In Good As Dead, we are reunited with gutsy police detective Helen Weeks who first appeared in Billingham's stand alone thriller In The Dark.

The story was gripping enough - Weeks and an other man are being held hostage by a shopkeeper, who distraught over the apparent suicide of his son in prison, wants DI Thorne to investigate because he believes his son was murdered. With the lives of the two hostages in the balance, Thorne faces a race against time to get to the truth. Along the way he faces a series of wrong turns. The truth when it comes is surprising.

Sounds like a great book, so why not 5 stars? I love DI Thorne, but in this book the other police officers are mere bystanders. Helen Weeks is a strong character though who more than holds her own. The comfy ending does though have a touch of Mills and Boon about it.

In my opinion, this is the weakest Thorne book so far, but you will still be entertained though - just not as engrossed