The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham

The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham

Who would have thought a stand-up comedian could write a British police procedural as good as those produced by crime queens Elizabeth George and Ruth Rendell? --USA Today

His first three victims ended up dead. His fourth was not so fortunate.

Alison Willetts is unlucky to be alive. She has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by a skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel and is aware of everything going on around her, but is completely unable to move or communicate. Her condition is called Locked-In Syndrome. In leaving Alison Willetts alive, the police believe the killer made his first mistake.

Then D.I. Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth; it isn't Alison who is the mistake, it's the three women already dead. An appropriate margin of error is how their killer dismisses them, and Thorne knows they are unlikely to be the last. For the killer is smart, and he's getting his kicks out of toying with Thorne as much as he is pursuing his sick fantasy. Thorne knows immediately he's not going to catch the killer with simple procedure. But with little more than gut instinct and circumstantial evidence to damn his chief suspect, anesthetist Jeremy Bishop, his pursuit of him is soon bordering on the unprofessional. Especially considering his involvement with Anne Coburn, Alison's doctor and Jeremy's close friend.

Thorne must find a man whose agenda is terrifyingly unique, and Alison, the one person who holds the key to the killer's identity, is unable to speak.

Mark Billingham has been nominated for seven CWA Daggers and twice won the Theakstons Old Peculier Award for Best Crime Fiction. He also won the Sherlock Award for Best Detective Created by a British Author. He is based in London.