Rush of Blood

I am surprised by the predominantly unfavorable reviews. I liked this mystery story!

Three British couples meet by chance while vacationing in Florida. As might be expected, they pal around together due to their common circumstances. On the last day of their holiday a mentally challenged teenage girl staying at the resort goes missing. The Brits can provide no significant observations to the cops’ routine interview questions. Back home they go.

Back in London the couples maintain casual contact. Their dinner conversation always seems to revert to the tragedy of the missing girl, who is ultimately found dead. On top of that British authorities are enlisted by their American counterparts to ask a few follow up questions, a seemingly show more mundane request. The British investigation is led by a detective in training anxious to prove her meddle. She dissects each detail of the couples’ statements, sparking more than a little suspicion among the new friends as well as the reader. Then, an almost identical crime occurs in proximity to London raising the stakes on both sides of the Atlantic.

The story is a classic whodunit. Multiple characters have questionable traits – one with an explosive temper, one skirt-chaser with a criminal history, another a boor who considers himself smarter than police. Even the women are questionable. Billingham dribbles clues using innuendo or a turn of phrase. I am proud that I guessed correctly about three quarters of the way through, and I NEVER guess right!

I have only two criticisms. First, putting a face to a character enhances my reading experience. Six major characters and a couple of really important minor ones made it awfully hard to remember all those faces consistently. Second, while I did guess the murderer correctly, I thought Billingham’s reveal was a little hokey. Nevertheless, a very satisfying read! show less

Part of what makes RUSH OF BLOOD work is the normality of the setup. Three couples, on an overseas holiday form one of those short-term friendships that we've probably all done. The one thing that seems to draw them together post holiday is the unthinkable. The disappearance of a young, obviously intellectually handicapped girl, from the same resort as them. The other part that works - the way the reader knows one of these six is a most likely a killer, but which one?

There are a number of devices that Billingham uses to obfuscate, explain, reveal and draw out the clues to what happened in Florida. Whilst it's a big set of possible suspects, each of the voices of each of the characters is quite distinct, as are their observations of each show more other - jointly and as couples. The major reconnection points, three dinner parties, hosted in turn by each couple, serve as check points in their friendship, in the events during their holidays, and in the understanding of each of them that the reader is building. The clues about what happened to the young victim are sparingly revealed - cleverly - as her body takes a long time to be discovered, in the same way that some sort of motivation, and the revelations about the killer are sparingly revealed. All the while the character of each of the six main suspects becomes clearer, and more worrying - is it the sleazy one, the creepy one or the one with the temper, maybe the appeaser, the victim or the enigma. Doubt is cast in all directions, and the pressure is increasingly getting to someone.

Whilst he's doing all of that with the possible suspects, Billingham, in short sharp bursts, also gives the reader an insight into the fallout from such a disappearance / death. The young girls mother, the local cop investigating the murder - each of these characters beautifully reflect that for every victim, there are ripples of consequence, of loss, of effect.

In RUSH OF BLOOD Billingham has created an interesting combination of character study and psychological thriller combined with a good old fashioned whodunnit. Not until the final moments of the book is the total truth revealed, and along the way it seems strange that of six random people, seemingly normal, everyday people, simply on a holiday in a foreign location... each of those people could conceivably be guilty of murder. Of a vicious, opportunistic, cruel murder into the bargain.

As a huge fan of the Thorne series of books, I've developed quite an admiration for the occasional standalone that Billingham has embarked on. RUSH OF BLOOD just reinforces that admiration - in very big spades.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/rush-blood-mark-billingham show less

Rush of Blood is a welcome change from Billingham's detective inspector Tom Thorpe and also somewhat of a change of pace for this master of the police procedural. What the book lacks in polish it more than makes up for in intrigue and red herrings.

Three middle class British couples become friendly on holiday in Florida: apart from their nationality they have little in common and there is no reason for their friendship to outlast their return to the UK. But then a child disappears. A mentally disabled adolescent staying at their resort goes missing on the last day of the holiday, rather spoiling their trip.

The story is written from the points of view of each of the couples but although it becomes apparent one of them must be the killer, show more the narrative is carefully structured to reveal nothing while exposing opportunities for everyone. The American child is found dead some months later, and an English child of the same age vanishes, suggsting a serial killer.

The path to revelation is a slow one but the book is more about the characters, the human interactions and various psyches as the couples are kept connected [somewhat unwillingly] through the murder and the ongoing investigation. On the whole, they are dreadful people, entirely lacking in charm, and the reader is ready to believe the worst of any of them.

In a way, the killings are almost incidental: remove them and the story would still be compelling despite the sour taste it leaves in the reader's mouth. The book is not as sure as most of his previous work and the unhappness and casual cruelty of most people is a little hard to stomach. Thorpe has become a little tired however and it's grand to see Billingham stretch his writer's muscles in something new. show less

3 couples: Angie and Barry, Sue and Ed, Marina and Dave, meet at a Florida resort, and on their last day at the hotel the intellectually challenged daughter of another holiday maker goes missing. The three British couples are questioned about their whereabouts at the time the girl went missing, and nothing seems suspicious and they are allowed to fly home.

The structure of the book is interesting: emails arranging dinner parties once they are home, chapters exploring how each couple happened to take that holiday along with other details of their marriages, interspersed with the occasional chapter in the voice of the murderer.

At their first meeting back in London the conversation inevitably turns to whether the missing girl in Florida has show more been found. Back in Florida We are introduced to Detective Jeffrey Gardner, in charge of the investigation. Six weeks after she disappeared the body of the young girl is found, and in London the Lewisham CID room gets a request from the Florida detective for follow up interviews of the British tourists. The task is handed to Trainee Detective Constable Jenny Quinlan who is determined to make her mark. And then a second girl goes missing, but this time in Jenny's territory.

This was a really well plotted story. It had me asking who the murderer was- trying to identify him or her from those very short chapters that kept popping up.

As it turned I was very nearly right, but the author inserted a couple of real twists at the end. show less

Billingham tries again to write a not part of the Thorne series - and this time he is a bit more successful in making it an independent story (Thorne does show up for a second but it looks more like an attempt to put the story in the correct timeframe than anything else).

Three British couples end up in the same resort in Florida for their vacation. And being Brits, they stick together - around the pool and at meals. It is a nice and calm vacation until the last night when a girl disappears - a girl that all 6 had met. They all have sound alibis and fly home as planned. And that should have been the end of it. Except that Angie, one of the women, decides that the usual exchange of mails had not been just for form and invite everyone to show more dinner. And so it starts - 3 dinners in the three homes; and between the veneer over their lives start cracking.

By now Billingham had pulled one of his favorite tricks and had given some of the chapters to the responsible partner. The fact that it is one of the 6 is obvious but he manages to hide well not just who the person is but even the gender. Not that one cannot have suspicions of course - I was pretty sure about the gender because it felt like the narrative was pulling in the other direction. But it could have gone either way.

And while we are seeing the problems of our 6 characters and they get better and better described and more and more alive, the body of the US girl is found and another girl disappears. This time in UK -- and as both the girls had had learning difficulties so the connection is done fast. And the police start investigating again - a murder cop on Florida (Jeff Gardner) and a trainee Detective Constable in London - Jennifer Quinlan. Except at the start, before the UK girl disappears, everyone is convinced that there is nothing to be investigated in London. Except Jennie - who finds the cracks in alibis. Throw a few more red herrings, a dead girl (dead for a while) and an old arrest and the things get complicated.

By the time the novel start get closing, all seems to become clear. The murders are solved, the killer is found (and Thorne makes an appearance). And then the last chapters turns everything on its head. In a way it is unsatisfying ending. But it fits the story. Underestimating anyone caused issues for everyone and that is what leads to the final reveal.

It is a strange format for Billingham - not just because of the lack of the usual team but also because of the way the characters are built. They all start as normal, decent people and then things start getting revealed. It is similar to the way you learn about people when you meet them in real life. Because of the need of the story, there was too much foreshadowing - some of it annoying.

It's not his best novels but it is readable and once you get through the first 100 pages or so, the story grips you. And does not let you go until the last page. If you expect another Thorne novel (or a novel in the same style), you will be disappointed. But as a thriller, it is decent. And Billingham is a good storyteller. show less

Rush of Blood by Mark Billingham is a captivating mystery about a teenager who goes missing on vacation and the three couples who "knew" her. Upon their return home, the couples resume their vacation friendship and eventually begin discussing the girl's disappearance. When local police begin questioning them and another teenage girl goes missing, suspicions begin to arise that one of the six is responsible.

British couples, Angie and Barry Finnegan, Sue and Ed Dunning, and Marina Green and Dave Cullen are all staying at the same resort while on holiday in Sarasota, FL. They strike up a vacation friendship and they enjoy hanging out together around the pool and dining with each other at local restaurants. On their last night in town, show more their idyllic vacation is marred by the disappearance of a fellow vacationer's fourteen year old daughter. Not letting the unfortunate incident ruin their last night in town, the couples exchange e-mail addresses and promise to keep in touch once they are back in the UK. Back home, Angie arranges the first of three increasingly tense dinner parties. Not long after each of the couples are re-interviewed by Detective Constable Jenny Quinlan, another young girl goes missing in the local area. Certain the same person is responsible for both the kidnappings, FL detective Jeff Gardner liaises with British detectives in hopes of catching the kidnapper/killer.

On the surface, each of the couples appears to be quite happy with their lives and relationships. However, once they return to their normal lives, they begin to see the cracks beneath the surface. Angie is a stay at home mom with plenty of time on her hands while her contractor husband Barry flies off the handle both at home and at work. Sue and Ed are long married but Ed has a wandering eye and he is not exactly being truthful about what he does while traveling for his work. Dave Cullen and Marina Green are the only couple who are not married but they seem to have a secure relationship even if they do appear to be a little mismatched. Marina is a beautiful woman who works part-time while she pursues her acting career whereas Dave somewhat of a computer geek.

DC Quinlan's interviews with the couples reveal what the reader already knows: not everyone was honest when they were questioned by the police in FL. Some of these untruths were lies by omission while others were not so innocent efforts to conceal information. Unable to provide solid information about some of their movements on the afternoon the teenager went missing, Detective Gardner digs a little deeper and uncovers some very surprising information. Closer to home, DC Quinlan doggedly continues looking into each of the vacationers' backgrounds and what she discovers definitely warrants further investigation.

Rush of Blood is a slow building whodunit where Mark Billingham provides very intimate peeks into the private lives of three British couples who meet by happenstance while vacationing in the US. When they return to their everyday lives, they begin to notice one another's imperfections but does this mean one of them is a murderer? The truth about who is responsible for the kidnappings emerges at one of the diner parties but there are still plenty of unexpected twists and turns ahead as the novel comes to a very shocking conclusion. Another brilliant mystery that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre. show less

Three couples meet around the pool on their Florida holiday and become fast friends. But on their last night, their perfect holiday takes a tragic twist: the teenage daughter of another holidaymaker goes missing, and her body is later found floating in the mangroves. When the shocked couples return home, they remain in contact, and over the course of three increasingly fraught dinner parties they come to know one another better. But they don't always like what they find: buried beneath these apparently normal exteriors are some dark secrets, hidden kinks, ugly vices... Then, a second girl goes missing. Could it be that one of these six has a secret far darker than anybody can imagine?

My Thoughts:

Mark Billingham is one of my favourite show more authors with Tom Thorne being one of my favourite characters. This book is a stand alone thriller but Tom Thorne does make a brief cameo appearance.

This story is about three couples who meet on holiday. There’s plenty of sun , sea, sex, drink and a murder. What was clever about this book is that you get to know the couples and it is obvious that one of the six is the killer but you just cannot make out which one. There are plenty of red herrings and as I was reading it I did keep changing my mind who it could be.

This book kept me on my toes till the big reveal and then there is a twist. I wish Tom Thorne could have been on this case and it would have bought together a great story with a great character

Mark Billingham has previously churned out a stand alone but it wasn’t half as good as this one. I would highly recommend this book and all of the Tom Thorne novels. I have also met Mark Billingham and would recommend going to see him if you could. show less