We get to see the anguish of the family of the suspect and the way the disappearance of the girls affects the locals and their response to the way the investigation is going. A television series based on the Thorne novels was screened in Autumn 2010, starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne and a BBC series based on the standalone thrillers IN THE DARK and TIME OF DEATH was shown in 2017. p>Read about how we’ll protect and use your data in our Privacy Notice.

Instead of going on the hoped for vacation, Tom Thorne ends up accompanying his partner Helen Weeks to Polesford, the small town she grew up in, after she learns that two schoolgirls have been abducted in the area and Helen's old school friend's husband is the prime suspect.I'm starting to forget what the murder team looks like and I don't particularly like Helen Weeks, Tom's latest girlfriend/colleague,. As the evidence mounts up against the man a press feeding frenzy begins and the Bates family find themselves under siege from not only the press but hordes of angry people who seem to take it upon themselves to punish the family for the alleged crimes of Stephen Bates. It’s not too long before he’s managed to irritate the officers in charge of the case but by then matters have taken a turn for the worse – a body is found. But this one was great with lots of simultaneous stories to attract your attention from the mystery.

Forty-three-year-old Stephen Bates a local man is questioned in connection with the abduction of Poppy Johnson and the disappearance of Jessica Toms.At first reluctant, Thorne soon finds himself interested in the investigation and at odds with the local police.

Helen spends a lot of time with Linda helping to support her as the suspect’s wife and I quite liked this angle, which is not one that we often come across in this type of read. Mark Billingham gives the reader a fair shot with the clues but he doesn’t half muddy the water by manipulating the reader to look the other way whilst they are revealed. For the first part of the read the couple are more observing than detecting so it seemed to start off quite slowly for me, but once they got into their stride I really enjoyed this story, which kept me guessing as to whether or not Stephen Bates had committed the crimes and if not, then who had done it, with quite a number of suspects emerging.Two schoolgirls are abducted in the small, dying Warwickshire town of Polesford, driving a knife into the heart of the community where police officer Helen Weeks grew up and from which she long ago escaped. Concerned to provide Helen with all the support she needs, Tom does his best to keep himself occupied while Helen sits with Linda and her two teenage children and that means poking his nose in where it’s not wanted. I am slowly working my way through the excellent Tom Thorne series of books written by Mark Billingham, I have yet to read a bad book in this series, they are certainly some of the best the crime genre has to offer.