Discover the first of the two masterful hit novels adapted for the massive new BBC One Drama series In The Dark, featuring brilliant heroine Helen Weeks.

'Clever and inventive'
Financial Times

Two schoolgirls are abducted in the small, dying Warwickshire town of Polesford, driving a knife into the heart of the community where police officer Helen Weeks grew up. But this is a place full of secrets, where dangerous truths lie buried.

When family man Stephen Bates has been arrested, Helen and her partner Tom Thorne head to the flooded town to support Bates' wife - an old school friend of Helen's - who is living under siege and convinced of her husband's innocence.

As residents and media bay for Bates' blood, a decomposing body is found. The police believe they have their murderer, but one man believes otherwise. With a girl still missing, Helen sets herself on a collision course with local police, townsfolk - and a merciless killer.

The hugely acclaimed latest novel in Mark Billingham's bestselling series, Love Like Blood, is out now.

About the Author
Mark Billingham has twice won the Theakston's Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel of the Year, and has also won a Sherlock Award for the Best Detective created by a British writer. Each of the novels featuring Detective Inspector Tom Thorne has been a Sunday Times bestseller. Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat were made into a hit TV series on Sky 1 starring David Morrissey as Thorne, and a series based on the novels In the Dark and Time of Death was broadcast on BBC1. Mark lives in north London with his wife and two children.

Reviews
Ingenious ... what is most impressive about this novel, however, is the astute observation -- Laura Wilson * The Guardian *
The writing displays the virtues that have made Mark Billingham a bestseller: wit, careful plotting, attention to detail and great characterisation... won't disappoint Billingham's legions of fans * The Telegraph *
The plot element on which this gruesome mystery turns is certainly one of the cleverest and most satisfying that I've read for ages. * Morning Star *
What lingers in the memory is the group portrait of the Polesford locals brutally closing ranks against a man they're certain deserves to die. * Kirkus *


Awards
Long-listed for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2016 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9780751566369
Author Mark Billingham
Format Paperback
Page Count 544
Imprint Sphere
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 378g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 35mm