Buried (Tom Thorne Series, 6) Mass Market Paperback – May 27, 2008

Mark Billingham doesn't coast through any of his books. He writes with an irresistible fervor and Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is back and riding Billingham's imaginative story arc like the crippled and reluctant fellow that he is. This time, Thorne is shunted off to a potential kidnapping case involving an unlikely 16-year-old boy who happens to be the son of a retired detective. This book follows dutifully follows prescribed police procedure (split infinitive followed by alliteration!!) until the story goes off a cliff and everything the reader assumes to be true must be re-examined. There is a sobering sidestory about a hate crime that weaves into the main story of kidnapping and family relationships and, as he has before, Billingham challenges our comfort zones. But nothing prepared me for the devastating climax.Lest you thing that this is a desperately dark book, there is sweet and necessary relief in the form of Thornes friend, the sad-sack medical examiner Hendricks, who longs to adopt a baby with his reluctant partner. The scenes with Hendricks bring levity and light to this story.P.S. Note to the publishers: I know we're trying to kill fewer trees but a different or larger font would be a kindness to these aging eyes. Even with reading glasses, it was a little tough.

First Sentence: You think about the kids.DI Tom Thorne and his team are searching for the son of a retired, formerly-high-ranking police official. The boy has been kidnapped, and the father has been asked for a list of those who may have a grudge against him, but he leaves one name off the list. Thorne leads the team on an increasingly trying case while still dealing with his back injuries.Billingham is great at creating a tight, twisty plot that, starts slow but, once you get into it, keeps you involved all the way through. He switches points of view in a way that is easy to follow and which heightens the suspense of the story. His sense of place is good and the dialogue crisp. It did have an ending I did not see coming, which was great.What is lacking, to me, and has been through the series, is character development. I don't feel I have a real sense of Thorne, at least not enough to care about him or have the same sense of involvement I have for other similar characters.I still have a couple more books of the series on my shelves and I shall read them, but I don't see myself going forward with this series beyond that.

I had trouble getting into this book, but my patience was rewarded after a hundred pages or so when the book picked up speed and became compelling. One of the problems with this book is that there are so many characters -- major and minor -- that force you to keep having to remember who they are. Fortunately, Bellingham makes frequent recaps so you can -- as the Brits say -- sort it out. All in all, I like Bellingham and feel this was a worthwhile read. Not quite as good a book as Sleepyhead, but very good nevertheless.

I love the main character in this series, he has his troubles, upsets his bosses and generally just 'pisses" people off, even with all the character faults he is enjoyable to read about, his character is developing during the series and it does make references to past books, so if possible I would start at the first book.

Small bits of humor in the midst of tense situations is one of the great things about this series. Well written with great characters. and even though I have read 6 of the series, it is still a fresh book each time with plot twists I don't see coming.

This review applies to every Mark Billingham that I have purchased/consumed.I will not go into superlatives about the depth and quirks of his marvelous ability to tell a story.The "feel" of the books is enough, coupled with his ear for dialogue to move Mr.Billingham into the company of Richard Price.Simply put Billingham writes it. I buy it.If the talented gentleman is reading this, I owe you a large and decent single malt.

Each of these Tom Thorne novels gets better as they go along. It will be sad for me when I've caught up with Billinham and have to wait for the latest in the series.

My first novel I've read in this series. The most recent novel had gotten very good reviews, so I chose book 6 as it was cheapest. At times very slow reading, but as the mystery of the murders enfolded it was quite good. I will read another book in the DI Tom Thorne series.

This is the sixth Tom Thorne novel and, as always, things are not going well for our country music loving detective. It is six months since Thorne went undercover amongst London’s homeless and he is still being side-lined. However, when pressure is put upon his superior officer to help with the kidnapping of a former Detective Chief Superintendent’s son, Thorne is unceremoniously loaned to the kidnap unit. Alongside D.I. Louise Porter, Thorne is sent to discover who is holding sixteen year old Luke Mullen, who was seen getting into a car outside his prestigious North London school.One of the things that I have to admit appeal to me about this series, is that they are set in the part of London where I live and there is much that is familiar. I recognise the London Mark Billingham writes about and the people who populate his books. Of course, the kidnapping case is not going to be easy to solve, especially when things are complicated by Luke’s location being moved. Along the way, there is the case of a previous murder – racially motivated – and the chief suspect being a boy at Mullen’s school. There are also questions as to why the father of the kidnapped boy did not give a very comprehensive list of people who may have had a grudge against him and the reasons he retired at almost the same time as a previous child sex offender vanished from sight…Like all the Thorne books, this is comprehensively plotted and realistic. Thorne is not an action hero – but a disgruntled, weary man, coping with personal problems and a bad back. There are familiar characters that we have come to know, including Dave Holland and Yvonne Kitson, and they help flesh out the storyline. This is certainly a series that I intend to read on with and it has become one of my favourites.

Luke is missing. A mysterious woman. A video delivered. An ex cop father. What connects them all?Not his best Thorne book by far but it was still good. I think it could have been better at certain parts. I felt like some parts were just a little bit muddled and left me thinking, eh what just happened? A side story that kind off didn't really go anywhere really, winder if it's tied up in a future Thorne book? 🤷‍♀️.

It has taken me an age to get through this book (very glad I only paid a couple of quid for it).The amount of swearing in it is completely unnecessary, it seems that some authors think swearing enhances the quality of a book when generally it just indicates, for me, a lack of vocabulary.The story? Was all over the place and the final scene in the cottage was, in my opinion, rubbish.Save yourself the two quid and read something worthwhile.

It has been a good few years since i last picked up one of Mark Billinghams Tom Thorn series, having been side tracked reading historical fiction which has left me with a lot of catching up to do, both with this series and a couple of other crime authors i used to follow (stuart mcbride, peter james and Chris Carter to name a couple). This was a a good tale which kept me turning the pages to the end. If you enjoy crime fiction then you will enjoy this series. Recommended.

Turned up earlier than expected, and looks brand new - not even any sign the spine has every been opened. Excellent condition and value for money.