Lifeless by Mark Billingham

 

DCI Tom Thorne has been out of work following the death of his father in a fire.  His father was struggling with early memory issues and Thorne isn't sure if he accidentally set the fire or if it was a payback from the criminal enterprise he just took down.  His mental health is suffering and he has no focus.  When he returns management wants to put him at a desk.

But murder in London doesn't take holidays.  Someone is killing the homeless on the streets at night, kicking and beating them to death.  Thorne makes the case that he would be the perfect person to go undercover.  His bosses are hesitant but he convinces them and is soon wandering the streets, sleeping in doorways, drinking beer with other homeless men and making friends.  His only contact is a daily phone contact with Dave Holland on his team.

Eventually, a pattern emerges.  The murders seem to be tied to former soldiers from Iraq and an action there that may have been an atrocity.  Can Thorne and his team find the other soldiers before they are killed and stop the killer?

This is the fourth Tom Thorne novel in the series.  The reader gets to know Thorne more than they do other detectives in other series.  We know about his love for his father, his guilt at what may have happened and the instability of mind that seeing nothing but the worst of human nature can have on even the strongest individuals.  The plot is tight and satisfactory and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.