Mind-Bending Thrill-Ride: Read our Review of Rabbit Hole by Mark Billingham

A gripping standalone thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Tom Thorne novels.

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 realises that she cannot trust anyone, least of all herself.

Mark Billingham is a multi-million copy bestselling author who is best known for his gripping Tom Thorne crime series. Now he’s back with his latest standalone, Rabbit Hole, and for those of you who have yet to read his work, this is a great starting point.

Rabbit Hole is a mind-bending psychological thriller that puts protagonist Alice Armitage through the toughest investigation of her life. Billingham plays the unreliable narrator card brilliantly here, as we never really know the truth about what’s going on, leading to an electrifying conclusion. Alice is a complicated and intriguing protagonist, and Billingham’s portrayal of her PTSD is realistic yet sensitively handled. Her state of mind is always in a constant state of dismay, so everything she says or does has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Another standout part of the novel was the psychiatric ward setting. While already an eerie place, once patients start becoming murder victims, you’ll feel the dread alongside Alice as she’s trapped inside and races to catch the killer. Billingham knows how to play with the expectations of the reader, making every plot twist hit hard and fast.

With clear-cut prose, and an outstanding build-up of tension, Billingham has shown his versatility as a writer as he perfectly blends the line between gritty crime and psychological thriller. This is my first Billingham novel, but after reading this, I can definitely see why his Tom Thorne series is such a success.