Rabbit Hole: The new masterpiece from the Sunday Times number one bestseller

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Alice Armitage is a patient in an acute psychiatric ward following a debilitating bout of PTSD, self-medication with drink and drugs, and a psychotic breakdown. When one of Alice’s fellow patients is murdered she is convinced that she hunt down the killer. This is a stand alone novel by Mark Billingham, with a slight nod to “Alice in Wonderland,” with the main character being called Alice Armitage and the suggestion that she has fallen down the rabbit hole. In this case, the rabbit hole is an acute psychiatric ward, or Fleet Ward, to be exact. Alice has been sectioned and is a patient on the ward and her musings, as she explains her surroundings and the cast of characters – both other patients and staff – are darkly funny. With each of his books, Mark Billingham gets better and better. These are stories and characters you don’t want to leave.”—Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch series

I loved the sense of looking out for each other that Al had with some of the other patients and whilst there are two murders, I found this to be a heartwarming story. I got it because my wife in 1970s was on psyc ward it's Sucide is painful it brings on meany changes but so does Murders

More than just about any book I’ve read, I HAD to know how it would all come together.”— Linwood Barclay Alice (Al) Armitage is in an intermediate length ward in London for mental health and addiction treatment. We are told she has PTSD, substance misuse issues and intermittent paranoia (is this truly her diagnosis?) She is a former copper (is she or isn't she?) Her life has fallen apart and she ends up mandated to have long term treatment for her mental illness and anti-social behaviors (is she a criminal as well?) A gripping standalone thriller from the “first-rate British crime writer” and internationally bestselling author of the Tom Thorne novels ( The Washington Post ).

MY THOUGHTS: Mark Billingham is an amazing author. His depiction of Alice Armitage is brilliant, his forays into her mind, scary. Mental patients are sometimes fascinating to read about, and Alice Armitage is one of them. She is a police officer, was a police officer, or imagines she was. She is now a long-term patient in an acute psychiatric ward after a mental breakdown. When one of the patients in the ward is murdered, Alice decides she is the perfect person to solve the crime since she has so much experience in investigations. She has identified the prime suspect, even though the police are ignoring her, but then the prime suspect is murdered as well. Considering that the adventures of Lewis Carroll’s original Alice have been interpreted (in the 1960s, at least) as the fantasies of someone who has ingested a surfeit of magic mushrooms, this isn’t so much a psychological thriller as a psychedelic one. With the Alice here as narrator, we often get the feeling that reality is just beyond our grasp.The tensions build well both with the police investigation and between the patients and staff and via Alice you get a sense of foreboding and fear. Her thoughts, sensations and feelings come across in a powerful way. There are some clever misdirections because of Alice’s state of mind and so the big reveal and ultimate ending is a surprise. You feel a whole range of emotions for Alice and the others. Alice Armitage is (or, at least, believes she is) a former police officer who is now a patient on a psychiatric ward, suffering from PTSD after her partner Jonno is stabbed to death during a routine investigation. When one of her fellow patients is murdered, Alice secretly mounts her own investigation and becomes convinced she knows who the killer is. Unfortunately, a few days later, Alice’s suspect becomes the second victim. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Grove Atlantic for an e-copy of this book. This was released August 2021. I am providing my honest review. Tom Thorne is one of the most credible and engaging heroes in contemporary crime fiction.”—Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus novels and The Travelling Companion