Though he feels guilty putting his job before his personal life, at this time he feels ill equipped to support Louise emotionally. He arrives at the murder scene to find Phil Hendricks, the crime scene pathologist, dealing with the body of a young woman named Emily Walker. The woman apparently had been suffocated by the perpetrator holding a plastic bag securely over her head. Bruises on her neck suggested that he had used considerable force to hold the bag in place until she stopped breathing.

As the investigation proceeds it becomes apparent that Emily's death was only one in a series . All of the victims were clutching a bit of x-ray film which, when placed together, began to comprise a grisly jigsaw puzzle. The "jigsaw" leads them back in time about thirty years to a series of murders committed by Raymond Garvey who had killed seven women in a four month period. Garvey was convicted and sent to jail and died in prison some years later of a brain tumor. The present murder victims are all blood relations of the women that Garvey killed in the 1980's. A sense of urgency arises when it is discovered that there are some relatives of Garvey's victims still living. It becomes Thorne's job to locate these people and do his best to protect them while simultaneously finding the killer.

While serial killers are a popular subject for mystery writers, Billingham has put his own spin on this one. The reader is privy to a good deal of information, enough to entice most into making an educated guess at the killer's identity. While it is possible to hazard a correct guess there are still some surprises put forth at the end of the novel.

Bloodline is the eighth in a series of novels by Billingham featuring Tom Thorne. While those familiar with the books will be reminded of Thorne's disasters in his personal life, there is nothing in this offering that will make a reader new to the series feel like an outsider at a family reunion. It is obvious that Thorne is an emotional cripple and others in the cast can offer Louise much more; however, there is a connection between these two people that will no doubt endure. Series fans will understand the reasons why Thorne is the way, he is but it is enough to recognize his failings to capture the personal appeal of the novel.

Billingham is a master at setting the mood. He allows Thorne to muse upon violent death from the aspect of motive. Revenge, sex, or money are common motives But "when it was...none of these things was when it got scary." This observation defines the tone of the remainder of the book.

Despite the sober, serious tone of the novel, the author manages to inject a note of humor every so often. When Thorne consults with Pavesh Kambar, a neuroscientist of some renown, Kambar utters an expletive to express his feelings. Thorne is surprised. Kambar responds "It's a medical term ..one you reserve for when you hear something that makes you feel like a hopeless quack with a pocketful of leeches."

Billingham does not leave his readers with a successful capture of the wrongdoer, or they all lived happily ever after. He presents a more realistic account, which while not totally depressing, makes it seem more like real life.

--Andy Plonka