Book review: What the Night Brings by Mark Billingham

What the Night Brings by Mark Billingham is the 19th in the series featuring Detective Tom Thorne (and Nicola Tanner). I was a latecomer to the series, kicking off with book #13 in 2015. I was relieved a few books ago when Tom broke up with this then girlfriend and fellow cop Helen and moved on with a new love interest. For reasons I now cannot remember I was not a fan of Helen. And wouldn’t you know it… he’s back with Helen here. A reunion I somehow did not share in my review of book #18 The Murder Book, though I didn’t bemoan the fact so maybe whatever irked me about her has dissipated a little. She’s left the police now so perhaps the career move has made her less-irksome in my eyes.

“Three dead coppers, Tom, maybe four by lunchtime…”

The targeted murder of four officers is only the first in a series of attacks that leaves police scared, angry and, most disturbingly of all, vengeful.

As Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner dig into the reasons for the violence, a deeper darkness begins to the possibility that these murders are payback. The price paid for an unspeakable betrayal.

To uncover the truth, Thorne will be forced to question everything he stands for. He can trust nobody, and the shocking secrets revealed by one terrible night will fracture his entire world.

Billingham combines a stack of contemporary and hot issues, using the dark web, online discussion boards and reflecting the public’s growing distrust of law enforcement. Here a very bright light is being shone on the police force and how it ‘polices’ its own members following recent arrests of officers for murder and rape.

Thankfully we have Thorne and Tanner, and their colleagues, to remind us it’s #notallpolice. And Billingham does a brilliant job at showing both ends of the spectrum as well as the varying shades of grey when it comes to attitudes and behaviour of police officers. This kicks off with the murder of a quartet of police officers in the form of poisoned donuts. Death by donut. It soon becomes obvious that police officers are being targeted and the killer seemingly unworried about taking extra lives as a result.

Slowly but surely Thorne and Tanner start to find a common thread which they pick apart to find the underlying motivation for the murders, which continue. Billingham paces this really well and puts us in the head of the killer so we understand their thinking. He also times the ‘reveals’ well, so Thorne and Tanner (and therefore us) uncover truths as the killer shares them.

I very much enjoyed this book and appreciated that Billingham throws a HUGE twist in toward the end. Billingham also does a good job of conveying Thorne’s disillusionment with his job and colleagues, exacerbated by the fact that Helen is enjoying life-after-policing.

What the Night Brings by Mark Billingham was published by Atlantic Monthly Press.

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