Love Like Blood by Mark Billingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Love Like Blood is another great read from Mark Billingham. Like all of his books, it is written in an assured and confident style, well-plotted and unnervingly creepy. I like Thorne’s set-up with Helen and Alfie and there are some good scenes and humour with Hendricks to balance the darker parts of the story.
I saw Mark Billingham (in conversation with Christopher Brookmyre – two of my favourite authors in one room!) speak about the inspiration for this book and it was very moving to see how utterly furious he was about the real-life horrors that have been committed in the name of honour.
Some of the characters here are truly terrifying and some are heart-breaking. I was interested to see DI Nicola Tanner of Die of Shame cross into Thorne’s Universe – hopefully there’ll be more from her in the future. There is also an intriguing subplot concerning one of Helen’s own cases so there is plenty to keep you engrossed in this complex thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of Love Like Blood.
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