Exclusive: Mark Billingham on his first new crime series in 20 years

May 25th 2023

About Mark Billingham Born and brought up in Birmingham, Mark Billingham released his first crime novel Sleepyhead in 2001. It was an instant bestseller in the UK. His London-based detective Tom Thorne is widely popular, with 18 books in the series so far, and an acclaimed TV adaptation. Mark has also released four stand-alone crime titles, two of which have been adapted for TV by the BBC. Outside of his writing career, Mark has worked as an actor and has written for television and radio. DISCOVER BOOKS BY Mark Billingham

On lists of UK libraries' most borrowed books, you'd certainly find Mark Billingham's crime bestsellers near the top. Readers have been gripped for over two decades as they follow one of British crime fiction's most iconic detectives, DI Tom Thorne. But Mark has swapped the streets of London for the beaches of Blackpool in his brand new series, with an 'eccentric' and 'offbeat' detective. We spoke to Mark to learn more about the anticipated first instalment of the DS Declan Miller series, The Last Dance.

This is your first new crime book series in 20 years. Why the change? 

I’ve stepped away from the Tom Thorne series regularly over the years. That’s important if you want to keep yourself interested and to keep your series fresh. I would take a year away and write something different, then go back to Tom Thorne, fired up and ready to spend time with him again. This time is a bit different, though. Those breaks were for standalone novels and this is a brand new series with a new lead character. I wanted to write a different sort of detective novel that was more overtly comic in tone. I’m still writing about death and grief and loss, but in a very different way.

Is The Last Dance more humorous than previous books?

Yes, I certainly hope so. I come from a comedic background and my first instinct is always to try and find the funny. That was rarely appropriate with the Tom Thorne books, but with this new series I can give full rein to my comic side. That does not mean that I’m actually writing comedy - just that I’m coming at very dark topics from a rather more unusual angle. I strongly believe that humour and seriousness are not mutually exclusive.

How would you liken crime writing to stand-up comedy? 

Crime novels are structured in an almost identical way to many jokes. There’s a set-up, of course and a pay-off. It’s all about timing – the moments when you choose to reveal key bits of information – before the punchline hits you from an unexpected direction. Crime novels are full of punchlines. They’re just usually very dark.

The crime genre can be clichéd. How do you keep your characters authentic?

Whatever the intricacies of your plot, it’s all about character and it’s crucial that you give readers a character they care about and can engage with. I really hope that’s the case with Declan Miller. He’s a man who is defined by grief. His wife has only recently been murdered but he deals with the pain and the grief in an idiosyncratic fashion. He’s funny when he should be deadly serious, but that’s his way of coping. Simply put, while he still cares deeply about victims – about those going through the same thing he is – he no longer cares what the rest of the world thinks about him. Oh yes, and he has two pet rats called Fred and Ginger [a nod to Hollywood legends Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers]. And he dances…

You studied drama and theatre at university. Has this had an influence on your writing?

I think so, yes. Getting inside the head of your character is definitely an acting exercise and writing a book is its own sort of performance. I’m trying to entertain readers every bit as much as I did the audience I performed to as an actor or a comedian.

Finally, with all of the research that you carry out, do you think you could outsmart your new policeman? 

I don’t do as much procedural research as I used to because largely it’s a waste of time: you just need to sit down and write the book. Obviously there are some things I need to find out about but I’m trying to write something that’s plausible, that’s all. It’s a crime novel and not a documentary. For The Last Dance, I did need to find out quite a lot about ballroom dancing about which I knew nothing whatsoever. Now, I know far more than I need to. I certainly couldn’t outsmart Declan Miller and he’s definitely a better dancer than I am!

The Last Dance The first instalment in Mark Billingham's new crime series introduces the unconventional sleuth, Declan Miller. He's a detective, he's a dancer, he has no respect for authority - and he's the best hope Blackpool has for keeping criminals off the streets. When a double murder in a seaside hotel brings a grieving Miller back to work, this off-beat, eccentric detective must find answers where his colleagues only see an impossible puzzle of mistaken identity. DISCOVER

Learn why readers of all ages love crime books Crime fiction and non-fiction are a guarantee in the bestseller rankings for children's and YA as well as adult lists. Children's librarian Katie breaks down the reasons for the appeal of crime books and gives her reading recommendations for all age groups in our blog post.  READ our CRIME BOOKS BLOG

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