Their Little Secret by Mark Billingham

Their Little Secret by Mark Billingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Little Brown

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

When DI Tom Thorne is called to conduct a routine assessment at the site of a suicide, he expects to be in and out in no time. But when he arrives at the metro station, where a woman named Philippa Goodwin threw herself in front of an underground train, Thorne inexplicably senses something awry and feels compelled to dig deeper. He soon discovers that she was the victim of a callous con-man who preys on vulnerable women, and whose deception plunged Philippa to her end. Thorne enlists DI Nicola Tanner to help him track down the swindler and bring him to justice. But the detective duo gets more than they bargained for when a young man's bludgeoned body turns up on the shore of a nearby seaside town. The two cases come together in a way that neither of the detectives could have foreseen. Brilliantly plotted with a shocking psychological bent, Their Little Secret is another masterful thriller from one of Britain's most beloved crime writers. With twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the final page, this is Mark Billingham's most chilling novel yet.



My Review

Phillipa Goodwin's life is ended under a train, there is zero doubt it is suicide. DI Tom Thorne is on the case and won't just let it go. Someone is responsible for what Phillipa done and with a little digging Thorne has a name. A conman who is well versed in his trade and Phillipa isn't the first nor will she be the last. When he escalates from conning women to violence/murder can Thorne convince anyone and will he catch the bad guy?

I haven't read Billingham for ages and not in sequence, he is a good guy, married to the job and see's his personal relationships suffering. This book has small links to relationships outwith the job but the main focus is on the case and hearing from the bad guys. The conman targets women and is pretty callous in his approach and endgame. Nothing is out of bounds to use, for a sob story, to get these woman to give him what he wants. Just when you think he can't stoop any lower.....

The book gives us a few view points, the cops, their personal lives, the case/investigation and we also hear from the bad guy and what is happening on their end. The opening chapter is quite graphic, not in extreme details but what we are given is enough to give a vivid picture, suicide by train :( it kicks off from there and drags you into a story so off the scale you can't help but wonder where it will go next. I have read Billingham before, I will read him again 4/5 for me this time, it was nice to catch up with Thorne and I really need to go back and read the books I have missed.

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