Mark Billingham Books in Order
Mark Billingham is an English crime writer best known for the Tom Thorne police procedural series set in London that began with Sleepyhead in 2001. Before becoming a full-time author, he worked as an actor, TV writer, and stand-up comedian, and in 2026 he received the CWA Diamond Dagger for his contribution to crime fiction.
His books stay close to police work, all which involve the usual mix of ingredients in books of this genre: murder investigations, damaged officers, victims’ families, old mistakes, and the stress of the cases becoming too personal. But what makes Mark Billingham’s books different from other novels in the genre is the dry, blunt humor he uses in the dialogue. The people devoted to solving the serious cases often sound like real people trying to get through a bad day.
This page lists all Mark Billingham books in order, including the Tom Thorne series, the Detective Miller series, standalone novels, short stories, nonfiction, and the Triskellion books written under the pseudonym Will Peterson with Peter Cocks.
Latest Mark Billingham Books
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Where to Start with Mark Billingham
→ New to Mark Billingham? Start with Sleepyhead (Tom Thorne #1). This is the beginning of his main series and introduces Tom Thorne’s London police world.
→ Want a newer series with less pressure to read the previous entries of a longseries? Start with The Last Dance (Detective Miller #1) as it begins a separate series and does not depend on Tom Thorne.
→ Watched the Sky Thorne adaptation? Read Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat, the first two Thorne books.
→ Watched BBC’s In the Dark? Read In the Dark before Time of Death if you want the books in publication order. The TV series adapted both books but changed the order and made Helen Weeks the main focus.
→ Cry Baby is a prequel to Sleepyhead, but it was published much later. If you’re new to the Tom Thorne series, start with Sleepyhead.
Tom Thorne Series (Books in Order)
The Tom Thorne series follows Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, a London murder detective at the London Metropolitan Police who works cases involving serial offenders, targeted killings, even cold cases, and has to deal with police pressure from inside and outside the force. The books are usually focused on the investigations, but they also follow what years of murder cases do to Tom Thorne and the people around him. He is a stubborn but unconventional detective with a sharp eye for those times when things don’t make sense. Sleepyhead was adapted into a mini TV-series in 2010. Cry Baby (Book 17) is a prequel set in 1996 before the events of Sleepyhead, and is best read after you know the character from the previously published books.
Mark Billingham’s background in comedy often shows through the pages. The Thorne books can be depressing, but the characters often use dry and witty humor to cope with fear, frustration, and the absurdity of some of their cases.
- Sleepyhead, 2001
- Scaredy Cat, 2002
- Lazybones, 2003
- The Burning Girl, 2004
- Lifeless, 2005
- Buried, 2006
- Death Message, 2007
- Bloodline, 2009
- From the Dead, 2010
- Thorne at Christmas, 2013
- Good as Dead, 2012
- The Dying Hours, 2013
- The Bones Beneath, 2014
- Time of Death, 2015
- Love Like Blood, 2017
- The Killing Habit, 2018
- Their Little Secret, 2019
- Cry Baby, 2020
- The Murder Book, 2022
- What the Night Brings, 2025
Detective Miller (Books in Order)
The Detective Miller series follows Detective Sergeant Declan Miller, a veteran detective who loves doing things own unconventional way, working in Blackpool who is also a passionate ballroom dancer. The series starts with Miller’s return from compassionate leave following his wife’s murder. Upon his return, he solves cases using very atypical methods, including talking things through with his “ghost” wife due to his grief over her death, which makes his partner trying to figure out how to work with him.
This is Mark Billingham’s first new detective series after many years of writing Tom Thorne, and it sounds more relaxed and less predictable than the previous one, while still being police crime series.
- The Last Dance, 2023
- The Wrong Hands, 2024
- The Shadow Step, 2026
Standalone Novels
- Knight School, 1998 (with Peter Cocks)
- In the Dark, 2008
- Rush of Blood, 2012
- Inherit the Dead, 2013 (with others)
- Die of Shame, 2016
- Rabbit Hole, 2021
Novellas and Short Stories
- The Other Half, 2015 (with My Darling Clementine)
- Stroke of Luck, 2015
- Cut-off, 2018
Short Story Collections and Anthologies
- Men from Boys, 2003
- Like A Charm, 2004 (edited by Karin Slaughter)
- The Best New British Mysteries Volume II, 2005
- Damn Near Dead, 2006
- The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries, 2008
- Criminal Tendencies, 2009
- The Sounds Of Crime, 2010
- Suspense Magazine, April 2010, 2010
- Crimespree Magazine #1 and 2, 2011
- The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 9, 2012
- Suspense Magazine July 2012, 2012
- The Killer Cookbook, 2012
- Dancing Towards the Blade and Other Stories, 2013
- Crimespree Magazine #50, 2013
- Crime Writers: A Decade of Crime, 2013, with Harlan Coben, Ann Cleeves, P D James, Val McDermid and Steve Mosby
- OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters, 2014
- Dead Simple, 2017
- Exit Wounds, 2019
- Afraid of The Christmas Lights, 2020 (Afraid of the Light series)
- Murder on a Winter’s Night, 2021
- Brutal & Strange, 2023
- Murder in Harrogate, 2024
Triskellion (Books in Order)
The Triskellion young adult paranormal thriller trilogy follows American twins Adam and Rachel, who move from New York to a small village in England to live with their grandmother after the divorce of their parents. There they discover that the village is protected by something called Triskellion, an ancient three-bladed artifact.
Written as Will Peterson, co-authored with Peter Cocks.
- Triskellion, 2008
- The Burning, 2009
- The Gathering, 2010
Mark Billingham Biography
Mark Billingham is an English crime writer who wrote the Tom Thorne series, the DS Declan Miller series, several standalone crime novels, short stories, and books written under the shared name Will Peterson.. He has published more than 25 books since his debut in 2001.
Official website: markbillingham.com
Born in 1961 in Solihull, Warwickshire, Mark Philip David Billingham grew up in Birmingham. He attended the University of Birmingham, from where he graduated with a degree in drama in 1983.
After university, he co-founded a theater called Bread and Circuses, worked as an actor in minor TV roles, including including the children’s series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men and the ITV children’s drama Knight School, co-written and co-starring with writer Peter Cocks. He also worked as a stand-up comedian between the late 1980s and 1990s. That background is relevant to his later books, which use witty banter and dry humor even when the cases are extremely grim.
His debut crime novel, Sleepyhead, was published in 2001 and became an immediate UK bestseller. It introduces London Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, who has since appeared in 19 novels. It became Mark Billingham’s main series, following Thorne through numerous murder investigations, cases involving serial killers, office politics, and all the dues he personally paid for his work.
In addition, Mark Billingham has started a second crime series in 2023 with The Last Dance, featuring DS Declan Miller, a Blackpool detective who behaves very differently from Tom Thorne. With Peter Cocks, he wrote the young adult Triskellion trilogy under the shared name Will Peterson.
His books have sold more than six million copies and have been translated into 25 languages. He has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year twice, received the CWA Dagger in the Library in 2022, and was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger, the Crime Writers’ Association’s lifetime achievement award, in 2026.
Mark Billingham lives in North London with his family, where he moved in the 1980s.
Mark Billingham Book Adaptations
- Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat – adapted into the television series Thorne (Sky1, 2010), starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne
- In the Dark – adapted into a BBC miniseries (2017)
- Time of Death – adapted as part of a BBC series along with In the Dark (2017)
- Rush of Blood – adaptation has been optioned for development for US television
Mark Billingham Awards and Honors
Major Awards
- Lazybones – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2004)
- Death Message – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2009)
- Theakston Old Peculier Award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Writing (2021)
- CWA Dagger in the Library (2022)
- CWA Diamond Dagger (2026)
Awards (Full List)
Show all awards Close
- What’s That Noise (television) – Royal Television Society Award for Best Entertainment Programme (1995)
- Scaredy Cat – Sherlock Award for Best Detective Novel Created by a UK Author (2003)
- Lazybones – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2004)
- Death Message – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2009)
- Time of Death – Dead Good Reader Award / Val McDermid Award for Fiendish Forensics (2015)
- Theakston Old Peculier Award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Writing (2021)
- CWA Dagger in the Library (2022)
- CWA Diamond Dagger (2026)
Nominations and Shortlists
Show all nominations Close
- Scaredy Cat – CWA Gold Dagger (2002)
- Scaredy Cat – Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel (2003)
- Lazybones – Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel (2004)
- CWA Dagger in the Library (2004)
- The Burning Girl – Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel (2005)
- CWA Dagger in the Library (2005)
- Lifeless – Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel (2006)
- Lifeless – BCA Crime Thriller of the Year (2006)
- Buried – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2008)
- In the Dark – CWA Gold Dagger (2009)
- In the Dark – CrimeFest Sounds of Crime Award (2009)
- In the Dark – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2010)
- Rush of Blood – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2013)
- The Dying Hours – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2014)
- CWA Dagger in the Library (2015)
- Time of Death – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2016)
- Die of Shame – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2017)
- CWA Dagger in the Library (2019)
- Cry Baby – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2021)
- Rabbit Hole – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2022)
- The Murder Book – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2023)
- The Last Dance – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2024)
- The Last Dance – CrimeFest Last Laugh Award (2024)
- What the Night Brings – Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2026)
I love reading the Tom Thorne series. I never imagined I’d enjoy reading these mystery novels but I can’t put them down. Mark is my favourite author. I have read only 3 books so far but have 4 more waiting to read. I am definately going to read them in order cause l don’t want to miss out any bit of Tom’s career.
I got introduced to Mark Billingham by a very special person to me Bridie.My first read was Buried which blew me away.
Brilliant storyline and characters who from the first chapter grabbed my attention and didn’t let go til the last word.
I’ve now read 8 books each being totally enthralling,
I’ve purchased 20 books of is collection with only the Christmas short story and cut off which both are proving too be extremely difficult to acquire to complete my collection.
He his my favourite author he his beyond compare.