Customer Reviews

Burning Girl

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

 

 

Quietly I have become addicted to Mark Billingham's novels. There haven't been a slew of them --- THE BURNING GIRL, his latest, is only number four --- but that makes it easy to reread the whole lot during the intervening twelve months between books. Billingham has won well-deserved accolades in the field of comedy, so the dark nature of his brilliantly scribed accounts of London Police Detective Tom Thorne comes as a bit of a surprise to those familiar with his other career. Yet his humor shines through, contrasting nicely with the horrors within.

Billingham is at his best in THE BURNING GIRL. The Serious Crime Group, of which Thorne is a member, has been paired with SO7 (The Serious and Organized Crime Group --- I think Billingham is having a bit of fun with these names) to investigate a series of murders in which an "X" is carved into the back of each victim. The victims, one and all, have ties to a gangster named Billy Ryan, and it appears that a major turf war had broken out within London's underworld between Ryan and a gang of Turkish smugglers.

Thorne already is helping his friend Carol Chamberlain investigate a decades-old case involving the immolation of a schoolgirl. That case was apparently solved, with Gordon Rooker, a well-known hitman, incarcerated for the deed. Rooker, however, is recanting his confession and will supposedly reveal the real perpetrator --- with all of it being tied to Ryan. The cases are slowly intersecting when Thorne performs an act of misguided compassion, which serves as a catalyst for a chain of events that begins with a murder and a funeral (Billingham is at his understated, irreverent best at the graveside) and continues to a quietly shocking climax.

Billingham makes some minor demands. The narrative of THE BURNING GIRL, like its predecessors, is peppered with colloquialisms and slang terms that American readers may have some minor difficulty decoding, though things ultimately come clear within the context. And while his plots initially seem a bit tangled in spots, Billingham is an excellent guide, gently leading his readers through the more complex tangles and always providing a reason for it all.

It is Billingham's Thorne, however, who really makes these books in general, and THE BURNING GIRL in particular, worth reading and rereading. Thorne is one of the more intriguing protagonists in contemporary crime fiction; one gets the feeling that he is teetering on the brink of a meltdown, only to save himself, time and again, with his droll but hilarious humor and his first-rate taste in music (anyone who loves Johnny Cash and hates Sting is on the right track). It's a small wonder then that for those familiar with the series, a Billingham novel is an annual event to be anticipated and repeatedly savored. Highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

It is impossible for ANY author to **eventually** write a book that does not stink.
Suffice it to say that is NOT the case to date with Mark Billingham's work.
They are ALL top quality.
EVERY BOOK he has written to date is superior on many levels.
Subtle levels.
I have purchased (and read) every one of his Tom Thorne series and find each them to be as totally satisfying as a Don Tomas Classico,
an extra large Lagavulin and a heavily garliced Eggplant Parmigiana.
They (the books) are NOT as good as sex. Not even close.
But for police procedurals, close is not too shabby.
Coming from over thirty years; nearly thirty five years of Criminal Investigative background, I find that Mark's efforts do not disrespect the reader.
A very important element many authors ignore, at their literary and qualitative peril.
As we say in certain circles: "Kol HaKovod" Mark.
Continue writing. I'll continue buying and reading.
Oh yes,... I DO like his books.
All of them.

This again is a quite worthy and intriguing tale as is expected from Billingham. However, the investigation of the cold case dealing with a confessed killer up for possible release after 20 years is far more interesting than the investigation involving a Turkish mob. Most of the Thorne novels are tied in with cold cases and this is one of the charms of the series.

I'm a big fan of Police Procedurals and enjoyed the first few books in this series, but after investing hours in this book was stunned when it simply just ended! No resolution of any of the plot lines. Just a big waste of time. As if the author couldn't figure out how to end the book so he just put down his pen and walked away. Was looking forward to getting incolved in this series but now won't waste my $$$ on it any further. BIG LETDOWN.

This is the fourth novel featuring homicide specialist Tom Thorne of London's Metropolitan Police Service (no longer a "Force" to his immense irritation), and it's rather different from the ones that came before it, which focused on serial killers, acting alone -- or, in one case, as a pair. This time the subject is organized crime, operating in a side of the city the American tourists never see. Years before, Alison Kelly, the fourteen-year-old daughter of an Irish crime boss, was targeted for assassination by being doused with lighter fluid and set alight. The hit man, however, got the wrong girl and the target's best friend was terribly disfigured and later committed suicide. The killer confessed and has been in one of Her Majesty's prison for the nearly two decades since. Now someone else seems to have begun using Rooker's m.o. again. Meanwhile, a gang of Turkish Kurds has moved into town and is trying to poach on the territory of Billy Ryan, who inherited the old Kelly territory. Now one side is busily taking out people on the other side. Should the police simply stand back and allow the Bad Guys to kill each other. Thorne, a known hard-case himself, somewhat surprisingly has moral qualms. It's all very complicated and you'll find yourself not much caring whether any of these characters survive or not. In fact, by the end, you'll be looking rather askance at Thorne himself -- even though he may be facing a personal tragedy of his own making. The plot is well designed, the dialogue (as always) is excellent, and the atmosphere of London hangs over all. But don't bother trying to find someone to root for.

Mark Billingham, The Burning Girl (Morrow, 2004)

Billingham's fourth Tom Thorne novel opens with an old, old case that's been haunting folks recently, especially Carol Chamberlain, one of the tangential characters from earlier books; it's a case on which she was the lead back when it happened. It was always considered to be a contract thing, but something always nagged at Chamberlain. Now Thorne and Chamberlain have evidence--spotty evidence, but evidence--that the guy who was originally put away for it, who's spent the last twenty years in prison for setting a high school girl on fire, wasn't the guy who actually lit the match. Worse, that evidence also suggests that the victim may not have actually been the intended target, who is now the ex-wife of the head of a prominent crime family who are engaged in a turf war and are the victims of a nasty serial killer (who may have been hired by the other side), the second case that runs through the book. There's also a third involving the murder of a Turkish video store owner--that may also be linked to organized crime. You may be seeing a pattern here.

Billingham's normally a comedy guy, but over the novels previous to this he's shown he knows how to do the mystery/thriller thing pretty darned well, and The Burning Girl is no exception to the rule. Solid mystery, great characters, just a touch of that noir spirit. Mark Billingham is quietly becoming one of the mystery writers working today who consistently delivers. If you don't know his work yet, you should. ****

I enjoyed this breezy and interesting book. It is not heavy on forensics (that is a good thing, in my opinion) but it is based on characters and feelings. Billingham writes about female characters particularly well and every so often will write a paragraph or page that is so striking and thought-provoking that it makes the price of the book.

The part of the book that I am so-so about is the actions of the lead character Tom Thorne. Without giving any spoilers, he makes a couple of decisions in the book that are questionable morally and professionally, I am not sure if the author needed to go down this path.

As with all of Mark Billingham's books, very readable.

Mark Billingham is one of those authors on my 'Buy Everything he Writes' list - he made a strong impact on me with his earlier works (Sleepy Head, Scaredy Cat and, in particular, Lazy Bones) and I will definitely order his new novel Lifeless; to be honest though I didn't think The Burning Girl is Mark's best effort, not up to the high standard of his previous contributions to the DI Thorne series. He's one of few writers I know to actually be able to instil a sense of fear using no more than the written page, and capable of creating some pretty sinister, dark characters too. The Burning Girl, however, in spite of some trademark nasty scenes, didn't have that same fear-factor that I kind of expected - although I thought that the examinations of Thorne's character were rather better executed than in (for example) Scaredy Cat.

For anyone who has bought The Burning Girl as their first foray into the writing skills of Mark Billingham, I would urge them to buy all three of this previous novels because in my humble opinion they are each considerably better. I hope that those high standards return in Lifeless - I'm sure they will.

(Review written in 2005)

North London is shook by the brutality of the opening assault by the Turkish Zarif family, who employs a vicious hit man, leaving an X carved on the back of victims, members of the competing Ryan family. As DI Tom Thorne leads the investigation into the vicious murders, he also knows that the Ryan family will retaliate in violent kind once they recognize the adversary who has killed four of their members. Thorne knows that neither family could care less what happens to innocent bystanders because war is hell.

As he struggles with the gang war, former DCI Carol Chamberlain asks for his help. Two decades ago someone torched schoolgirl Jessica Clarke believing she was gang boss Kevin Kelly's daughter Alison. Seemingly coincidently, Billy Ryan heads what was the Kelly family. As Gordon Rooker, who confessed to the fiery murder, is up for release, someone has called Carol claiming to have burned her. Reluctantly he agrees to look into the 1984 horror and the present phone calls, not realizing this all tie together with the X marks the spot.

Turning from his usual Thorne serial killer plot, Mark Billingham provides an interesting English police procedural that grips the audience with THE BURNING GIRL scenario and the gruesome X calling card. Bordering on an antihero, the DI is at his best as a thorn in the sides of both gangs as he crosses the legal line to insure justice for a little girl is served; he is not as motivated with the homicides of the gangs. Carol is an intriguing secondary character who with her over the hill cold case squad retirees seems perfect for her own tales.

Harriet Klausner

I should have given up on this early on but I finished it and now I feel completely robbed of time that could have gone elsewhere.
The only upside is I listened to this in the car commuting.
This story is lame, uneventful, tedious and boring. It never gets off the ground or catches the imagination.
Tom Thorne is a dull character.
Ian Rankin does it much better with Rebus.