This is a well developed crime book.
This book tackles difficult subjects well
A compelling read full of mystery and suspense

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This was my first Tom Thorne novel, which was unintentional and probably a weird place to start, but I really enjoyed it. Creepy and engaging, and makes me want to go back to the beginning of Tom Thorne and work my way through.

A decent thriller, of course I expect no less from Billingham. It was fab to see

It lost a 🌟 cause I thought it started out pretty slow.

Fantastic as always. The author never disappoints. Full of tension and I kept changing my mind about who the kidnapper was.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
I have read all the others in this series but it took me a while to work out it was a prequel to the rest. I was a little disappointed because I like to read book series in chronological order. There is no need for me to repeat the book synopsis here as other reviewers have already done that. The tale I did not find quite as engaging as Mark Billingham's other Thorne novels but that may have been my interpretation. I was looking forward to meeting well rounded characters and venues that the reader has become familiar with but this time we were introduced to them all over again. It is an OK book just not one of my favourites.

One of the absolute best books I’ve read. Thank you so much for this and to Mark for writing. Twists, turns, unknowns I loved this. I now need Mark’s next book.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review. This was the first I’d read in the Tom Thorne series, and it was OK, but just a bit overwhelming. As someone new to the series, it wasn’t clear this was a historical look at one of Tom’s cases, as opposed to a story which started and finished in 1996... at the end of this one, we jump back to present day and it was a bit jarring. I found most of the characters a little flat and bland to be honest - I can’t really say I’d be fussed about any of them bar maybe Hendricks, and possibly Thorne a bit. I worked out whodunnit, and the whole Angie bit at the end was a bit weird and rushed, like the author remembered there were some murders he had to explain. I might try another in the series if I found it in a library or charity shop, but I don’t think I’ll be making an effort to read everything in the series.

Wowza. What a book. A kidnapper i never saw coming. So many twists and turns you will be hooked from the forst page

Well, it’s odd thinking this is actually the start of the Thorne series, I loved sleepyhead and all of his that followed with Thorne and this was no different, a fast paced thriller that grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let go until the end, and even then your kinda stood there wanting more! A great ending and a fair few twists which is to be expected, loved it and was gutted when I’d finished it 😔

It is 1996 and two young boys Kieron and Josh aged seven, are playing with their mothers in the playground, whilst they are distracted the boys go into the woods, but only one boy returns!!

D.S Tom Thorne works on this traumatic case, but what appears to be a kidnapping, takes a dramatical turn when two people who knew the missing boy dies.

This book had me biting my nails, there are many suspects which keep were guessing until the unexpected ending!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

You know you’re in good hands when you read a book written by Mark Billingham, and this is no exception. Despite being the seventeenth book in the Tom Thorne series, and a prequel to Sleepyhead, the first in the series first published in 2001, Cry Baby still manages to surprise and entertain us, proving that Billingham is one of the best in the business. The book is set during Euro 96 and I promise you Three Lions will be going through your head by the end. This is a younger, less confident Thorne whose marriage has just fallen apart and who is still raw following a harrowing case involving children. The case that features in this book involves seven-year-old Kieron Coyne who has gone missing whilst playing with his friend Josh in a park. Curiously, his friend’s mother was watching the boys and they only left her sight for a minute. Thorne begins to investigate both families as he suspects someone close to Kieron has taken him. Then, people close to the case begin to die.

Interestingly, the effects of the disappearance on both boys is detailed, Josh in his uncertainty of what happened and Kieron in hiding with his kidnapper. The fractured relationship between both boys’ mothers is also examined as Kieron’s mother Cat doesn’t know if she will ever forgive or trust Josh’s mother again.

Fans of the Tom Thorne series won’t be disappointed. John Connolly also published a prequel to his long-running Charlie Parker series in 2020 showing that there’s a healthy fascination with returning to the past to learn more about our favourite characters. And, as always, Billingham perfectly blends suspense and comedy. Cry Baby features Thorne’s first meeting with pathologist Phil Hendricks and we get a hint of the relationship and friendship that is to come in the later books. Hopefully 2021 will bring more Tom Thorne and the return of The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers.

Thanks net galley for letting me have this book to review though I am late in doing it.
The book was set 25 years ago, and was interesting that the police were way behind today I.n catching a kidnapper, and without mobile phones it was so much harder.
Kieron Coyne was kidnapped by someone he knew, and the police had all the wrong leads.
He was eventually rescued but when a small child goes threw the trauma he went through what sort of a life can he lead?
Thorne hopes he and his mother are ok, but he is very doubtful that is happening.

This series of books feature Di Tom Thorne. There have been sixteen books to date and Cry Baby is a prequel to the first book. It takes place in the 1960s at the time when he was a DS and his marriage has fallen apart as his wife Sandy has met a new man. Tom is called out to investigate the case of a young missing boy, Kieron. He went to play in the woods with his friend Josh and only Josh returned. Tom is determined to find the boy as he is haunted by a similar case in his past. Tom finds plenty of suspects but there are lots of red herrings before the case is solved. We witness the first meeting between Tom and Phil Hendricks who features in all the books as they work together and are best friends. I love the character of Tom Thorne and thoroughly enjoyed this book. A brilliant read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

There are enough twists and turns to keep you interested. I couldn't put the book down. It was so good I completed the book in one da.

A look back at Tom Thorne’s earlier days.

I have read a few of Mark Billingham’s books including his first one Sleepyhead and enjoyed them all. This book goes back to 1996 when the European football championships were taking place in England. For once England do quite well getting to the semi-finals and Tom is understandably annoyed, as a football supporter, when a case of an abducted child stops him watching some of the games!!

Kieron and Josh are best friends, both their mums, Catrin and Maria are single parents who meet up regularly in a playground next to some woodland. The story begins when both boys run into the woods to play hide and seek and only Josh comes back out. A witness comes forward to say he had seen Kieron getting into a red car with a man who he apparently seems to know. Things become more complicated when the witness is also found dead.

We discover that Kieron is being kept prisoner in the garden of an old cottage and we suffer with him as he tries to keep his hopes up that he will be reunited with his mother. Josh, meantime, who has been getting into trouble at school, becomes even more aggressive and we come to realise that maybe he knows more than he is letting on.

As always DS Tom Thorne solves the mystery but I feel that this book has been written more for the fans of these books to give the readers some interesting background on how Tom and his friendships have developed. This is the first time, for example, that Tom encounters Dr Phil Hendricks, who has become a mainstay in the later novels. We also learn that Tom is going through a divorce, his wife has left him to live with a college lecturer, and she is pressing him to sell their matrimonial home.

Although the plotline was good I probably enjoyed more getting an insight into the early days in the life of DS Thorne.

Dexter

Elite Book Group received a copy of the book to review

This was an enjoyable read going back to the start of the Thorne series. Interesting trying to remember how things were in the not too distant past. Highly recommended.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.
Excellent book and good story line

I’ve always been a fan of Mark Billingham, so when Cry baby became available I snapped it go straight away, Despite being #17 in the Tom Thorne Series, Mark Billingham‘s writing quality has never been better. Great storyline, great characters, a truly thrilling read.

1996 and DS Tom Thorne is more concerned about the European Championships than putting his house on the market at the behest of his estranged wife. He is still having nightmares about a case from ten years ago when he is called into an investigation into a missing child. A seven year old boy has vanished from some woods, his mother is distraught and her husband has recently been locked away for attempted murder. The DI on the case is keen to solve it quickly but Thorne isn't convinced by his ideas.
This is a prequel novel, going back to Thorne's time in the 1990s, and Billingham admits in his notes that he was concerned about writing a story setting his main character into his past. In fact Billingham has produced a triumph, not only is this an outstanding police procedural but the detail of the setting is spot on - the narrative about the football, the little mentions of TV programmes etc - he's really hit the popular culture of the times. Billingham always writes a cracking novel and this one is up there with his best.