Author Mark Billingham gets almost everything right here --- the character of Alice, who is by turns fascinating, pitiful and manipulative; the atmosphere of the ward and its grimness; the unctuous posturing of the staff; and the effects of the various drugs. Overall, the book is an effective hybrid --- an absorbing character study doubling as a travelogue through a place that many of us find intimidating.

I think I should be handcuffed after reading Rabbit Hole. I am guilty of loving this novel so much. I’m guilty of disliking character after character so much. I was an ex mental health worker am deliriously pleased with an accurate account of just how complex PTSD can be. Not long after her arrival in the ward one of the patients is found murdered. It is from here that things become extremely tangled and our viewpoint within Alice’s brain becomes heightened with delusions, fragmented memories, and deep-seated pain. Superb . . . Billingham adds tantalizing red herrings throughout. The book’s masterly ending features a heart-stopping chase to apprehend Kieron’s surprising kidnapper. Established fans and newcomers alike will be thrilled.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Cry Baby 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?) THE AUTHOR: Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001. Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children.Rabbit Hole excels with its intelligent vivacity. A magnificent sense of gravitas with a terrifying exploration of mental health and guilt. Rabbit Hole is a mind-bending psychological thriller that puts protagonist Alice Armitage through the toughest investigation of her life. Billingham plays the unreliable narrator card brilliantly here, as we never really know the truth about what’s going on, leading to an electrifying conclusion. Alice is a complicated and intriguing protagonist, and Billingham’s portrayal of her PTSD is realistic yet sensitively handled. Her state of mind is always in a constant state of dismay, so everything she says or does has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Women Sleuths, Thrillers, Crime, Psychological, General, Suspense Alice Armitage is a police officer living in a secure psychiatric hospital. She has been sectioned following a major breakdown caused by the traumatic death of a colleague that she feels responsible for. While she is in hospital a patient is murdered and Alice takes it upon herself to investigate. The story is narrated by Alice who describes her thoughts, ideas and memories throughout. It is during the telling of the story that we discover how unwell Alice is. She is paranoid and delusional, suffers with memory lapses and has huge mood swings. It soon becomes clear that nothing Alice describes can be taken as fact as so many of her memories and experiences are affected by her illness. Is she actually a Police Officer or could she have committed the murder herself even? A gripping standalone thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Tom Thorne novels.An acclaimed television series based on the Thorne novels was screened on Sky One in Autumn 2010, starring David Morrissey as Tom Thorne. A series based on the novels In The Dark and Time Of Death was screened on BBC1 in 2017. 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. Mental illness and addiction presents itself in many different ways. Alice is portrayed as being charming, articulate and likable, which makes her engaging as a character (and would make her very difficult to treat in real life). But Alice is not just a detective; she is our guide through a complicated world, introducing us to the various individuals who inhabit the ward --- both patients and staff. Mark Bellingham has pulled the rabbit out of the hat on this one. The Rabbit Hole is told in a way that strikes a perfect balance between sensitively dealing with PTSD and murder whilst injecting tasteful humour throughout the book. Uh huh, a patient is murdered and Alice, as police, decides to work the case from inside. Great premise! Oh, Alice is a wonderfully unreliable narrator! She has memory issues, is paranoid and takes a boatload of meds every day - as does everyone she lives with. The killer could be any one of the residents.