In the Dark: A Novel

by: Mark Billingham

Published by: HarperCollins Publishers

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid

A pregnant woman, Helen Weeks, searches for the truth behind the death of Paul Hopwood, her lover and father of her child. Paul, a police officer, was killed while waiting for a bus. Helen is on leave from the Metropolitan police while awaiting the birth of her child.

Theo Shirley a.k.a. T is a young man with a girlfriend and a baby. When he joins up with a gang, he is forced to go through an initiation. The initiation involved shooting at a moving car. This shooting resulted in the car going out of control and running down Paul Hopwood.

While Helen is trying to cope with her pregnancy and being alone, she is not giving up on her investigation. She has heard and seen things that make her believe that Paul hadn’t been completely honest with her as far as his work and what had been happening in his life prior to his death. Helen feels that she must uncover these secrets. Her investigation puts her in touch with people that she did not even know Paul associated with. Frank Linnell is a nice man but his business is not legal. Frank is grieving for Paul but won’t reveal any details about his relationship with Paul.

While Helen is trying to investigate the accident, T is trying his best to figure out what his next step in life is going to be. Members of his gang are being killed–and these same members were also in the car when shots were fired at the moving vehicle that went out of control.

In the Dark will keep you on the edge of your chair through the entire book. Billingham has written a very complex thriller. I’ve read a number of Mark Billingham’s novels and enjoyed them all–but this one just left something to be desired, as far as I am concerned. I gave In The Dark a rating of a 4 rather than a 5 is that I was confused about one portion of the book–and I did come to a conclusion but I don’t know if it is the right conclusion.

Armchair Interviews says: Billingham fans will be most happy.

Author’s Web site: http://www.MarkBillingham.com