🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Mark Billingham
Billingham became a crime victim in the year 1997 where he was kidnapped together with his writing partner Peter Cocks and held hostage in Manchester hotel room. From this event, Billingham turned them into inspiration for his second Thorne novel, Scaredy cat. In this novel, the general theme he addresses is the power of fear. According to Billingham, power is a very powerful weapon that is every bit as dangerous as a knife or a gun. Everything that happened to him in the hotel is directly sub plotted in the novel with some very nasty crimes which were carried out. As he explains, they were kept bound and engaged in their hotel room by a trio of masked men who stole credit cards and items from them.
All Book Series by Mark Billingham
Great Lost Albums
Single-title series · published 2014 Co-authored · David Quantick,Martyn Waites,Stav Sherez
Dancing Towards the Blade and Other Stories
Single-title series · published 2013
OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters
Book 6 of 10 · published 2014
Murder in Harrogate: Stories inspired by the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
Latest in the series · book 10 of 10 · published 2024
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mark Billingham?
Billingham became a crime victim in the year 1997 where he was kidnapped together with his writing partner Peter Cocks and held hostage in Manchester hotel room. From this event, Billingham turned them into inspiration for his second Thorne novel, Scaredy cat. In this novel, the general theme he addresses is the power of fear.
Which Mark Billingham series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Tom Thorne series, the earliest of Mark Billingham's multi-book series: it opens with Sleepyhead (2001) and runs to 20 books across 2001–2025, ending with What the Night Brings (2025). Mark Billingham's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Mark Billingham written?
Mark Billingham has 44 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1998 and 2026. 26 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the Tom Thorne series with 20 books — and 18 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Mark Billingham's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Mark Billingham's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Tom Thorne (2001–2025, 20 books), Triskellion (2008–2010, 3 books) and Detective Miller (2023–2026, 3 books).
How are Mark Billingham's books organised into series?
This guide splits Mark Billingham's 44 books into 3 named series and 18 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Tom Thorne (20 books, 2001–2025); Detective Miller (3 books, 2023–2026); Triskellion (3 books, 2008–2010).