To save innocent lives, he must find a criminal whose agenda is terrifyingly unique.

And Thorne knows they won’t be his last victims. ‘An appropriate margin of error’ is how their killer dismissed them his true intention was to leave them just like Alison: put to sleep for the rest of their natural lives.

Until Detective Inspector Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth: Alison is the psychopath’s first success the three women he killed before her were the mistakes. In leaving Alison alive, the police believe her assailant has made his first mistake. She has survived a deliberately induced stroke, and although she can see, hear, and feel, she is completely unable to move or to communicate. Tense and unnerving, this menacing tale of obsession is as scathingly witty as it is bone chilling, and it introduces a stunning new talent in detective fiction. Mark Billingham’s arresting debut novel Sleepyhead, an international bestseller, is a mesmerizing, psychological thriller. Seriously, though, Tom, maybe I’ll call you sometime. It’s all about pressure, Detective Inspector Thorne, but then you’d know all about that. I shall not insult your intelligence with platitudes about ends and means but offer in mitigation the thought that a massive undertaking often has an appropriate margin of error. Have you ever really considered it? I’m sorry about the others. And don’t you just envy her that perfect…ĭistance? I invite you to consider the concept of freedom.

Lifeless mark billingham