Mark Billingham Books In Order

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Mark Billingham Is an English novelist whose series of Tom Thorne are the best selling in the genre of Crime Novels. He lives in North London together with his wife and children. Billingham is also a television screenwriter and has become famous as a comic and an actor.

He was born 2nd July 1961 in Solihull, Warwickshire and grew up in Birmingham. Mark attended the King Edward VI camp Hill school which was a Boys grammar school located nearby Kings Heath. He later joined University and graduated with a degree in drama.

He stayed in Birmingham and helped form a theater company called Bread and Circuses which toured with a number of shows in schools, art centers, colleges, and streets. He later moved from Birmingham to London in the mid 1980’s where he was acting as a jobbing actor who took minor roles in episodes of TV shows.

He later decided to pursue a career in comedy in the year 1987. Within a year Mark had headlines at the comedy store on several occasions where he frequently appeared as a Master of Ceremonies. In the year 1988, mark Billingham was seen on the children’s comedy series news at twelve in which the central character broadcasts his own TV news bulletin every evening.

Award and nominations

Billingham has received quite a number of nominations and awards relating to all areas of his careers. Scaredy cat released in 2002 won the Sherlock Award for the best Detective Novel Created by a UK author and was also nominated for the crime writers Association Gold Dagger for the best crime novel of the year. Lifeless, which was released in 2005 was nominated for the BCA Crime Thriller of the year Award in the following year 2006.

Another novel tiled Lazybones won the Theakston’s Old peculiar Crime Novel of the year award in 2004, and later won the same award for his Death Message novel. A Novel, in the dark, was also nominated for the crime writers Association Gold dagger at 2009 crime Thriller Awards.

In the year 2011, Mark Billingham was inducted into the ITV3 crime thriller awards hall of fame. He also won 1995 Royal Television Society Award for the best entertainment programme. While he was at Knight School, he was nominated for the Best Children’s Drama Award for two consecutive years.

Writing

Mark Billingham turned his hand into writing comedy scripts for TV, as well as continued to act and appear in front of the camera in various occasions. Generally, he is a self confessed fan of crime fiction and a very serious collector.

He supposed that the expense of collecting books inspired him to get himself into reviewing books, and interviewing. In the year 2002, he was in the middle of writing a screenplay for an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and was about to write a screenplay for cult children’s show, but his major consideration turned to writing novels.

He became the first crime writer to win the Theakston’s old peculiar crime novel of the year award two times when his novel Death message won in the year 2009. His first two novels include:

Sleepyhead

In the year 2001, mark Billingham first crime novel titled sleepyhead was published in United Kingdom by Little, Brown company. It was released in August 2001 and made it onto the Sunday time in the Top ten best seller categories.

It became the biggest selling first appearance novel of that summer. In the year 2009, the novel was listed as one of the 100 novels which shaped the decade and was later chosen as one of the best titles for World Book Night in 2011.

In this novel, Billingham created detective inspector Tom Thorne for his debut novel sleepyhead where a case of locked in syndrome reveals the dark dept of a twisted mind, as a dept at toying with the detective inspector as with the victims.

The central character has continuously featured in the vast majority of his works except in the novels titled in The Dark and Rush of Blood. It his novel sleepyhead, Billingham writes that if the writers want their readers to care about the character, the first thing they should do is to care themselves, and as such he has imbued Thorne with a lot of his personal characteristics.

The two basically share a birthday and have interest in music. When talking about the creation and development of his main character, the author notes the difficulty and worry which is involved in trying to create a personality different from those in other existing, popular and familiar works.

Generally, Thorne’s internal continuity is essential to his author since the events of his past affect the individuals who are in the present. However, this very aspect of his character causes Billingham great difficulty in describing him without giving away plot twists.

Scaredy cat

Billingham became a crime victim in the year 1997 where he was kidnapped together with his writing partner Peter Cocks and held hostage in Manchester hotel room. From this event, Billingham turned them into inspiration for his second Thorne novel, Scaredy cat.

In this novel, the general theme he addresses is the power of fear. According to Billingham, power is a very powerful weapon that is every bit as dangerous as a knife or a gun. Everything that happened to him in the hotel is directly sub plotted in the novel with some very nasty crimes which were carried out.

As he explains, they were kept bound and engaged in their hotel room by a trio of masked men who stole credit cards and items from them. Billingham at some point recalls being terrified by the sheer audacity of the criminals who succeeded to instill a feeling of menace and fear into their victims.

This theme was later fed into his novel that if one person is able to scare someone so much, then they can make them do anything. The novel; Scaredy cat storyline therefore presents the scenario of tandem serial killers who consist of two individuals ostensibly working together creating an added air of terror and expectation whenever one of them strikes.

Book Series In Order » Authors » Mark Billingham

12 Responses to “Mark Billingham”

1. Linda H: 2 months ago

   I love the Tom Thorne books. Just read The Dying Hours. Was so worried for him at the end of the book. But he lived to tell the tale thankfully. Your books are so engrossing and brilliant.

   Reply
2. Albert Powell: 3 months ago

   I have become an avid fan. Currently I am reading Cry Baby having read the previous 16 books involving Tom Thorne and the two of Detective Miller plus three Novels. Istill have a few left on mylist.

   Reply
3. Ian Preddy: 3 months ago

   Just finished The Wrong Hands. It’s the only reading that I was banned from consuming in my wife’s presence, because of the laugh out loud responses to the funny dialogue. Very satisfying conclusion as well.

   Reply
4. Sue: 7 months ago

   I finished ‘The Murder Book’ yesterday. I have loved
   the whole ‘Thorne’ series but this last one was really special. I was holding my breath reading it, devouring every word. I felt every bit as ‘wrung out’ as poor Tom by the end. What a rollercoaster ride. Can’t imagine reading anything this good again. Thank you Mark.

   Reply
5. Beryl Freeman: 8 months ago

   I am new to your books completly addicted to them, I seem to be reading them out of order. Regards Beryl

   Reply
6. Joyce .F: 2 years ago

   Hi Mark have just read The Last Dance. Wow was fantastic really enjoyed the humor, a great character please do more.
   My maiden name was Billingham perhaps related ?? Ha Ha xx

   Reply
7. Jane: 2 years ago

   He has a new series starting July 4, 2023 – first book is Last Dance. Can’t wait. Read all the Thorne series.

   Reply
   • Linda G.: 2 years ago

     I just read Last Dance and found Detective Miller’s character refreshing and amusing.

     Reply
8. Emma: 3 years ago

   Mark Billingham is a seriously talented author and his books are completely addictive. I’ve loved him since Maid Marion, he’s a very funny, perceptive man and in my opinion, the best writer around for decades.

   Reply
9. Karen Harborne: 4 years ago

   I just read “In the Dark”, it was a very suspenseful novel. I would like to see a sequel to this book. It seems unfinished. Just my opinion.

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   • Mirella Hogan: 7 months ago

     I agree with you. It leaves a lot up in the air.

     Reply
10. Charlie Bray: 5 years ago

    Phew, that’s a load off, Hugh. Thank God you made those corrections.

    Reply