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When DI Tom Thorne is called to conduct a routine assessment at the site of a suicide, he expects to be in and out in no time. But when he arrives at the metro station, where a woman named Philippa Goodwin threw herself in front of an underground train, Thorne inexplicably senses something awry and feels compelled to dig deeper.
He soon discovers that she was the victim of a callous con-man who preys on vulnerable women, and whose deception plunged Philippa to her end. Thorne enlists DI Nicola Tanner to help him track down the swindler and bring him to justice. But the detective duo gets more than they bargained for when a young man's bludgeoned body turns up on the shore of a nearby seaside town. The two cases come together in a way that neither of the detectives could have foreseen.
Brilliantly plotted with a shocking psychological bent, Their Little Secret is another masterful thriller from one of Britain's most beloved crime writers. With twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the final page, this is Mark Billingham's most chilling novel yet.
"This is a fantastic thriller, combining a gripping plot and lead characters of remarkable depth. Billingham is a multiple-award winner, and his books have sold more than six million copies. Readers who grab this one but aren't familiar with its predecessors will be seeking them out. A series to savor." - Booklist (starred review)
"The twisted plot unfolds gradually, with a maximum of suspense. Billingham never strains credulity in this thoughtful page-turner." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An object lesson in how to take an established series into shockingly deep waters without losing the thread that keeps the franchise going. The detection that normally drives each entry is the least of this one's dark appeal." - Kirkus Reviews
This information about Their Little Secret was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Mark Billingham has twice won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British writer, and in 2026, he was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger for an outstanding lifetime contribution to the genre. His books, which include the critically acclaimed Tom Thorne series, have been translated into twenty-five languages and have sold more than six million copies. He lives in London.
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An apparent suicide exposes a deadly secret in the suburbs of Belfast.
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