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    The Bones Beneath
    The Bones Beneath
    The Bones Beneath
    Ebook439 pages6 hours

    The Bones Beneath

    By Mark Billingham

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    On an island off the Welsh coast, Inspector Thorne faces a sadistic adversary who’ll “certainly make your skin crawl” (The New York Times Book Review).
     
    Who’d trust a depraved killer like Stuart Nicklin? Tom Thorne, the DI who put him away, has to. Nicklin has promised to bring closure to the grieving mother of one of his first victims by finally revealing where the body can be found. But there’s just one condition: Thorne must accompany him to the burial ground—the remote Bardsey Island, which is cut off from the mainland of Wales in more ways than one. Nicklin is in cuffs, surrounded by authorities, and under watchful eye. What could go wrong?
     
    As the macabre outing begins, so do Nicklin’s mind games—and it becomes clear that his motives are far from altruistic. There are more than bones buried on the storm-shrouded island. There are secrets, too. And as Thorne becomes entangled in the twisted schemes of a manipulative psychopath, he’ll be left with the most terrible choice he’s ever had to make.
     
    Gillian Flynn calls Mark Billingham “one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today”—and in The Bones Beneath he makes sure “readers’ nerves will be shredded . . . [in] a tour de force of suspense” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
     
    “Chilling . . . Billingham certainly knows how to make those pages turn even while your stomach churns.” —Publishers Weekly
     
    “Billingham is a world-class writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books.” —Karin Slaughter, New York Times–bestselling author
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateJun 16, 2014
    ISBN9780802192486
    Author

    Mark Billingham

    Mark Billingham is the author of nine novels, including Sleepyhead, Scaredy Cat, Lazybones, The Burning Girl, Lifeless, and Buried—all Times (London) bestsellers—as well as the stand-alone thriller In the Dark. For the creation of the Tom Thorne character, Billingham received the 2003 Sherlock Award for Best Detective created by a British writer, and he has twice won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. He has previously worked as an actor and stand-up comedian on British television and still writes regularly for the BBC. He lives in London with his wife and two children.

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    Reviews for The Bones Beneath

    4/5

    58 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I am a newbie to this series but had a grand time reading this book. The bad guy makes a deal with the coppers, be he is still the baddie for a reason. Adventurous and treacherous travel adds to the tension. I felt all along that this was not going to end well and then comes a cliffhanger. Stay tuned, Tom Thorne fans, for the next installment. My thanks to the author and Goodreads for a complimentary copy of this book.
    • 5/5
      Tom Thorne is a London cop - and all of the books in the series, London is always there in the background, giving life and character to the stories. This novel turns out to be different. After the previous book, Tom is reinstated as Detective Inspector and reunited with his old team. But at the same time he receives a weird task - which puts all other consequences of the previous book on hold and gets him out from London. Which he would have hated even of it was not because of Stuart Nicklin. Thorne's nemesis, Stuart Nicklin, decides to admit to an old murder and offers to show where the body is - but only if Thorne takes him to Bardsey Island, a place he had escaped from once in his youth. Bardsey Island, off the coast of Wales, is one of the most remote islands in UK - one I had never heard of. Billingham added some information about the island and of course inside of the story, some changes from reality are made but it is a nice introduction to a place that people would not know about. But let's get back to the novel and the story. Nicklin insists on bringing one of his prison friends with him and the police decides to agree (not that they seem to have any choice). So Thorne picks his team - Holland and Sam Karim and Wendy Marhkam - and goes on a trip. Keaton is left home to deal with relatives and to try to figure out what is happening really. Of course this being Nicklin, not everything is as it appears to be. What seems to be a pretty straightforward "discover the bones and solve an old murder" novel is interrupted by chapters about abduction and murder. It also contains chapters in the past, showing how Nicklin escaped the previous time but these are logical. The other ones, the dark ones, take a while to be explained. You know something bad is happening, you know that it ties to the story but even this way, it feels like a punch when you finally realize what really is happening. It is a masterfully constructed novel. What would feel like a gimmick in the hands of a worse storyteller works beautifully. It is one of those stories that you cannot read twice - or at least you cannot feel about it the same way twice - for the second time you will know where it is leading. And it has nothing to do with the murder or the case - it all turns out personal for the team. At the end, the careers of a lot of our team are still in an unknown status - the resolving of the last book's end is delayed for the next one. And I have a bad suspicion that we will be hearing from Nicklin again.
    • 4/5
      Der gefährliche Serienkiller Stuart Nicklin sitzt schon seit Jahren im Gefängnis, damals hinter Gitter gebracht hat ihn Detective Tom Thorne. Nun möchte er scheinbar der Polizei helfen, und verraten, wo er eine Leiche begraben hatte. Allerdings stellt er zwei Bedingungen: Er möchte, dass das Unternehmen von Tom Thorne geleitet wird und er möchte, dass ihn einer seiner Mithäftlinge begleiten darf. Versteckt ist die Leiche auf einer nahezu menschenleeren Insel.Dieser etwas konstruierte Plot sorgt nach meinem Dafürhalten aber für grandiose Spannung. Denn unterschwellig ist immer klar, dass etwas passieren wird- das Buch lebt also von einer latent bedrohlichen Stimmung. Menschliche Abgründe werden deutlich, wenn es um die beiden Täter geht. Einerseits die Geschichte um Stuart Nicklin: Mir persönlich wurde sein Opfer Simon richtig vertraut und ich fand diesen Mord so unnötig. Simon hätte sein Leben in den Griff bekommen und sein eigentlich gutherziger Kern kam aus meiner Sicht gut raus. Umso schlimmer ist dazu im Kontrast eben Nicklin. Und Nicklins Mithäftling Jeff: Diese Geschichte um den Selbstmord seiner Tochter hat mich ebenfalls sehr beschäftigt. Das sind alles so unnötige Tode und sie werfen bei mir tatsächlich über den Krimi hinaus die Frage nach unnötigen Toden auf. Warum verlaufen manche Leben so schwer, warum gibt es manchmal Weggabelungen, die falsch genommen werden. Wie Nicklin im Einzelnen die Geschehnisse auf der Insel planen und in die Wege leiten konnte, ist mir übrigens dennoch ein Rätsel. Manches ist einfach doch sehr konstruiert. Insgesamt aber fand ich das Buch gut, und auch vieles, das unterschwellig mitschwang (Thornes Entscheidung am Ende z.B.) gab mir zu denken.Noch zwei Sachen: Aus meiner Sicht kann man das Buch gut als Standalone lesen. Man muss die anderen Teile der Serie nicht kennen. Ich werde sie auch nicht lesen.Und am Ende des Buches findet sich eine Playlist von Thornes Lieblingssongs, die er auf der Fahrt zur Insel abspielen wollte. Ich hab dazu auf Spotify Playlist gemacht, betitelt „manipulator/ the bones beneath“, mein Spotify-Name ist „Astrid_liest“.
    • 4/5
      I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next book in Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne series - especially after the way the eleventh book, The Dying Hours, ended.The Bones Beneath picks up six weeks after The Dying Hours. (New readers, you certainly could certainly read this book without having read others, but I highly encourage you to start with the first book, Sleepyhead. Trust me - you'll be hooked.) I adore prologues that immediately hook the reader. In the opening pages of The Bones Beneath, an unnamed man is kidnapped from his home..... And then immediately the story cuts to Thorne. I wondered many times what this unnamed man had to do with the plot. There are a few short chapters that cut to his timeline, but I was still scratching my head until the final few pages. And then it was an AHA! moment. A lovely plot twist. Back to Thorne. Fans will recognize this name - Stuart Nicklin. Psychopath Nicklin and Thorne have crossed paths before, with Tom finally putting Nicklin behind bars for good. But then Nicklin says he'll reveal where he buried the body of one of his victims - but only if Thorne is the one to escort him. Thorne reluctantly agrees, but wonders why and what Nicklin has up his sleeve. Thorne is wary - and rightly so. "He couldn't think of a single reason that didn't scare the hell out of him." Nicklin says the body is on remote Bardsey Island, off the Welsh coast. Billingham paints a very vivid picture of the island and its history. I, of course, had to check it out online - it's quite fascinating. This isolation and lack of connection with the mainland only heightens the sense of danger, of being with a madman who seems to be directing the way things will play out, even though Thorne is in charge. Billingham has created a chilling antagonist in Nicklin, one who reads people and manipulates them masterfully. Flashbacks to his time on the island as a young man only confirms how evil he truly is. And he's a planner..... Familiar supporting characters are also back - Holland is one of my favourites. I always enjoy the secondary storyline of Thorne's personal life as well. Billingham consistently comes up with dark, devious plots that hold the reader captive until the last page has been turned. (and more than a few good twists and turns) Tom Thorne has not grown predictable or tired after twelve books. He's ornery, obstinate and driven to solve his cases at almost any cost. This lands him on a fine line between right and wrong many times. In The Bones Beneath, Thorne has this sense of right and wrong sorely tested...This reader will be waiting and watching for the next book from Mark Billingham
    • 5/5
      Stuart Nicklin, a dangerous psychopath who Tom Thorne had put away is back. He wants to reveal where he buried one of his victims. This comes with a condition, Thorne has to go with him.My Thoughts:I am a big fan of Tom Thorne and always I would recommend that the series is read in order. This book I think could quite easily be read as a stand alone.I do feel that read in order the reader can get to know the charcters and have a good understanding of them.This for me was a cracking read and dare I say the best book in the series. I always enjoy the Thorne books but this one had something extra. The story had a steady pace but I just knew that there was something more to come and it was towards the end that I eventually worked it out.I cant really say much more because I don't want to give anything away. If you need a really good, edge of seat thriller then read Tom Thorne in order, knowing that it will lead up to this book. A very well done story and I can't wait for the next one.
    • 3/5
      The Bones Beneath. A Tom Thorne Novel. Mark Billingham. 2014. This is the first book I have read in this series, and it is a later one. Since I read it as I was getting ready for surgery, I really didn’t do it justice. A notorious murderer, a vicious pOlachopath who is in prison, has said he’ll show the authorities the location the body of a young boy that he killed years ago. The body is located on the property now-close reform school on a remote island off of Wales. He has demanded that Thorne, who actually arrested him, be one of the accompanying officers. Thorne and a troupe of police officers, correction officers, and crime-scene investigators go to the island. You know the prisoner is going to escape and that is a big part of the suspense. I think I may go back and read the first novel is the series as I think he has possibilities

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    The Bones Beneath - Mark Billingham

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