Customer Reviews

Buried

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is assigned to investigate the disappearance of the son of former detective Tony Mullen. When evidence lead police to suspect kidnapping rather than a runaway, Thorne digs into Mullen's ex-cases for answers.

BURIED is a all about the human beings, their frailties, and a penchant for secrets, enhanced by characters who come alive through the writing of Mark Billingham. All the characterizations feel real and dimensional. It helps to have a sympathetic everyman protagonist. The slightly taciturn Tom Thorne, grieves for his father, has a love of country music, while is well-respected on the job has made enough enemies to him slightly off-balance. I liked that there while there was a love-interest, the relationship didn't take front and center. The star of the story was a well-plotted storyline with enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning well into the night.

Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001.
Though still occasionally working as a stand-up comic, Mark now concentrates on writing the series of crime novels featuring London-based detective Tom Thorne. Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children.

For any new readers who have not read any of the DI Thorne books, you are missing a real treat. Start reading them now, I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Buried is the sixth book in the Tom Thorne series and they have all been equally good. It is not always easy for an author to maintain the high standard they have set themselves with previous books and even the best of them have the odd bad novel, but Mark Billingham seems to have been able to maintain a high standard with all of his offerings and long may that continue.

A sixteen-year-old boy has disappeared and the obvious conclusion must be that he has been kidnapped. Luke Mullen, to make matters worse is the son of a former high-ranking police officer. While no one is prepared to take the final step and say outright that the boy must be dead. Detective Inspector Thorne is brought on to the squad of officers dedicated to locating Luke.

The first and most obvious thing to do is identify and locate anyone who may have had a grudge against his father, a man who incarcerated a lot of villains in his years as a police officer. This case is going to be complicated and it is going to take time to sift through the suspects. Unfortunately time is the one commodity they have not got . . .

Here is your one-word review of BURIED by Mark Billingham: Amazing. Incapable of writing badly, Billingham ups his own ante with his sixth novel featuring London Detective Inspector Tom Thorne.

Billingham's trademark elements are all in place here and kicking along on eight cylinders. First and foremost, there is a mystery, puzzling and intriguing, with a clock ticking loudly in the background. In the case of BURIED, the mystery is the kidnapping of teenager Luke Mullen, done in plain sight and with the apparent cooperation --- at least initially --- of the victim. Actually, there is more than one mystery connected with the abduction. Along with the "whodunit" is the issue of the "whydunit," given that the kidnapper(s) --- there may be more than one --- has/have not been heard from. There are more than enough suspects, given that young Luke's father is a retired Detective Chief Superintendent and of course had no problem acquiring enemies among the criminal element during the daily course of his duties.

Thorne is assigned to a team assisting the kidnap unit, and it is here that Billingham's additional story elements come into play. His stories are as much about how the police bureaucracy actually impedes its officers with respect to solving a crime as they are about the crime itself. In BURIED, the elder Mullen happens to be friends with Thorne's superior, which not only results in but also encourages meddling from any number of sources. Thorne's ongoing reactions to this state of affairs --- sometimes bemused, other times not so much --- are worth the price of admission alone. The inclusion of the kidnap unit also gives Billingham the opportunity to introduce a couple of new and interesting characters to play off of Thorne, so that the dialogue --- an area where the author excels --- is at its absolute best.

It is the mystery in BURIED, however, that makes it a page-turning, read-in-one-sitting joy. The reader knows early on that the kidnapper(s) is/are deadly serious here. But about a third of the way through, Billingham suddenly takes his plot off-road into unfamiliar terrain; everything you thought you knew about the kidnapping is wrong. In fact, this is true about more than the kidnapping. A cold case ties in, but for all the wrong reasons, history rears its head. Mullen the Elder isn't telling everything he knows, and not just for the reasons you might think of on your own.

More than a mystery, BURIED is a classic procedural novel from an author who should be considered one of our finest.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Thorne is back in this tale that weaves the procedural aspects of the last two books with the psycho killer vibe of the first three. As usual the pace is swift, Billingham expertly teases out the climax for close to 80 pages. I'm a strong Billingham / Thorne advocate. Yes, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson are the reigning grandmasters and perhaps both are better writers. It's just that their books aren't as entertaining Billingham's.
My one problem is the scene when Thorne roughs up a civilian lawyer. He comes off as a self-righteous bully and it belies the heroic, cynical humanism that we love Tom Thorne for.

My review will be very simple. I've read every one of Mark Billingham's novels, and he just gets better. He has truly brought Tom Thorne to life.
Billingham is gritty (ok, Mark, you probably hate that word, I know!!), funny (well, of COURSE!), and never lets you go from the first page. All I can say about Mark Billingham and BURIED is.....Cheers!

This review applies to every Mark Billingham that I have purchased/consumed.
I will not go into superlatives about the depth and quirks of his marvelous ability to tell a story.
The "feel" of the books is enough, coupled with his ear for dialogue to move Mr.Billingham into the company of Richard Price.
Simply put Billingham writes it. I buy it.
If the talented gentleman is reading this, I owe you a large and decent single malt.

I have recently become a Mark Billingham fan and have read (and enjoyed) all but one of his books - and that one has been ordered. Outstanding characters, well crafted, well rounded, and ones that keep you interested and involved. The mysteries are pretty gritty, be warned, but I was able to read them with no problem. I had one problem with this particular book in the series - and I am trying to figure out how to point it out without spoiling the end. So.... in the end a killing takes place in which the person doing the killing is prosecuted and which I think is very peculiar ... is self defense not a defense in England? This is a flaw that gnawed at me later - which is too bad, as normally when I finish a Billingham book all I can think of is how to get my hands on another! Keep on writing, Mark Billingham - and don't ditch this series! I am still in recovery from Ian Rankin's bad decision and can't manage to lose my new favorite detective to writer's block.

It's been almost a year since Inspector Tom Thorne's father died in a suspicious house fire and he's finally beginning to get himself sorted -- if you don't count the regular visits by the somewhat profane ghost in his head. And just in time, too, because Thorne, a deeply experienced London homicide detective, has been seconded to the Kidnap Unit to help try to find the missing teenage son of a retired senior cop. From the start, nothing seems "usual" about this particular crime. A video has been received, but there's been no ransom demand. The boy's father is notably uncooperative. His mother is unreadable. Meanwhile, the reader watches while the kidnappers make every naïve error in the book and wonders how this novel could possibly run more than fifty or sixty pages before they're caught. But Billingham has become very good at suddenly yanking the plot around ninety degrees and sending both you and Thorne in a completely unexpected direction. And it isn't long before Thorne has the dead bodies with which he admits he feels more comfortable. Meanwhile, one of Thorne's colleagues has a lucky break in identifying the perpetrator in a racially motivated pointless murder -- which will eventually lead back to the kidnapping as well. The author has been gradually building up a picture of his protagonist through the first six volumes in this series and we've gotten to know Tom Thorne pretty well. He's not always an admirable character -- which he would be the first to admit -- but he takes his job very seriously indeed. His best friend, a heavy-metal-type gay pathologist, has also been drawn in multiple dimensions, as have Sgt. Holland (who knows exactly how many failings his boss has), DCI Brigstock (Thorne's own boss, whom he drives crazy but who still supports him), and a number of others. This is one of the best gritty police procedural series I've come across in a long time.

Mark Billingham has created an excellent character in Tom Thorne, the policeman filled with issues both professional and personal.

In this novel, Thorne is sent to investigate a kidnapping case where the son of a retired senior policeman has been taken by parties unknown for reasons unknown. Immediately Thorne has concerns about the behaviour of the kidnapped son's family and the story unfolds from this point.

The author tells a good tale with a number of riveting moments, maybe let down a little by the conclusion to the story which I found a smidgen complex and far-fetched but as always with a good writer, it isn't the mystery itself that is the reason you keep buying their books, it is the interactions of the main characters.

One of the strongest elements in the book is the sense of loss that Thorne has for his father and this is done exceedingly well.

I would recommend the books of Mark Billingham if you like Ian Rankin, they both can tell a top story.

I had trouble getting into this book, but my patience was rewarded after a hundred pages or so when the book picked up speed and became compelling. One of the problems with this book is that there are so many characters -- major and minor -- that force you to keep having to remember who they are. Fortunately, Bellingham makes frequent recaps so you can -- as the Brits say -- sort it out. All in all, I like Bellingham and feel this was a worthwhile read. Not quite as good a book as Sleepyhead, but very good nevertheless.