Randoms by Rach

Review of The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham

Review of ‘The Burning Girl’ by Mark Billingham

This book started out as a challenge. I ordered the paperback version online a couple of years ago, and when it arrived, it was printed upside down and back-to-front. So, I had to literally turn it up the wrong way, then read from back to front. Because of that, I put off reading it until now. As it turned out, reading it was much easier than I anticipated. Plus, I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

This is the fourth in the DI Thorne series. I read the first three a few years ago. I really like the character of Tom Thorne. He’s a good person who has a slightly black soul.

The plot centres around gangland London and the twenty year old setting fire to a schoolgirl called Jessica Clarke. Carol Chamberlain, Thorne’s friend and ex cold case detective was the detective in charge of the case of the burning girl, and she successfully convicted the perpetrator of that crime. So why, now, when he is coming up for parole, has Carol started to get phonecalls from a man claiming he set the fire? And why does the anonymous caller know details only the killer could know?

We go on a ride through gangland London where three families, the Ryans, Kellys, and Zarifs, wage a deadly turf war where everyone wants control.

I like the ending. There is a scene with Tom, Carol, and the man who made the phone calls, near the end of the novel, where I don’t think I took a single breath in about five pages! Very intense.

Despite my glowing review, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first three. I was going to write, “It didn’t set me on fire,” then realised how terrible a pun it would have been. I think it’s partly that the first three books are outstanding. ‘Sleepyhead’ is pure genius. I did, however, totally enjoy this.