Product Description

The first message sent to Tom Thorne's mobile phone was just a picture - the blurred image of a man's face, but Thorne had seen enough dead bodies in his time to know that the man was no longer alive. But who was he? Who sent the photograph? And why? While the technical experts attempt to trace the sender, Thorne searches the daily police bulletins for a reported death that matches the photograph. Then another picture arrives. Another dead man ...It is the identities of the murdered men which give Thorne his first clue, a link to a dangerous killer he'd put away years before and who is still in prison. With a chilling talent for manipulation, this man has led another inmate to plot revenge on everyone he blames for his current incarceration, and for the murder of his family while he was inside. Newly released, this convict has no fear of the police, no feelings for those he is compelled to murder. Now Tom Thorne must face one of the toughest challenges of his career, knowing that there is no killer more dangerous than one who has nothing left to lose.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67967 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Review
'Right up there with this country's dark masters such as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid' Time Out ** '[A] brisk, racy read' The Times ** 'Assured and shocking thriller' The Guardian ** 'A cunning variation on the serial-murder theme' Sunday Telegraph ** 'Sc

Guardian
'This is the seventh book in the series, and it is good to find that it lives up to the promise of its predecessors... Well-plotted, high quality stuff'

Sunday Express
'Thorne is unquestionably a challenger for the crown currently held by Rankin's Rebus, and before that by Dexter's Morse'

Customer Reviews

Not Bad. Not The Best In The Series.
In Death Message, DI Tom Thorne receives a photo message, on his mobile phone. It is a picture of a person's head, and Thorne quickly figures out, that this person is dead. Soon, more messages are being sent, and as the bodies start to pile up, Thorne and his colleagues are desperately trying to find a link between the killings.

I found this book a pretty good read. As always, the characters of Tom Thorne, and his colleagues come across as quite realistic, and believable. The plot is interesting, if not quite page turning, as we learn who the killer is quite early on. However, there is still 'whodunnit' elements to other parts of the story, so this is not a problem.

Overall, I find the the DI Tom Thorne series of books quite enjoyable, my only gripe being that there is a bit of 'sameness' about them. I would rank this book 'middle of the pack' in comparison with other books in the series.

Boring...
I decided to try this out for lack of anything else interesting in the crime and thriller section and for the high customer reviews it got. I wish I hadn't. I found the book to be uninteresting and I had no liking for any of the characters. I think the author is trying to set up the main protagonist as a flawed character (similar to John Rebus) - but I found him incredibly boring all over and I really couldn't care what was happening with him, be it with the case or his personal life. I don't think I could brave another one.

Relentlessly boring
This is just a terrible novel. 450 pages of uninteresting characters talking and talking and talking and talking. Paradoxically, lots of things happen and yet the whole thing is unengaging. The key problem is that the main character is completely bland. I could not care less whether Tom Thorne solves the crime, vindicates himself vis-a-vis his bosses, commits to his girlfriend, etc. That is not the case with Rankin or Davison or Harvey. I definitely won't be buying the next one.