The Killing Habit

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What to expect

'One of the great series of British crime fiction' The Times

From multi-million-copy number one bestseller Mark Billingham comes a twisting, unbearably gripping DI Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner thriller inspired by a dramatic real-life case.

How do you catch a killer who is yet to kill?

We've all heard about the signs: coldness, cruelty, lack of empathy. DI Tom Thorne knows the psychological profile of a psychopath all too well, so when pets start disappearing on suburban London streets, he sees a chance to stop a future murderer.

Others are less convinced, so Thorne relies on DI Nicola Tanner to help him solve the case, before the culprit starts hunting people. The journey brings them face to face with a killer who will tear their lives apart.

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'A new Mark Billingham is always a treat and The Killing Habit hurls the reader straight into the action. Thoroughly enjoyable for being so very real' SUSIE STEINER

'Mark Billingham on superb form. A finely paced and polished procedural, with twists and turns galore and an ending that will chill your soul' CARA HUNTER

'An unconventional literary superstar' MAIL ON SUNDAY

'As ever with Billingham, a rich cast of characters and tense situations are marshalled with panache, leading to a final terrifying encounter' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Thorne is a terrific invention' IRISH INDEPENDENT

Critics Review

His [Billingham’s] storylines of murders that go unseen or unrecognised are chilling and moving, and Tom Thorne is on terrific form

The Times

One of the great series of British crime fiction

The Times

Groundbreaking … a gripping, unsensational take on a type of crime that is happening more frequently than many of us realise

Sunday Times

A new Mark Billingham is always a treat and The Killing Habit hurls the reader straight into the action. Thoroughly enjoyable for being so very real.

Susie Steiner, author of Missing, Presumed and Persons Unknown

[A] sensitive topic delicately handled, with a perfectly executed and thoroughly unnerving twist at the end

The Guardian

Mark Billingham on superb form. A finely paced and polished procedural, with twists and turns galore and an ending that will chill your soul.

Cara Hunter, author of Close to Home

An unconventional literary superstar

Mail on Sunday

As ever with Billingham, a rich cast of characters and tense situations are marshalled with panache, leading to a final terrifying encounter

Financial Times

Thorne is a terrific invention

Irish Independent

The strength of the DI Thorne novels is in the knowledge that all of this could be real. The closing of the novel will please even the most discerning fan of the police procedural, and leave you yearning for more.

Crime Fiction Lover

Another tough but utterly intriguing entry in one of the best British police detective series going

Winnipeg Free Press

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