The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham #TheWrongHands @MarkBillingham @BooksSphere #BookReview #DetectiveDeclanMiller

 

This is one case Miller won't want to open . . .

Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Still desperate to solve the murder of his wife, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase . . . containing a pair of severed hands.

Miller knows this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne'er do well Wayne Cutler - a man he suspects might also be responsible for his wife's death. Now Miller has leverage, but unfortunately he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of.

Chuck in a Midsomer Murders-obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème Egg, and Miller is in a mess that even he might not be able to dance his way out of.

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham was published in hardback on 20 June 2024 by Sphere and is the second in the Detective Miller series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I adore this series, I read the first book; The Last Dance,  back in March 2023 when I was on holiday in the Canary Islands, it is becoming a holiday reading habit as I read this one in sunny Cyprus a few weeks ago. 

It was so good to be back with Declan Miller and his team again. They find themselves dealing with a very unusual investigation, and Miller is right at the front of it. It's not every night that someone appears on your doorstep clutching a case that contains two severed hands.  Miller is intrigued, a little horrified, but determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. He may not be quite conventional in his initial dealings with the evidence, but as soon as he reports the incident, things start to move. 

Mark Billingham has such a dry, wry humour that runs through his stories, this brings some light to what could be a really dark story. However, Miller is not just a funny guy, he's also still very vulnerable, grieving for his wife who was murdered and ever determined to catch the killer. He suspects that there are people involved in this current case who could answer some questions about his wife too. 

Miller and his partner, DS Sarah Xiu work so well together. Billingham has really expanded their personalities, allowing themselves, and the reader to learn more about each of them, and creating a partnership that whilst unusual, really does work. 

I love everything about this series, from the ballrooms of Blackpool to the dirty, grubby backstreets of the town that are usually hidden. The characters shines like lights from the page, the humour is subtle and adds so much and the plot line is fascinating and tense. Another fabulous instalment in this new series. 

Mark Billingham is one of the UK's most acclaimed and popular crime writers. A former

actor, television writer and stand-up comedian, his series of novels featuring D.I. Tom Thorne has twice won him the Crime Novel Of The Year Award as well as the Sherlock Award for Best British Detective and been nominated for seven CWA Daggers. His standalone thriller IN THE DARK was chosen as one of the twelve best books of the year by the Times and his debut novel, SLEEPYHEAD was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 books that had shaped the decade. Each of his novels has been a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.

A television series based on the Thorne novels was screened in Autumn 2010, starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne and a BBC series based on the standalone thrillers IN THE DARK and TIME OF DEATH was shown in 2017.

Mark is also a member of Fun Lovin' Crime Writers. Performing alongside Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Stuart Neville, Doug Johnstone and Luca Veste, this band of frustrated rockers murders songs for fun at literary festivals worldwide.

www.markbillingham.com

X @MarkBillingham