Messiah is a thriller novel by British writer Boris Starling, published in 1999.

The novel became the basis for the popular BBC TV series Messiah, starring Ken Stott,[1] which also had Starling appearing as a corpse.

[2] The novel opens with the discovery of the body of Philip Rhodes, a London caterer, who is found hanging in his underwear from his banister, his tongue cut out and a silver spoon in its place.

When the body of the Bishop of Wandsworth, James Cunningham, is found beaten to death, but with his tongue replaced by a silver spoon, DCI Red Metcalfe and his team must discover the pattern behind these killings and save the rest of the men who are destined to be murdered.

[1][3] The Guardian described the novel as being "in the same mood as Se7en, but it makes the film's theology look like Peter and Jane".