Reading order · 19 books · 2001 to 2025 · Set in London
Tom Thorne Books in Order
Detective Inspector Tom Thorne works murder cases in north London. A fan of country music and Spurs, impatient with procedure and often in trouble with his bosses, he leans on his friend Phil Hendricks, a pathologist, to get through cases that are often dark and disturbing.
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Series facts
- Books
- 19
- Published
- 2001 to 2025
- First book
- Sleepyhead
- Latest
- What the Night Brings (2025)
- Setting
- Set in London
The reading order
Every Tom Thorne book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
19 books · Set in London
- 1Sleepyhead2001With Tom ThorneThree women have died of strokes in London, and a fourth is found alive but locked in her own body, unable to move or speak.Buy on Amazon
- 2Scaredy Cat2002With Tom ThorneTwo women are murdered at the same time in different parts of London, and Thorne begins to suspect two killers are working together.Buy on Amazon
- 3Lazybones2003With Tom ThorneConvicted rapists are being murdered after their release from prison, and Thorne finds little sympathy for the victims as he hunts their killer.Buy on Amazon
- 4The Burning Girl2004With Tom ThorneA woman was set on fire in a gangland mistake twenty years ago.Buy on Amazon
- 5Lifeless2005With Tom ThorneHomeless men are being murdered on the streets of London, and Thorne, in trouble with his bosses, goes undercover among them.Buy on Amazon
- 6Buried2006With Tom ThorneThe teenage son of a retired detective chief inspector is kidnapped, and as Thorne investigates, the trail leads to an old case.Buy on Amazon
- 7Death Message2007With Tom ThorneThorne receives a text message with a photograph of a murdered man on his phone, and then another, and has to work out who is sending them and why.Buy on Amazon
- 8Bloodline2009With Tom ThorneA woman is found dead in her flat, and Thorne learns she was the daughter of the victim of a notorious serial killer, and she is not the only one being targeted.Buy on Amazon
- 9From the Dead2010With Tom ThorneA woman who was convicted of having her husband killed ten years ago is released from prison, and receives a photograph showing him alive.Buy on Amazon
- 10Good as Dead2011With Tom Thorne and Helen WeeksDetective Sergeant Helen Weeks is taken hostage in a newsagent’s shop by a man who demands that Thorne find out what happened to his son, who died in prison.Buy on Amazon
- 11The Dying Hours2013With Tom ThorneThorne, demoted back to uniform, notices a pattern in a string of apparent suicides among elderly people, and starts an investigation no one has authorised.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Bones Beneath2014With Tom ThorneThorne is ordered to escort Stuart Nicklin, a manipulative killer, to a remote island off the Welsh coast, where Nicklin has promised to show the police where he buried a body.Buy on Amazon
- 13Time of Death2015With Tom ThorneOn holiday with Helen Weeks, Thorne finds himself in her home town in Warwickshire, where two schoolgirls have been abducted and the man arrested is married to Helen’s old friend.Buy on Amazon
- 14Love Like Blood2017With Tom ThorneDetective Inspector Nicola Tanner’s partner is murdered, and she asks Thorne to help her with a case she believes is linked: a series of so-called honour killings.Buy on Amazon
- 15The Killing Habit2018With Tom ThorneThorne and Nicola Tanner investigate a series of killings of cats, which Thorne fears is a prelude to murder, and a missing persons case that is not what it seems.Buy on Amazon
- 16Their Little Secret2019With Tom ThorneThorne investigates a suicide that does not quite add up, and the trail leads to a charming con man and a lonely woman he has targeted.Buy on Amazon
- 17Cry Baby2020With Tom ThorneIn 1996, a young Detective Sergeant Tom Thorne investigates the disappearance of a seven-year-old boy who went missing from a park, a case that will haunt him.Buy on Amazon
- 18The Murder Book2022With Tom ThorneTom Thorne is hunting a woman responsible for a series of grisly murders, while a secret from his own past threatens to destroy him and his friends.Buy on Amazon
- 19What the Night Brings2025With Tom ThornePolice officers are being targeted and killed, and as Thorne and Nicola Tanner investigate, they begin to suspect the killings are revenge for a serious betrayal.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in publication order, starting with Sleepyhead. Each book has its own case, but Thorne’s career, his relationships and some old enemies carry through the series.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Tom Thorne | Helen Weeks | Phil Hendricks | Russell Brigstocke | Yvonne Kitson | Dave Holland | Nicola Tanner | Stuart Nicklin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sleepyhead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 2 Scaredy Cat | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | ||
| 3 Lazybones | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 4 The Burning Girl | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 5 Lifeless | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 6 Buried | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 7 Death Message | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 8 Bloodline | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 9 From the Dead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 10 Good as Dead | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 11 The Dying Hours | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 12 The Bones Beneath | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 13 Time of Death | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 14 Love Like Blood | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 15 The Killing Habit | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 16 Their Little Secret | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 17 Cry Baby | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 18 The Murder Book | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 19 What the Night Brings | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Tom Thorne books
8 characters from Mark Billingham’s chart, with the number of Tom Thorne books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Tom ThorneDetective Inspector in London | 19 | Sleepyhead 2001 |
| Helen WeeksPolice officer and Thorne’s partner | 9 | Good as Dead 2011 |
| Phil HendricksPathologist and Thorne’s best friend | 19 | Sleepyhead 2001 |
| Russell BrigstockeDetective Chief Inspector, Thorne’s boss | 19 | Sleepyhead 2001 |
| Yvonne KitsonDetective Inspector | 19 | Sleepyhead 2001 |
| Dave HollandDetective Sergeant | 18 | Sleepyhead 2001 |
| Nicola TannerDetective Inspector | 5 | Love Like Blood 2017 |
| Stuart NicklinManipulative killer | 2 | Scaredy Cat 2002 |