Editorial Content for What the Night Brings: A Tom Thorne Novel
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Mark Billingham’s books featuring London police detective Tom Thorne have long been one of my favorite series. A few of the early titles were turned into a wonderful BBC program starring David Morrissey. WHAT THE NIGHT BRINGS is the 19th installment and quite frankly one of the best yet.
What sets this entry apart from the others is the subject matter. Regrettably, we live in a time when many citizens around the globe do not support or trust their local law enforcement. Billingham demonstrates here that the decent members of the police who make up the far majority of the force are equally disdainful toward their “brothers in blue” who take advantage of their status and sully the good name of the whole as a result.
"Even though the guilty party behind the website and the majority of the killings is revealed fairly early in the book, I will not disclose those details here. That information, as well as a number of jaw-dropping revelations, really makes WHAT THE NIGHT BRINGS a special novel."
At the start of WHAT THE NIGHT BRINGS, we witness Thorne and his team taking down Nick Cresswell, a criminal mastermind they have long sought. As he is being escorted out in handcuffs, a box of donuts is delivered to the uniformed officers outside Cresswell’s premises, and it contains a note of thanks. Unfortunately, they are laced with poison. Four officers who ate them are hospitalized, and three die almost immediately. Thorne is horrified, especially since he was in close proximity to the donuts. Not long after this is made public, the fourth officer passes away.
Under the leadership of Russell Brigstocke, Thorne and his squad --- DI Nicola Tanner, pathologist Phil Hendricks and DI Dave Holland --- are told to put every other case on the backburner until the killer is apprehended. They also learn via the assistance of their technology officer of the existence of websites dedicated to police bashing. It ranges from general bad-mouthing to outright threats of violence against law enforcement at any cost. With so many people jumping on this deadly bandwagon, it makes navigating the investigation quite difficult and more than a little dangerous. Word then reaches them about a uniformed officer found stabbed to death in the park.
This is followed by more deaths that also include security personnel who once were police officers, as well as a courier who died mysteriously and used to deliver for various investigative locations. The focus needs to be on anyone who has a true beef with law enforcement, either as a self-described victim of police brutality and unfairness or the relative of someone who fits this description. They get a great lead when they locate Emily Mead, a young woman who made the call that lured PC Adam Callaghan to the park before being murdered. She indicates that she had been working with someone on the dark web who organized the meeting. She also claims that Callaghan raped her.
Emily is taken to a safe house and is asked to reach out to the owner of the website who may be behind the recent retaliatory murders. Matters are made more difficult when the rumor of someone on the inside being responsible surfaces, which prompts the Counter Corruption Unit to get involved --- a group with which Thorne and company have no desire to work.
Even though the guilty party behind the website and the majority of the killings is revealed fairly early in the book, I will not disclose those details here. That information, as well as a number of jaw-dropping revelations, really makes WHAT THE NIGHT BRINGS a special novel. It is so good and hyper-realistic that longtime readers naturally will be concerned about how Thorne and his team handle whatever the fallout and end result is surrounding a case where there truly are no winners. Either way, it makes for some terrific storytelling and a novel you will not soon forget.
Teaser
The targeted murder of four officers is only the first in a series of attacks that leaves police scared, angry and, most disturbingly of all, vengeful. As Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner dig into the reasons for the violence, a deeper darkness begins to emerge: the possibility that these murders are payback. The price paid for an unspeakable betrayal. To uncover the truth, Thorne will be forced to question everything he stands for. He can trust nobody, and the shocking secrets revealed by one terrible night will fracture his entire world.
Promo
The targeted murder of four officers is only the first in a series of attacks that leaves police scared, angry and, most disturbingly of all, vengeful. As Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner dig into the reasons for the violence, a deeper darkness begins to emerge: the possibility that these murders are payback. The price paid for an unspeakable betrayal. To uncover the truth, Thorne will be forced to question everything he stands for. He can trust nobody, and the shocking secrets revealed by one terrible night will fracture his entire world.
About the Book
WHAT THE NIGHT BRINGS by Mark Billingham is the latest mystery in the bestselling Tom Thorne series, and this time, a killer is targeting the police. Is it payback? And is it justified?
“Three dead coppers, Tom, maybe four by lunchtime…”
The targeted murder of four officers is only the first in a series of attacks that leaves police scared, angry and, most disturbingly of all, vengeful.
As Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner dig into the reasons for the violence, a deeper darkness begins to emerge: the possibility that these murders are payback. The price paid for an unspeakable betrayal.
To uncover the truth, Thorne will be forced to question everything he stands for. He can trust nobody, and the shocking secrets revealed by one terrible night will fracture his entire world.
Audiobook available, read by Mark Billingham