From the Dead: A Tom Thorne Novel($42.00Value)

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In the ninth Tom Thorne novel, never before published in the United States, Thorne investigates a troubling case of conspiracy—a wife who arranges to have her husband murdered. He turns up alive... and other people begin to turn up dead. A decade ago, Alan Langford’s charred remains were discovered in his burnt-out car. His wife Donna was found guilty of conspiracy to murder her husband and sentenced to ten years in prison. But before she is released, Donna receives a nasty shock: an anonymous letter containing a photo of her husband. The man she hates with every fibre of her being—the man she paid to have murdered—seems very much alive and well. But how is it possible that her husband is still alive? Where is he? Who sent the photo, and why? Praise for From the Dead “Mark Billingham is a first-rate British crime writer who is too little known in this country. . . . The police procedural is a deceptively simple genre. You need a crime, a cop, suspects, complications and finally a solution. The art, of course, lies in the ingenuity of the crime, the depth of the characterizations and the quality of the writing. Billingham excels in all regards.” —Patrick Anderson, Washington Post “Billingham’s ninth Tom Thorne thriller sees our hero working on a case in which a man long dead appears to be very much alive—to the chagrin of his wife, who had paid to ensure his expiration.” — Entertainment Weekly “Once again, [Billingham] has written a deep police procedural with significant insights into the characters. . . . Written with smoothness and urbanity, the plot moves forward in unexpected ways. Recommended.” —Theodore Feit, The Midwest Book Review “[A] fine, well-plotted work . . . Billingham’s dark humor, often shot through with irony, is in full play here.” —Joe Hartlaub, Book Reporter “A chillingly clever criminal boosts this intelligent procedural.” — Publishers Weekly “A nice mix of police procedure and chatty scenes, and some nice scenery.” —Salem Macknee, Charlotte Observer Praise for Mark Billingham “With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don’t want to leave.” —Michael Connelly “Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us—don't miss him.” —Lee Child “Billingham is one of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today.” —Gillian Flynn “Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre.” —George Pelecanos “Billingham is a world-class crime writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books.” —Karin Slaughter “Mark Billingham is one of my favorite new writers.” —Harlan Coben “Billingham leaps to the upper echelons of crime fiction in one bound.” —John Harvey Mark Billingham has twice won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Award for Best Crime Novel and also won the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British writer. His books have been translated into twenty-five languages and have sold over four million copies. He lives in London. From The Dead By Mark Billingham Grove Atlantic, Inc. Copyright © 2010 Mark Billingham All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8021-2213-1 CHAPTER 1 Anna Carpenter had eaten sushi only once before, when some bloke she'd gone out with for about five minutes had been trying to impress her, but this was her first time in one of these conveyor-belt places. She thought it was a good idea. It made sense, having the chance to look at the food before you took the plunge, and it didn't matter if you let it go by half a dozen times while you made your mind up, because it was cold anyway. Fiendishly clever, these Japanese ... She reached for a plate of salmon nigiri from the belt and asked the man sitting next to her if he could pass the soy sauce. He slid the bottle towards her with a smile, then offered her the pot of wasabi. 'God, no, that's the really hot stuff, isn't it?' The man told her it was just a question of not overdoing it and she said that she'd rather not risk it, that she was something of a novice when it came to eating raw fish. 'This your lunch hour?' the man asked. 'Yeah. You?' 'Well, I'm my own boss, so I usually manage to sneak a bit more than an hour, if I'm honest.' He expertly plucked what looked like a small pasty from his plate and dipped it into some sauce. 'You work nearby?' Anna nodded, her mouth full of rice, grunted a 'yes'. 'What do you do?' She swallowed. 'Just temping,' she said. 'Trying not to die of boredom.' A waiter appeared at her shoulder with the bottle of water she'd ordered and by the time he'd left, she and the man sitting next to her were all but strangers once more. Anna felt as awkward as he obviously did about picking up their conversation, and neither needed any condiments passing. They ate and exchanged smiles. Glanced and looked away. A nod from one or the other when something was especially tasty. He was in his mid-to-l