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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
A death that may be manipulation-driven suicide; the investigation focuses on a romance scammer
Language
Some
Some strong language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild content
Substance Use
Barely any
Heavy drinking
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychology of a con that works by finding and exploiting loneliness; the question of culpability when someone dies as a result of being deceived
What this book is about
A woman dies on a commuter train — her death recorded as suicide. DI Tom Thorne investigates when evidence suggests she was the victim of a romance scammer who may have pushed her to despair deliberately. The investigation leads to a predatory man who selects vulnerable women and extracts both money and psychological damage. Mark Billingham's fifteenth Thorne novel deals with financial and emotional fraud as a form of violence — and with the difficulty of prosecuting harm that doesn't leave fingerprints. Thorne's personal anger at the mechanism of the con is well handled.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
fifteenth of the Tom Thorne series; focuses on romance fraud
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