Name: Rabbit Hole
Rating: 3.416666666666667 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 9780751577280

Mark Billingham

The New Masterpiece from the Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

Rabbit Hole

HOW CAN SHE FIND A KILLER... They were meant to be safe on Fleet Ward: psychiatric patients monitored, treated, cared for. But now one of their number is found murdered, and the accusations begin to fly. Was it one of his fellow patients? A member of staff? Or did someone come in from the outside? DC Alice Armitage is methodical, tireless, and she's quickly on the trail of the killer. The only problem is, Alice is a patient too. ...WHEN SHE'S LOST HERSELF?

Gem Koeman

Pros: 

- I loved the small setting of the book. Visualising the hospital and the people in it was very easy to connect to and I feel like it gave a lot of space for Alice's thoughts to feel very chaotic. 

- I feel that the author did a brilliant job at making Alice an unreliable narrator. There were moments where I was sure that she was right about her theories and others where she was obviously in some sort of manic state. 

- It was a very quick read, suitable for what I needed in between other books. 

Cons:

- I thought that the understated reaction to murders on a mental health ward was a bit iffy. It seems like the kind of thing that would have brought all kinds of problems down on the facility and I couldn't shake the fact that something felt off about that.

- I didn't love the moment at the end where Banksy wrote the email explaining that she was never a police officer in the first place. It left quite a few open questions, where is her mental illness stemming from if not PTSD? Why were the mental health staff and police pandering to her (to an extent)? 

Overall, I gave this a three-star. I would have really liked a second POV perhaps from one of the staff members. Perhaps someone new to the hospital who second-guesses their own opinion of Alice and her stories. I enjoyed the book but it wasn't particularly memorable. 

A gripping standalone thriller from the “first-rate British crime writer” and internationally bestselling author of the Tom Thorne novels (The Washington Post). Alice Armitage is a police officer. Or she was. Or perhaps she just imagines she was. Whatever the truth is, following a debilitating bout of PTSD, self-medication with drink and drugs, and a psychotic breakdown, Alice is now a long-term patient in an acute psychiatric ward. When one of her fellow patients is murdered, Alice becomes convinced that she has identified the killer and that she can catch them. Ignored by the police, she begins her own investigation. But when her prime suspect becomes the second victim, Alice’s life begins to unravel still further as she realizes that she cannot trust anyone, least of all herself. Praise for Mark Billingham and the Tom Thorne novels “Morse, Rebus, and now Thorne. The next superstar detective is already with us―don’t miss him.” —Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series “Billingham is a world-class writer and Tom Thorne is a wonderful creation. Rush to read these books.” —Karin Slaughter, international bestselling author “With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don’t want to leave.” —Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch series “Mark Billingham has brought a rare and welcome blend of humanity, dimension, and excitement to the genre.” —George Pelecanos, writer and producer of The Wire “Tom Thorne is one of the most credible and engaging heroes in contemporary crime fiction.” —Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus novels and The Travelling Companion

A Novel of Suspense

Carli McNaught

Ian Brakspear

'Fast-paced and twisting' PAULA HAWKINS, author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN 'A deeply compelling read' HARRIET TYCE, author of BLOOD ORANGE ________________________ My name is Alice. I'm a police officer. I'm trying to solve a murder on a psychiatric ward. But I'm also a patient... They were meant to be safe on Fleet Ward: psychiatric patients monitored, treated, cared for. But now one of their number is found murdered, and the accusations begin to fly. Was it one of his fellow patients? A member of staff? Or did someone come in from the outside? DC Alice Armitage is methodical, tireless, and she's quickly on the trail of the killer. The only problem is, Alice is a patient too. ________________________ 'One of the most consistently entertaining, insightful crime writers working today' Gillian Flynn 'A world-class crime writer' Karin Slaughter 'Mark Billingham is a master of psychology, plotting and the contemporary scene' Ian Rankin 'Billingham is always a must read' Harlan Coben 'One of Britain's best crime writers' The Times

Rabbit Hole The New Masterpiece from the Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

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