Delve into the thrilling world of DI Tom Thorne with Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham. This 25th anniversary edition is a must-read for crime fiction fans. Sourced from the UK, it delivers authentic British storytelling.
A stunning 25th anniversary paperback edition of the groundbreaking first Tom Thorne novel, a case that changed crime fiction forever . . .
Alison Willetts has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by a skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel but she is completely unable to move or communicate. In leaving Alison Willetts alive, the police believe the killer's made his first mistake.
Then DI Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth: it isn't Alison who is the mistake, it's the three women already dead.
Thorne must find a killer whose agenda is disturbingly unique, and Alison, the one person who holds the key to the killer's identity, is unable to say anything . . .
'One of my favourite authors'
Harlan Coben
'A terrifically stylish debut novel'
Independent on Sunday
'The next superstar detective'
Lee Child
Mark Billingham has twice won the Theakston Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel of the Year, the Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British writer and in 2026 he was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger for an outstanding lifetime contribution to the genre. Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat were made into a hit TV series on Sky 1 starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne, and a series based on the novels In the Dark and Time of Death was broadcast on BBC1. Mark lives in north London with his wife and two children.
