 2017
This is an interesting read.
The narrative flows fluently,
The characters loveable,
Police procedures excellent and the relationship between ex soldiers or rather servicemen and homelessness statistically
defined.
I will give this book 3 stars.
The narrative flows fluently,
The characters loveable,
Police procedures excellent and the relationship between ex soldiers or rather servicemen and homelessness statistically
defined.
I will give this book 3 stars.
March 2, 2020
I like Tom Thorne, I like all his cronies, associates, colleagues, pain-in-the-neck superiors and others. He lives in a tough and violent world, modern London. But this book seemed to go and on and there were times I wondered if I could finish it. Things seemed, to me, to be a bit s t r e t c h e d out.
Someone is killing homeless men in the city, at night, finding them, hunting them down, kicking them to death. Random serial killer? Maybe. Or is there a link of some kind between/among some of the victims? Are some of them killed just to hide whatever this 'link' might be? Well, in order to find out, Tom willingly goes undercover, and starts 'sleeping rough,' or as we'd say in the US, 'sleeping on the streets.' Whichever. In the process he learns a lot about this community, makes friends with a homeless young man and his girlfriend, and waits and waits and waits...
And waits for something to happen. It does, eventually. With help from other members of the police, clues are slowly, almost grudgingly, put together which points Thorne in the right direction.
But, the ending - I had trouble with as it involves one character in particular turning inside out to become someone WHO HE ISN'T all through the book. No spoilers, and maybe this does happen. A coward can become a hero, or vice versa. A person who has trouble putting thoughts in order can also suddenly take part in a complex scenario which leads to...
Nah, it was too much, so for that and the tedium (at times) of reading this one, I downed it to three stars. It doesn't keep me from the series though, or liking Tom and company. Nope, I'm moving on to Book #6.
Three stars
Someone is killing homeless men in the city, at night, finding them, hunting them down, kicking them to death. Random serial killer? Maybe. Or is there a link of some kind between/among some of the victims? Are some of them killed just to hide whatever this 'link' might be? Well, in order to find out, Tom willingly goes undercover, and starts 'sleeping rough,' or as we'd say in the US, 'sleeping on the streets.' Whichever. In the process he learns a lot about this community, makes friends with a homeless young man and his girlfriend, and waits and waits and waits...
And waits for something to happen. It does, eventually. With help from other members of the police, clues are slowly, almost grudgingly, put together which points Thorne in the right direction.
But, the ending - I had trouble with as it involves one character in particular turning inside out to become someone WHO HE ISN'T all through the book. No spoilers, and maybe this does happen. A coward can become a hero, or vice versa. A person who has trouble putting thoughts in order can also suddenly take part in a complex scenario which leads to...
Nah, it was too much, so for that and the tedium (at times) of reading this one, I downed it to three stars. It doesn't keep me from the series though, or liking Tom and company. Nope, I'm moving on to Book #6.
Three stars
January 20, 2017
As usual, terrific stuff from Billingham. Great writing, brilliant charcters, interactions and police procedure, lead by the always entertaining maverick DI Tom Thorne. Some interesting insights as well into issues around homelessness and the problems of ex-soldiers adapting to civilian life.
June 24, 2014
This is the fifth Tom Thorne novel and it sees him struggling both at work and in his personal life. After the death of his father, Thorne has been struggling to come to terms with his loss and finds himself shunted into a miserable desk job for which he has no interest in or patience with. When a colleague sounds him out about a string of violent murders of homeless men, on the streets of London, Thorne rashly suggests that he go undercover.
Once on the streets, Thorne begins to search for a link between the victims and eventually discovers something in the past which has led to the killings. However, apart from the actual crime story, this is also an exploration of why people end up on the streets. When Thorne muses that many people are literally two pay cheques away from ending up homeless, it is no exaggeration, and the author does a good job of portraying the life of the homeless in London – the boredom, the discomfort and the fear. I have to say that the character of Thorne himself is what makes me return to this series and I find him more likeable every time. Well plotted, with a good cast of characters, this is a well above average crime series.
Once on the streets, Thorne begins to search for a link between the victims and eventually discovers something in the past which has led to the killings. However, apart from the actual crime story, this is also an exploration of why people end up on the streets. When Thorne muses that many people are literally two pay cheques away from ending up homeless, it is no exaggeration, and the author does a good job of portraying the life of the homeless in London – the boredom, the discomfort and the fear. I have to say that the character of Thorne himself is what makes me return to this series and I find him more likeable every time. Well plotted, with a good cast of characters, this is a well above average crime series.
July 6, 2014
A little bit preachy/'researchy' in places, (the main character is undercover as a homeless person and plucks stats regarding the issue out of the air with no explanation about where this information has come from during his stint on the streets), too many characters who play half a role and aren't distinguished enough from each other to be of any interest, a plot that drifts along in places, with some obstacles seemingly put in the way just so there are some, prose that is severely lacking in places (x picked up the paper then he turned the radio on, sat back, took a bite of his sandwich... boring), many chapters end with no great impetus to start the next. Ending was good, if a little out of left field and not foreshadowed enough.
April 27, 2020
After a forgettable book four this was a great return to form. Guilt ridden after his father's death Thorne goes undercover with the homeless in London when someone starts kicking them to death. Very good story with plenty of regular characters featured and a keep you guessing mystery too. All in all very satisfying.
July 30, 2015
The fifth book in the Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham.
The more I read of this series the more I like it. Each book adds depth to the characters and only adds to the enjoyment. This novel is fast paced and gripped me so for me it was a very quick read.
The more I read of this series the more I like it. Each book adds depth to the characters and only adds to the enjoyment. This novel is fast paced and gripped me so for me it was a very quick read.
April 5, 2023
I read a Mark Billingham book a while ago and remember being distinctly unimpressed. This one however, I thoroughly enjoyed and read all 500 pages in just a few days. Billingham's police officer hero, Tom Thorne, fits the mould of so many fictional investigators i.e. 'troubled' - is it possible to be a police officer and be happy/normal/cheery? Maybe not.
This case involves London's rough sleepers, three of whom have been brutally murdered. The police are accused of doing too little to find the perpetrator, and so Thorne volunteers to go undercover - that is, sleep rough himself to help the investigation along. Thorne not only discovers much about the rough sleeper community but also a link back to an atrocity committed 15 years before.
This book kept me interested and engaged from start to finish. Despite its 500 pages, it kept up a good pace and sense of urgency all the way through and had a couple of satisfying twists at the end.
Recommended.
This case involves London's rough sleepers, three of whom have been brutally murdered. The police are accused of doing too little to find the perpetrator, and so Thorne volunteers to go undercover - that is, sleep rough himself to help the investigation along. Thorne not only discovers much about the rough sleeper community but also a link back to an atrocity committed 15 years before.
This book kept me interested and engaged from start to finish. Despite its 500 pages, it kept up a good pace and sense of urgency all the way through and had a couple of satisfying twists at the end.
Recommended.
August 15, 2016
I actually gave up on this book, but I'm just going to include it in my 'read' shelf because I really made the effort to finish it. In fact, I think I've made too much effort and that left me thinking that screw this, reading isn't supposed to be torturous.
I've read another book by Mark Billingham before this. And it wasn't that bad. In fact, I remember some funny bits. But this one was completely different. The pace was excruciatingly slow, and I lost the interest to continue reading. I'm not putting the blame solely on the author and his way of storytelling. Part of the lack of motivation to continue reading this was also due to some other factors, most of them mainly because of my preferences in reading crime/thriller/mystery novels are heavily shaped by the suspense, action, and a little bit of humour in the story. Either I didn't pay enough attention to not notice any of those in this book, or they weren't there in the first place, I'm not really sure. What I'm sure is that some novels of this genre will entertain me and some won't, and that's just fine.
I've read another book by Mark Billingham before this. And it wasn't that bad. In fact, I remember some funny bits. But this one was completely different. The pace was excruciatingly slow, and I lost the interest to continue reading. I'm not putting the blame solely on the author and his way of storytelling. Part of the lack of motivation to continue reading this was also due to some other factors, most of them mainly because of my preferences in reading crime/thriller/mystery novels are heavily shaped by the suspense, action, and a little bit of humour in the story. Either I didn't pay enough attention to not notice any of those in this book, or they weren't there in the first place, I'm not really sure. What I'm sure is that some novels of this genre will entertain me and some won't, and that's just fine.
July 15, 2013
I liked this a lot. Brilliantly evocative - set in the streets of the West End amongst the homeless. This is part of a series and while the story stands on it's own, there is a subtext that clearly carries over from the preceding book. The story centres around the violent bashing deaths of homeless men, sleeping rough on the streets. The police don't have a lot of leads, and the protagonist DI Tom Thorne goes undercover, living amongst the down & outs, with his ears to the ground trying to find out what's happening and why. Great characters and good dialogue. Possibly a little slow in places but not so much as to bore the reader, and the police really are coming at this from nothing, with one victim unidentified and no apparent connection between the those subsequently killed. I am planning to read more of this series.
January 19, 2020
Tom Thorne is my type of detective, grumpy, pessimistic and hates authority, who wouldn’t like him 😂.
This is yet another gritty tale following the murders of rough sleepers in London, where the only way to find out if there is a serial killer on the loose or whether the deaths are connected is to send someone in undercover. You’ve guessed it. Tom Thorne is your man. A grumpy, not coping, on garden leave policeman.
He hates the desk job he’ been given so volunteers to go under the radar, literally.
Loved the storyline and the connection to the Gulf War and the implications between ex servicemen and homelessness.
It was quite disturbing to read certain articles about the coping mechanisms that homeless people adopted but not really surprising in their circumstances.
It will certainly make me judge myself and the way I judge others less fortunate than myself.
Couldn’t put it down.
This is yet another gritty tale following the murders of rough sleepers in London, where the only way to find out if there is a serial killer on the loose or whether the deaths are connected is to send someone in undercover. You’ve guessed it. Tom Thorne is your man. A grumpy, not coping, on garden leave policeman.
He hates the desk job he’ been given so volunteers to go under the radar, literally.
Loved the storyline and the connection to the Gulf War and the implications between ex servicemen and homelessness.
It was quite disturbing to read certain articles about the coping mechanisms that homeless people adopted but not really surprising in their circumstances.
It will certainly make me judge myself and the way I judge others less fortunate than myself.
Couldn’t put it down.
June 30, 2017
This is the fifth book in the Tom Thorne series. This time Thorne goes undercover as a homeless person to investigate a series of killings.
This book is the best in the series so far, in my opinion.
It was an exciting read that had me on the edge of my seat- there was a very real feeling of danger as Thorne tries to stay safe while being undercover.
I enjoyed the change in setting a lot- most of the book was set on the streets.
The friendships Thorne developed with other homeless people was really touching-I especially enjoyed the friendship between Thorne and Spike.
Spike is such a great character and I really felt for him throughout the book.
As usual, the ending came as a complete shock, which was great.
I really can't fault this book, it was fantastic!
This book is the best in the series so far, in my opinion.
It was an exciting read that had me on the edge of my seat- there was a very real feeling of danger as Thorne tries to stay safe while being undercover.
I enjoyed the change in setting a lot- most of the book was set on the streets.
The friendships Thorne developed with other homeless people was really touching-I especially enjoyed the friendship between Thorne and Spike.
Spike is such a great character and I really felt for him throughout the book.
As usual, the ending came as a complete shock, which was great.
I really can't fault this book, it was fantastic!
September 22, 2015
2.5 Stars.
This book was so dull in comparison to his other one's so far. I lost interest in the plot and found I just wanted to get it finished so I could read something else!
This book was so dull in comparison to his other one's so far. I lost interest in the plot and found I just wanted to get it finished so I could read something else!
March 10, 2020
Not sure why but I had trouble keeping all the characters straight in this one. Oh, well.
September 14, 2024
The first Mark Billingham book I have read but it won't be the last. Very good
April 14, 2015
I like Tom Thorne, really I do...but for some reason this latest instalment was slow going. The premise sounded pretty good, but with the recent loss of his Dad, it seems Tom is somewhat on the edge. He is on Gardening leave, but when the opportunity comes up to go undercover within the London homeless community he can’t resist. The writing is fabulous and to be honest this book made me realise just how bad the homeless situation in this country really is. From that perspective Billingham has done a stellar job, however when it comes to Thorne, by the end all I wanted to do was slap him around the chops and tell him to get a grip.
The crux of this latest book is that it seems a killer is targeting homeless people. With the homeless community closing ranks Tom Thorne elects to become ‘homeless’ and befriend some of the people on the street with the hope of getting clues on what people know and have seen. I really like recurring characters and Tom’s colleague Dave Holland is no exception. It seems that even Holland is becoming tired of Thorne’s transformation. The story rumbled along and there were moments that the suspense ratcheted up, but then it seemed to die off and I didn’t feel the same oomph that I did when I read his first book Sleepyhead.
Overall, this latest instalment was a decent read, but certainly not enough to grab me by the short and curlies! I love the characters and MB’s writing is great, I just felt like this book lacked its normal magic, so I will hope that the next book recaptures that by the bucketload.
The crux of this latest book is that it seems a killer is targeting homeless people. With the homeless community closing ranks Tom Thorne elects to become ‘homeless’ and befriend some of the people on the street with the hope of getting clues on what people know and have seen. I really like recurring characters and Tom’s colleague Dave Holland is no exception. It seems that even Holland is becoming tired of Thorne’s transformation. The story rumbled along and there were moments that the suspense ratcheted up, but then it seemed to die off and I didn’t feel the same oomph that I did when I read his first book Sleepyhead.
Overall, this latest instalment was a decent read, but certainly not enough to grab me by the short and curlies! I love the characters and MB’s writing is great, I just felt like this book lacked its normal magic, so I will hope that the next book recaptures that by the bucketload.
February 22, 2010
This series of books takes a turn for the really interesting with this one.
After the nonsense of the last story, this one has a theme - homelessness - which the author paints with a sympathetic viewpoint - we are all two pay checks from the gutter is the sobering message.
This is a constant in the book and some fairly decent characterisation as Thorne sort of goes under cover after a breakdown following his fathers attack in the last book and joins the down and outs as three of their members have been kicked to death and he attempts to find the killer.
The story is ludicrous and involves members of a tank regiment in the gulf war and a video of torture and eventual killing but this is secondary to another good portait of the city of london and better all round story telling.
I will continue with the series.
After the nonsense of the last story, this one has a theme - homelessness - which the author paints with a sympathetic viewpoint - we are all two pay checks from the gutter is the sobering message.
This is a constant in the book and some fairly decent characterisation as Thorne sort of goes under cover after a breakdown following his fathers attack in the last book and joins the down and outs as three of their members have been kicked to death and he attempts to find the killer.
The story is ludicrous and involves members of a tank regiment in the gulf war and a video of torture and eventual killing but this is secondary to another good portait of the city of london and better all round story telling.
I will continue with the series.
November 19, 2014
The fifth in the Tom Thorne series.
"Three men, sleeping rough on London's mean streets, have been found brutally murdered...Tom Thorne is posted to those same streets - working undercover, disguised as a homeless man."
I've thoroughly enjoyed the earlier books in this series but I found it hard to get into this one. I think the main reason was that I found it hard to believe that Thorne's undercover assignment could have gone ahead. Consequently I spent most of the time muttering 'That wouldn't happen' and similar to myself. I actually put Lifeless aside three times to read other books, but there was no way I would abandon it completely - I have faith that the next books in the series will grab me as Mark Billingham's books usually do.
"Three men, sleeping rough on London's mean streets, have been found brutally murdered...Tom Thorne is posted to those same streets - working undercover, disguised as a homeless man."
I've thoroughly enjoyed the earlier books in this series but I found it hard to get into this one. I think the main reason was that I found it hard to believe that Thorne's undercover assignment could have gone ahead. Consequently I spent most of the time muttering 'That wouldn't happen' and similar to myself. I actually put Lifeless aside three times to read other books, but there was no way I would abandon it completely - I have faith that the next books in the series will grab me as Mark Billingham's books usually do.
April 11, 2020
The London version of Harry Bosch in terms of his misanthropic world view but with more swearing, Tom Thorne is cut from the same cloth and would fit in as well with the LA detectives as he does with his Metropolitan Police colleagues i.e. not at all, with his maverick style, tendency to sudden violence, flashes of intuition that infuriate his superiors and depressive demeanour.
This is never less than gripping and revealing of the turmoil and camaraderie of the capital’s homeless community which Thorne effortlessly infiltrates in pursuit of a killer of rough sleepers. Thorne finds he has much to learn and respect among the homeless drifters whose fragile world is threatened by the arrival of sudden and violent death.
This is never less than gripping and revealing of the turmoil and camaraderie of the capital’s homeless community which Thorne effortlessly infiltrates in pursuit of a killer of rough sleepers. Thorne finds he has much to learn and respect among the homeless drifters whose fragile world is threatened by the arrival of sudden and violent death.
July 19, 2012
I really, really could not get into this book. The only reason I managed to get as far as I did was because I love the Thorne character and I wanted to know about him, his life and the developments to him as a character for the sake of the series. The murders were sporadic and seemingly placed just to fill out huge chapters which just seemed concerned with telling me where Thorne was eating or sleeping. There was barely any real invesitigation which wouldn't have been too bad if we were getting some facts or an insight into the killer. I didn't fully finish the book but I just couldn't face picking it up again.
June 12, 2010
Someone's killing homeless men on the streets of London so Thorne goes undercover as a 'rough sleeper'. I've realised that what I love about this series is that while Thorne is flawed, his flaws are pretty normal to the everyman unlike other crime fiction heroes and their curious peccadilloes. The other re-occurring characters in the novels have grown on me as well. This particular story had plenty of mystery to keep me entertained although I did figure out a few things before our intrepid detectives did but not the identity of the killer which I can never decide is a good thing or not.
January 10, 2010
Not a terrible read, but not the best in the genre, either. I found the constant shifting of points of view between officers confusing, mostly because many of Tom Thorne's peers weren't as clearly defined characters as his own or even the homeless he found himself relying on were. The plot itself was easy enough to follow, however, but I did figure out who the baddie was before the end of the book.
Overall, a fairly good read, but I'm not sure I'll pick up anything by this author again.
Overall, a fairly good read, but I'm not sure I'll pick up anything by this author again.
October 20, 2025
Lifeless by Mark Billingham is the fifth book of the Tom Thorne mystery series, set in contemporary London. Thorne has been ousted from Homicide squad; officially due to grief over his father's death, but in reality his career is on the skids. He goes undercover as a "rough sleeper" in hopes of catching a serial killer murdering "rough sleepers" (homeless who sleep on the streets). A grim story with plenty of detail about life on the streets. "Hopeless" would be a fitting title.
The pivotal clue is a mysterious tattoo pattern. Once the police learn what it means, earlier chapters of violence with unidentified perpetrators and victims are explained (warning: very creepy).
The cafe was a greasy spoon with ideas above its station. The sort of place that thought a few cheap sandwich fillings in Tupperware containers made it a delicatessen.
They'd come out of the Yard, turned up toward Parliament Square, and walked into the first pub they'd come to. The food was bog-standard--chili con carne that was welded to the dish in some places and tepid in others--but they had decent crisps and Stella on draft.
He and Thorne began to speculate on just how s***** you'd have to look to be refused entry to various London restaurants.
He'd seen a film set in a prison once, and while everyone else was getting brutalized, they tended to leave the loonies alone. Most people were a bit scared of them. So he let them all think it was harmless and that he was communicating with aliens, or receiving transmissions from God, or whatever.
The homeless community had its divisions like any other; its imagined hierarchies. There were, by and large, three main groups: drug addicts, drinkers, and those with mental-health problems. As might be expected, there were one or two who could claim membership in all three groups, but on the whole they stayed separate. And, those with mental-health problems tended to keep themselves to themselves, so any antagonism festered mainly between the drinkers and the addicts.
That was what was really going on, he thought, when couples stayed together because of the children. The truth was that they were just too exhausted to leave.
Things had been made nice and easy for him. All the killer had to do was wait, and watch for the people that the rest of the world avoided.
He reckoned he knew his friend pretty well: Phil Hendricks would sell state secrets for a blow job or a Thierry Henry hat trick.
If there was any information out there to be gathered, people were keeping it to themselves. The latest death had only led those who might still be at risk to close ranks even further.
There were a surprising number of places that gave out free food if you knew where to go and when. Spike had given him the lowdown early on, and Thorne had thought that it was quite an achievement to keep all those different names, places, and times in your head. On any one day in the very center of London alone, you could get a free breakfast, lunch, or dinner in one of a dozen different churches, hostels, and ad hoc street cafes.
"You get whatever you can, whenever you can, 'cause there's not a lot to go round," Spike said. "Yeah?"
There were some, with appetites all but destroyed by drugs, who would go all day without eating and get by on two or three bowls of soup; trudging between the various locations with the weary resignation of those for whom eating has long ceased being a pleasure.
Time could heal some wounds, 'course it could, but others were always going to fester.
Thorne wondered if the problems of many of those who left the army each year stemmed from an inability to deal with the chaos, with the lack of any pattern to their lives in the real world.
Thorne remembered reading somewhere that more British soldiers had committed suicide since returning from the Falklands than had been killed during the entire conflict.
He had come to understand just why so many of those with drink and drug problems had turned in desperation to such comforts after they'd begun sleeping rough. If anything--bottled or burned--could numb the pain of hours that spread like tumors, or speed up the ticking steps, then Thorne saw clearly that it was something to be clutched at and cherished.
It was hard to tell if they were genuinely trying to help. Or simply trying to look as if they were.
Holland had the pleasing knack of being able to punch through the hard shell of a black mood with one glib comment or seemingly innocent inquiry; with a stupid question in too cheery a voice. There were occasions, if Thorne was feeling particularly arsey, when he put this down to insensitivity on Holland's part, but more frequently he saw it to be the exact opposite.
All his years of experience should have told him there were only two chances the day would finish up as well as it had started. Slim and none.
The major then went round the houses for a while, chatting about this, that, and every other thing.
He was aching to get out of the building; to get home and collapse onto a sofa. He wanted nothing more than to open a bottle and let a few children clamber over him for a while.
Once darkness had fallen, though the subways themselves were well lit for the most part, anyone with any sense would risk sprinting across four lanes of traffic rather than venturing underground.
It was one of those bizarre, early-autumn afternoons that couldn't make up its mind: sunshine, wind, and rain in a random sequence every half an hour or so.
The pivotal clue is a mysterious tattoo pattern. Once the police learn what it means, earlier chapters of violence with unidentified perpetrators and victims are explained (warning: very creepy).
The cafe was a greasy spoon with ideas above its station. The sort of place that thought a few cheap sandwich fillings in Tupperware containers made it a delicatessen.
They'd come out of the Yard, turned up toward Parliament Square, and walked into the first pub they'd come to. The food was bog-standard--chili con carne that was welded to the dish in some places and tepid in others--but they had decent crisps and Stella on draft.
He and Thorne began to speculate on just how s***** you'd have to look to be refused entry to various London restaurants.
He'd seen a film set in a prison once, and while everyone else was getting brutalized, they tended to leave the loonies alone. Most people were a bit scared of them. So he let them all think it was harmless and that he was communicating with aliens, or receiving transmissions from God, or whatever.
The homeless community had its divisions like any other; its imagined hierarchies. There were, by and large, three main groups: drug addicts, drinkers, and those with mental-health problems. As might be expected, there were one or two who could claim membership in all three groups, but on the whole they stayed separate. And, those with mental-health problems tended to keep themselves to themselves, so any antagonism festered mainly between the drinkers and the addicts.
That was what was really going on, he thought, when couples stayed together because of the children. The truth was that they were just too exhausted to leave.
Things had been made nice and easy for him. All the killer had to do was wait, and watch for the people that the rest of the world avoided.
He reckoned he knew his friend pretty well: Phil Hendricks would sell state secrets for a blow job or a Thierry Henry hat trick.
If there was any information out there to be gathered, people were keeping it to themselves. The latest death had only led those who might still be at risk to close ranks even further.
There were a surprising number of places that gave out free food if you knew where to go and when. Spike had given him the lowdown early on, and Thorne had thought that it was quite an achievement to keep all those different names, places, and times in your head. On any one day in the very center of London alone, you could get a free breakfast, lunch, or dinner in one of a dozen different churches, hostels, and ad hoc street cafes.
"You get whatever you can, whenever you can, 'cause there's not a lot to go round," Spike said. "Yeah?"
There were some, with appetites all but destroyed by drugs, who would go all day without eating and get by on two or three bowls of soup; trudging between the various locations with the weary resignation of those for whom eating has long ceased being a pleasure.
Time could heal some wounds, 'course it could, but others were always going to fester.
Thorne wondered if the problems of many of those who left the army each year stemmed from an inability to deal with the chaos, with the lack of any pattern to their lives in the real world.
Thorne remembered reading somewhere that more British soldiers had committed suicide since returning from the Falklands than had been killed during the entire conflict.
He had come to understand just why so many of those with drink and drug problems had turned in desperation to such comforts after they'd begun sleeping rough. If anything--bottled or burned--could numb the pain of hours that spread like tumors, or speed up the ticking steps, then Thorne saw clearly that it was something to be clutched at and cherished.
It was hard to tell if they were genuinely trying to help. Or simply trying to look as if they were.
Holland had the pleasing knack of being able to punch through the hard shell of a black mood with one glib comment or seemingly innocent inquiry; with a stupid question in too cheery a voice. There were occasions, if Thorne was feeling particularly arsey, when he put this down to insensitivity on Holland's part, but more frequently he saw it to be the exact opposite.
All his years of experience should have told him there were only two chances the day would finish up as well as it had started. Slim and none.
The major then went round the houses for a while, chatting about this, that, and every other thing.
He was aching to get out of the building; to get home and collapse onto a sofa. He wanted nothing more than to open a bottle and let a few children clamber over him for a while.
Once darkness had fallen, though the subways themselves were well lit for the most part, anyone with any sense would risk sprinting across four lanes of traffic rather than venturing underground.
It was one of those bizarre, early-autumn afternoons that couldn't make up its mind: sunshine, wind, and rain in a random sequence every half an hour or so.
March 15, 2016
Still loving them & am trying to resist the next one & read something else before ploughing through the rest of his Inspector Thorne series...
January 12, 2022
found this book a bit hard going to be honest.
January 11, 2026
In London’s West End, homeless men are being murdered, £20.00 notes pinned to their lifeless bodies. Detective Tom Thorne, still reeling from the death of his father in a fire that might have been started by a vengeful criminal, is on the outs with the Met and relegated to an admin job at Scotland Yard. So when he offers to go undercover in London’s homeless community to catch the killer, his superiors are initially hesitant. Soon enough, though, he’s down and out in theatre land, trying to catch a serial killer whose motives might be more personal than other such murderers’…
Lifeless is a police novel, a genre I have mixed feelings about. Like any other, it can be written either badly or well; it’s just that it can sometimes be profoundly boring. Ironically, “thrillers” can be among the dullest novels out there, perhaps just because there’s such a proliferation. There’s also the issue that I don’t really vibe, as I age, with the idea that police novels present that law enforcement is ultimately always good and on the side of justice, some bad apples aside. That’s a whole other problem, though, and I’m not going to get too political here. Structurally and as a department of crime fiction, what I find more problematic while reading to be entertained is that the genre can feel pretty soapy and lacking in the mystery element, like I’m watching a TV movie of the week.
The mystery in Lifeless is intriguing. In the end, it’s actually well-clued, motivated, and a proper whodunnit, which I wasn’t expecting. I’m not used to Billingham, and police procedurals can go either way, since the “closed circle” mystery plot isn’t a requisite of the genre. I did find it a little vague and thinly spread, flashbacks to 1991 leaving me outright confused until they were explained, which I don’t think was the intention. The case is related to the First Gulf War, and maybe a reader in 2005 would have been more primed to get what’s being referenced. I didn’t actually know when the novel was written when I read it, though I soon picked up that it was probably early ‘00s, from references to “Blairite” policies and also things like how gay people are treated. Billingham’s gay characters are actually really well depicted, it’s just that the narrative does feel the need to call attention to their gayness and how okay it is in a way that’s very… 2005.
The most emotionally engaging storyline for me was actually a subplot about a kindly young rough sleeper Thorne befriends, Spike. He was the character I was most scared for throughout, honestly, he and his girlfriend, Caroline, both drug addicts with dark backgrounds yet sweet and loving in their way, exemplars of their own community. Billingham doesn’t paint a rosy picture of London’s homeless, nor does he overload the book with swaggering grit. He just presents these people as what they are, a community, driven to the streets for various reasons. Some of the people are good, some of them aren't, and all of them are trying to just get by. Even though it’s fiction, it has some of the same interest as a book like Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell’s account of the destitute.
Lifeless is a police novel, a genre I have mixed feelings about. Like any other, it can be written either badly or well; it’s just that it can sometimes be profoundly boring. Ironically, “thrillers” can be among the dullest novels out there, perhaps just because there’s such a proliferation. There’s also the issue that I don’t really vibe, as I age, with the idea that police novels present that law enforcement is ultimately always good and on the side of justice, some bad apples aside. That’s a whole other problem, though, and I’m not going to get too political here. Structurally and as a department of crime fiction, what I find more problematic while reading to be entertained is that the genre can feel pretty soapy and lacking in the mystery element, like I’m watching a TV movie of the week.
The mystery in Lifeless is intriguing. In the end, it’s actually well-clued, motivated, and a proper whodunnit, which I wasn’t expecting. I’m not used to Billingham, and police procedurals can go either way, since the “closed circle” mystery plot isn’t a requisite of the genre. I did find it a little vague and thinly spread, flashbacks to 1991 leaving me outright confused until they were explained, which I don’t think was the intention. The case is related to the First Gulf War, and maybe a reader in 2005 would have been more primed to get what’s being referenced. I didn’t actually know when the novel was written when I read it, though I soon picked up that it was probably early ‘00s, from references to “Blairite” policies and also things like how gay people are treated. Billingham’s gay characters are actually really well depicted, it’s just that the narrative does feel the need to call attention to their gayness and how okay it is in a way that’s very… 2005.
The most emotionally engaging storyline for me was actually a subplot about a kindly young rough sleeper Thorne befriends, Spike. He was the character I was most scared for throughout, honestly, he and his girlfriend, Caroline, both drug addicts with dark backgrounds yet sweet and loving in their way, exemplars of their own community. Billingham doesn’t paint a rosy picture of London’s homeless, nor does he overload the book with swaggering grit. He just presents these people as what they are, a community, driven to the streets for various reasons. Some of the people are good, some of them aren't, and all of them are trying to just get by. Even though it’s fiction, it has some of the same interest as a book like Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell’s account of the destitute.
December 21, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ IT WAS GOOD BUT NOT GREAT -- This book was enjoyable, but I didn't LOVE it. I may have had some small issues with things like the plot or characterisation, or it may have just been a bit slow occasionally which led to my attention wandering. I'll also probably not remember this book distinctly in a few months time. Still, I would recommend this book to people who like other similar works.
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My ranking criteria (✅= Yes, ❌= No, ➖= Kind of/a little bit):
*Bonus points if I can't put the book down, it makes me feel strong emotion, or genuinely surprises me in some way.
*Penalty points for editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), for children who act too mature or too young for their age (this is a bugbear of mine), or if there is something in the book that just really pisses me off for any reason.
1. I was sucked into the story from the beginning ✅
2. The story had a proper beginning, middle, and end ✅
3. The writing evoked a feeling of suspense ➖
4. I was engaged the whole way through/didn't get bored ➖
5. The characters were interesting ➖
6. There was some form of character development ➖
7. The book wasn't predictable in terms of relying on tired tropes, clichés, themes, stereotypes, etc. ➖
8. I cared about the outcome of the story ✅
9. I didn't work out the ending/the ending surprised me ➖
10. The ending was satisfying ➖
🌟 Bonus points: None.
☠️ Penalty points: None.
🏅 OVERALL RANKING: 6.5/10 (3.25/5 stars)
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Thoughts, Conclusion, and Recommendation:
*I am about a year behind on my reviews due to starting a new job, and Goodreads giving me a "the servers are over capacity" error every time I tried to use it for MONTHS. As a result of this (and also my memory not being perfect), this review is likely going to be lighter on details and shorter than my reviews normally are.
Lifeless is book 5 in the Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham. I picked up this series because I recently read The Last Dance by the same author, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I guess my main issue with the Tom Thorne series is that it is clearly (to me at least) written by an inexperienced author. The books are competent, and I am enjoying them enough to continue on with the series (and each one is an improvement on the one before), but there are some things that annoy me. For example, the number of ellipses (...) that Mark Billingham uses in these early books is just beyond a joke. So many conversations occur in which the people talking just trail off... rather than finishing their sentence. The ellipses are also over used when people are thinking, or when actions are being described; it's just too much for me, and is completely unnecessary.
In relation to Lifeless specifically, I wasn't a fan of Tom Thorne being undercover as part of the homeless population. It was a bit boring compared to some of the other books. 3.25 stars (rounded down to 3 for the purposes of Goodreads).
----------
My ranking criteria (✅= Yes, ❌= No, ➖= Kind of/a little bit):
*Bonus points if I can't put the book down, it makes me feel strong emotion, or genuinely surprises me in some way.
*Penalty points for editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), for children who act too mature or too young for their age (this is a bugbear of mine), or if there is something in the book that just really pisses me off for any reason.
1. I was sucked into the story from the beginning ✅
2. The story had a proper beginning, middle, and end ✅
3. The writing evoked a feeling of suspense ➖
4. I was engaged the whole way through/didn't get bored ➖
5. The characters were interesting ➖
6. There was some form of character development ➖
7. The book wasn't predictable in terms of relying on tired tropes, clichés, themes, stereotypes, etc. ➖
8. I cared about the outcome of the story ✅
9. I didn't work out the ending/the ending surprised me ➖
10. The ending was satisfying ➖
🌟 Bonus points: None.
☠️ Penalty points: None.
🏅 OVERALL RANKING: 6.5/10 (3.25/5 stars)
----------
Thoughts, Conclusion, and Recommendation:
*I am about a year behind on my reviews due to starting a new job, and Goodreads giving me a "the servers are over capacity" error every time I tried to use it for MONTHS. As a result of this (and also my memory not being perfect), this review is likely going to be lighter on details and shorter than my reviews normally are.
Lifeless is book 5 in the Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham. I picked up this series because I recently read The Last Dance by the same author, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I guess my main issue with the Tom Thorne series is that it is clearly (to me at least) written by an inexperienced author. The books are competent, and I am enjoying them enough to continue on with the series (and each one is an improvement on the one before), but there are some things that annoy me. For example, the number of ellipses (...) that Mark Billingham uses in these early books is just beyond a joke. So many conversations occur in which the people talking just trail off... rather than finishing their sentence. The ellipses are also over used when people are thinking, or when actions are being described; it's just too much for me, and is completely unnecessary.
In relation to Lifeless specifically, I wasn't a fan of Tom Thorne being undercover as part of the homeless population. It was a bit boring compared to some of the other books. 3.25 stars (rounded down to 3 for the purposes of Goodreads).
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