Meet Detective Miller: unique, unconventional, and criminally underestimated…
A double murder in a seaside hotel sees grieving Detective Miller return to work to solve what appears to be a case of mistaken identity. Will this eccentric, offbeat sleuth find answers where more traditional police have found only a puzzle?
Reader, I’ve got a confession to make. And for a crime book reader, it’s a biggie.
Ready?
I’ve not read any of Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne books.
There. I said it.
I have read one of his standalones (Rabbit Hole) and did really enjoy it! But for me it’s one of those things where when it’s a big series, I need to read them all, in order and the tottering TBR pile of books gives me some properly filthy looks when I even broach the subject of starting a series with so many books in it.
But now we have a new series! Perfect chance to jump in. And The Last Dance was shortlisted for the Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year too!
Now, Mark Billingham is no stranger to the Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist. He won the inaugural award back in 2005 with Lazybones, followed up by a shortlist spot in 2008 with Buried, a second win in 2009 with Death Message, and shortlists in 2010 for In The Dark and 2011 for From The Dead. Taking a year off in 2012 he returned to the shortlist in 2013 with Rush of Blood and 2016 with Time of Death.
The Last Dance marks his eighth(!) appearance on the shortlist, and a new detective, Declan Miller. Can this book make it a hat trick of wins?
I absolutely loved this one. Declan Miller is mourning the death of his wife and possibly back on the job too soon. The book has a delightfully dark humour running through it, an intriguing case and in Declan Miller, a fantastic main character. Ably abetted by his new partner DS Sara Xiu, Miller twirls through this case. Billingham is clearly having a lot of fun with this new character, and it absolutely shines off the page. A pure joy (if you can say that about a book where people get bumped off!)
Roll on book 2 (which is fortunately out now so I don’t need to wait!). Highly recommended.
The Last Dance by Mark Billingham is published by Sphere and is out in paperback now
