Rabbit Hole: The new masterpiece from the Sunday Times number one bestseller

Product Information

Mark Billingham pens one of my favourite crime series - the Tom Thorne books. But he also writes standalones - the latest is Rabbit Hole. I loved the sense of looking out for each other that Al had with some of the other patients and whilst there are two murders, I found this to be a heartwarming story. Although there is always a lot happening on the ward, things are about to become even more intense, when one of the patients is found dead. Missing her previous life desperately, Alice throws herself into investigating the case, to the annoyance of staff and the amusement of the other residents of Fleet Ward; while you can understand Alice’s extreme frustration and annoyance as she is not taken seriously. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. The creator of DI Tom Thorne presents a stand-alone whodunit with a most unusual setting: the psychiatric ward of a northwest London hospital.

What I would have liked to read, based on the synopsys: a complex, realistic depiction of life and (unnatural) death on a mental health ward, driven by complex, well-rounded characters and suffused with atmosphere, with maybe some sarcasm, darkness and/or social commentary thrown into the mix. A gripping standalone thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Tom Thorne novels. Uh huh, a patient is murdered and Alice, as police, decides to work the case from inside. Great premise! Oh, Alice is a wonderfully unreliable narrator! She has memory issues, is paranoid and takes a boatload of meds every day - as does everyone she lives with. The killer could be any one of the residents. Rabbit Hole is authentic, raucous and deeply compassionate. Expertly balancing humour, tension and pathos, it'll do for the psychiatric ward what The Thursday Murder Club has done for retirement villages. A deeply compelling read * Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange * Al thinks she’s ok some of the time but at other times she clearly struggles and you really feel for her.Mark Bellingham has pulled the rabbit out of the hat on this one. The Rabbit Hole is told in a way that strikes a perfect balance between sensitively dealing with PTSD and murder whilst injecting tasteful humour throughout the book. Another standout part of the novel was the psychiatric ward setting. While already an eerie place, once patients start becoming murder victims, you’ll feel the dread alongside Alice as she’s trapped inside and races to catch the killer. Billingham knows how to play with the expectations of the reader, making every plot twist hit hard and fast.

I think I should be handcuffed after reading Rabbit Hole. I am guilty of loving this novel so much. I’m guilty of disliking character after character so much. I was an ex mental health worker am deliriously pleased with an accurate account of just how complex PTSD can be. Not long after her arrival in the ward one of the patients is found murdered. It is from here that things become extremely tangled and our viewpoint within Alice’s brain becomes heightened with delusions, fragmented memories, and deep-seated pain.Alice, is a former Police Officer – or was she !!! who has been retired on medical grounds. Alice draws on her life’s experience in the Forces to solve the murder of her friend Kevin, who is killed in a mental institution. The problem is, Alice is also a patient, but that doesn’t hinder her, nor does the dismissive nature of the investigating team. Instead, Alice begins her own investigation and goes about her duties with the prowess, proficiency, and know-how one would expect from a competent police office who has solved so many crimes during her distinguished career. There’s a murder in the hospital and Al wants to help investigate. She has a friend in the Police and asks him for information but this doesn’t get her very far. Mark is also a regular contributor to radio and TV and is a member of the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a combo of bestselling crime and thriller writers who performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019. MY THOUGHTS: Mark Billingham is an amazing author. His depiction of Alice Armitage is brilliant, his forays into her mind, scary.