And on occasions we are left like a limp rag, exhausted by the journey that an author has taken us on, desperate for someone to take us to a place that is light and resuscitating.Such was my own position after reading ‘Sleepyhead’ by Mark Billingham. The power of a good book is in the effect it has on our own perceptions. The book was difficult to follow and it was a chore to finish, especially when I have much more interesting books in my TBR pile. I didn't care for any of the characters, other than Alison, who whose thoughts we hear at the end of each chapter. I don't plan to read any more in the series, unless they fit in with a challenge I'm completing. I didn't care of Thorne, who I thought selfish and manipulative. I understand there's a TV series based on these novels (currently twelve) so maybe it translates better in film. Thorne now realizes that Alison Willetts wasn't a mistake, she was the first success. Thorne finds a note underneath his car windshield wiper from the killer, explaining 'practice makes perfect'. Except the fourth victim, Alison Willetts, has survived the procedure and is currently hooked up to a ventilator in hospital, unable to speak or move, a casualty of locked-in syndrome. His latest case is a serial killer whose MO is to target women in their homes, drug them and then give them strokes by kinking an artery in their necks. Thorne is all about his job, an obsession that's left him with a reputation in the Metropolitan Police for being an awkward bastard and someone who it's best not to associate with too much if you have any care for your job. We are introduced to Detective Inspector Tom Thorne in the first book of the series, 2001's Sleepyhead.

Mark billingham sleepy head