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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Serial murders of sex offenders; the crimes they committed are described in some detail
Language
Some
Some strong language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Some sexual content in describing the crimes of the victims
Substance Use
Some
Heavy drinking
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The specific moral difficulty of feeling ambiguous about the deaths of people who did terrible things; Thorne's discomfort with his own reactions
What this book is about
Convicted sex offenders are being killed — apparently by a vigilante who believes the legal system's sentences weren't sufficient. DI Tom Thorne investigates both the killer and the people connected to the victims, confronting the uncomfortable question of whether the killings are entirely unjustified. Mark Billingham's third Thorne novel is his most morally difficult — it refuses to give the reader easy emotional permission to despise the killer — and the procedural investigation is matched by a genuine philosophical argument.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
serial murders; the victims are convicted sex offenders whose crimes are discussed
third of the Thorne series
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