Book review: The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham is the second in the series featuring Declan Miller. I absolutely loved the first, The Last Dance, as Miller reminded me of wise-cracking gumshoes of the past. I adored Billingham (Declan’s) fairly manic thought processes, his snark and the random sharing of facts he imparts on everyone and anyone. We were introduced to a few other players in the first book, including his partner DS Sara Xiu (aka Posh because her surname sounds like jus… posh gravy) in addition to his bosses (one of whom is supportive) as well as other less-supportive colleagues, ballroom dancing friends and a couple of mobsters or may or may not have been involved in Dec’s wife murder. And then of course there’s Alex, his aforementioned wife with whom he continues to share his thoughts. Despite her being dead ‘n’ all.

Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Well, two problems. First, there's his dead wife and her yet-to-be-solved murder. He really should stop talking to her ghosts...

Second, and most pressing, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase . . . containing a pair of severed hands. Miller knows this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne'er do well Wayne Cutler—a man he suspects might also be responsible for his wife's death. Now Miller has leverage, but unfortunately, he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of.

Sprinkle in a Midsomer Murders-obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder, and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème Egg, and Miller is in a mess that even he might not be able to dance his way out of.

I probably didn’t find Miller quite as witty and eccentric as I did in the first outing though the case is probably a little stronger here. Although this book DOES provide lots of hand-pun opportunities, so… bonus points for that.

Miller and Posh’s colleagues are involved in a sting operation gone-wrong and, as it has links to those who MAY have been involved in his wife’s death, Miller makes sure he’s on the case.

The what-went-wrong is akin to a comedy of errors as the police attempt to catch a mobster who ordered the murder of the trusted right hand (see what I did there?!) of a competitor. They attempt to intercept the killer handing (!) over a briefcase holding evidence of the contract-kill (severed hands) but are thwarted when the briefcase is stolen by thieves expecting a different kind of payday.

We spend time with both the thuggish low-level crims and the mobster-types and their hired hands (!!!). Obviously I very much appreciated the humour, not to mention the irony here with the reminder that sometimes people are brought down by those they least suspect.

Again Miller uses his dance buddies (that includes a couple of ex-coppers) as sounding boards… as well as Alex. And while there’s some resolution for Miller here, it leads to a new clue in the case of his wife’s killer, requiring readers to wait (im)patiently for book three.

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham was published in the UK by Atlantic Monthly Press and is now available.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.