I have read all the Tom Thorne books and this one feels like meeting up with an old friend. The detective story is good and keeps you guessing, but the best bit is going back to Euro 96 days to find out how a young Tom first encountered Phil Hendricks.

With thanks to Netgalley, Pigeonhole, the publishers and the author for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
Cry Baby by Mark Billingham is set twenty fives years ago, in the nineties. It is an interesting step back in time, before mobile phones, iPads, laptops and all the other achievements that we now take for granted.
I found the whole story fascinating and it was enhanced because it was one of Thorne’s earlier cases and also introduced his friendship with Phil Hendricks, the pathologist.. Some police series are still as good as the first ones in the series, this one which is the author’s twentieth novel, is definitely an excellent and compelling read.
Highly recommended.

Somehow I had managed not to read any of the previous Tom Thorne police procedurals and they were on my list of books I would one day get round to, so when Cry Baby appeared as a prequel to the previous titles this was the perfect opportunity for me, and one that I am glad I took.

I had no idea who the characters were and which ones reappear throughout the series so I simply took this on merit and boy was it good. Taut writing, an excellent plot and characters who are well developed and not cardboard cut outs.

What I loved most was the wonderfully accurate description of North London in 1996 and the author's wry comments about new fangled inventions such as mobile phones and CCTV.

I devoured this in a couple of days and now have a lot more reading to do as I aim to wade through all the rest of the Tom Thorne series.

I love Tom Thorne he seems so real. This book goes back before the books that have already been published. It is interesting to read about Tom's first meeting with Hendricks who doesn't match up with Tom's first impressions through talking on the phone. Their friendship quickly develops. Tom is at a tough place in his life as his wife has just left him for another man and is pushing him to sell their house. Also he is haunted by a previous case where he was too slow in acting on what was just an instinct and three children died. The present case is about a missing boy and he is desperate to find him.

Another episode in the Tom Thorne series but this time set 25 years ago in the early part of his career. A child kidnap is the heart of the story with the lives of those nearest the essential padding to the tale. As always a moral good guy his early meeting with Phil Hendricks is described here and as always this provides the humour in the story. Always an entertaining storyteller let there be many more!

Any new addition to the Tom Thorne canon is welcome and this prequel is particularly interesting. It is 1996 and the Euros are taking place; Mark Billingham delights in the joys of hindsight to make amusing and perceptive observations. Thorne is still a young cop, haunted by the ghost of past failures and determined not to repeat the errors of his youth. We learn more about his parents and his initial encounters with characters like Russell and Phil who are crucial in the novels now. A very enjoyable and entertaining read.

Set almost 25 years and against a backdrop of the European championships in 1996, this prequel to the Tom Thorne series of books by Mark Billingham is an intriguing and interesting change of both style and pace.

In ‘Cry Baby’ it feels almost like a departure from the police procedural as that seems to very much take a back step in a much more character driven novel.

The story focuses on a boy who disappears from the local park while playing with his best friend, both mothers in close attendance miss the apparent kidnapping.

I felt that the actual crime took a back seat in this book , and it was very much more about maybe filling Tom Thorne out and helping seasoned fans to understand who he is and how he’s become the detective he is now.

At times I questioned the lack of urgency from both Thorne and the seeming lack of interest the mother showed in her missing child, it’s almost as if the that’s not the main element.

Without doubt a book I enjoyed, it’s a very gently paced story that feels more a book about how people react to situations rather than a crime thriller.

Compelling for fans, maybe a struggle for new fans expecting a crime thriller.

An unexpectedly different read from a top class author.

This is my first Mark Billingham novel and though I enjoyed the story it was more for the characters then the police procedure. I felt the stories of the two women involved were well written and I wouldn’t hesitate to read another Mark Billingham novel.

I did pick this book for review as I heard Mark Billingham speak at a crime writers conference where he was able to hold the attention of the audience including myself.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I am a big fan of the Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham and was so pleased to be approved for this ARC.

I absolutely loved, LOVED this book. It is set during 1996 when Tom is a DS and follows a missing child case he and his team investigate. As always there are great believable characters, and a brilliantly well thought out plot that is told by different characters at times. There are plenty of twists, turns and surprises... I thought I knew who had taken Kieron and was wrong ... the book had so many cliff hanger chapter endings I just had to continue reading to see what happened next. As a reader you learn a bit more about Thorne, his love of music and what makes him who he is today. Loved reading of Thornes first impressions and meeting with Hendricks and great to see another character in his earlier police days play a part in the story. Would definitely recommend this book.

Another fantastic book form Mark Billingham featuring the detective Tom Thorne.

This book goes back in time to 1996 a time of football , when England lost to Germany ,yet again on penalties.
Kieron Coyle ,a seven year old boy playing with his friend in a wood watched over by his mother Catrin and her friend Maria. Distracted , Catrin realises that when Kierons friend comes out from the wood distraught , that Kieron has gone missing. It transpires soon after that Kieron has been taken.
A desperate search for the answers to the riddle of who and why leads Detective Sergeant Tom Thorne on a journey of soul searching. A troubled Tom Thorne haunted by a previous case he was involved in , struggles to get to grip with rapidly confusing events.

A great read and a insight into Tom Thorne's past . Fast paced and intriguing as usual from Mark Billingham .wonderfully atmospheric as we have come to expect from him. Another sure fire winner.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have read all this authors books and he never ever fails to disappoint. This had a great storyline, lots of twists and good characters. I loved it.

I always look forward to a new book by one of my favourite authors and this was no disappointment. I loved the storyline and characters as well as the twists and turns. But above all it’s the way he tells it

Tom Thorne is back! Loved this book and finding out some of the history of Tom and how some of the characters came into his life.
Set back in the days of Euro 1996 bought back memories of that time for me, and reading how Tom Thorne & co dealt with this case.
Page turner – couldn’t wait to finish it but disappointed when I did as I have to find another book to read.
Pleased with the ending – I won’t spoil it here.

Ok, I confess I'm a massive fan of Billingham's Tom Thorne series of books and welcomed the opportunity to devour an ARC of the latest instalment.

Back to 1996 and whilst there is a case to be investigated we get the added bonus of a lot of background on the character of Thorne. As usual the case doesn't disappoint, the background however is the bonus ball.

If you're ever read one of these books and enjoyed it, then this is 100% for you. Similarly if you've never read one, but like this genre of book, then this is great place to start your enjoyment of this series

I've always loved Mark Billingham's books for his realistic depictions of the day to day processes of a major investigation; there's no miraculous rush to the finish line with unrealistic clues and convenient plot devices - Tom Thorne and the team doggedly slog away until the job is done - more so than ever in this. Nothing is obvious or predictable, but the clues are there - that prickly feeling when you read the characters and start to form your own suspicions - and it's a great thrill at the end.
Set in 1996, this also covers some of Tom Thorne's backstory and, for fans who have always wanted to know why Tom is the way he is, this goes a long way to answering those questions and putting his character into some kind of context. Personally, I loved the way the book made me reflect on 1996 itself; I was only 16 then and my perception of major events has changed significantly over the intervening years. I found myself looking up certain references in the book and discovering that they weren't quite the way I'd remembered them, and I'm grateful for that. Yet again, a realisation that our memories of history are not always as accurate as we'd like to believe.
As always, the story does not just focus on Tom and the officers around him; he also writes fully rounded stories for all of the characters - some more complex that others, each a realistic, intriguing and entire character in isolation.
Mark Billingham has done something that I think few writers do so well - write a book set in the past then bring it back to the present, without having to write in flashback or fragment the story. It's a great book, but not one of those you can read as a stand-alone; it makes most sense if you know Tom and his history with the other characters involved.

Tom Thorne - The Early Years; subtitle: When Tom met Phil.

Well if you ever wanted to find out what Tom Thorne was like back in the day, back when he was just a Detective Sergeant whose marriage had just fallen apart and for whom spending an evening chatting over a curry or talking football over a pint with a heavily pierced and tattooed pathologist was not remotely on the cards, then this is definitely the book for year. In a case that takes us all the way back to 1996, we meet Tom and the team as he is called in to assist on a missing person investigation. The person in question turns out to be a young boy, Keiron, who disappeared while playing hide and seek with his best friend, Josh, in woods not far from their homes. The potential implications of such an abduction do not need spelling out and the race is on to find the boy before it is too late.

Now it is fair to say that throughout this novel, Thorne is haunted by a case from his past, one which did not see a positive outcome. We are given the barest hint of the case at the start but this is more than enough, as Mark Billingham creates a scene which is so vivid, so stomach churningly real that there is no question of us not knowing the bones of what occured. Of course, initially we are only privy to Thorne's recurring nightmare, but the case is explored in a bit more detail later on, but we know enough to be certain that Thorne will stop at nothing to get Keiron back unharmed.

There are many elements to this story but the author does a grand job of drawing our attention to the differences in the lives of Keiron and Josh. Both are from a broken home but whilst Josh's parents are divorced, they are still both very much in his life. For Keiron he too has parents who love him but who are separated not by choice but by law, his father in prison for a serious assault. And this is where the story gets complicated because it is hard to tell whether the abduction was by a complete stranger or someone a little closer to home. And there are certainly a few suspects brought to light through the course of the story, the author using his usual skill to cast enough doubt over all of them in turn and to challenge out perception of who truly is guilty.

There are some more harrowing scenes that play out in the story, scenes told from the point of view of Keiron. These are hard to read, watching him try to stay positive, using every trick in his young mind to manage through what is a very dark and lonely time. There is never any hint of real abuse, it never goes that far, but it is not necessary as the thought of a seven year old being locked away in the darkness is hard enough to read without it. Then you have Josh. The emotional impact of his friends disappearance is so beautifully delivered on the page that it makes for quiet emotional reading too. This is not just a missing person case though, and there is a real sense of threat and danger that permeates the story. When some of the people very close to the investigation begin dying it is clear that things are far from straight forward, the sense of pace and urgency picking up and the tone of the book changing, ever so subtly.

But it's not all doom and gloom. As always there are those moments of light relief peppered throughout, none more so than the very first meeting between Thorne and his soon to be best friend, Phil Hendricks. They are such an odd couple and from this first meeting you'd be forgiven for wondering how they ever came to be friends in the first place. It is far from love at first sight, or in this case, phone call. But theirs is the kind of mad and mismatched friendship that just works, and seeing those early outings for the pair really brought a smile to my face.

I thoroughly enjoyed this look back into Tom Thorne's early years. It is a classic Thorne novel with the perfect blend of tension and wit. The tension continues to build right to the end, the bad guys staying hidden right to the end. And as for the end ... some definite face contorting, sensibility challenging reveals going on there. If you love Tom and Phil, or even just great storytelling, then this book is definitely recommended. Twenty years of Tom Thorne? I'll take another twenty to go please.

Mark Billingham is always a safe pair of hands if you want peace, quite, TV off and to immerse yourself in a great thriller.
This one doesn't disappoint either.
Enjoyed learning a bit of background to Thorne's character and the twists came aplenty.
A weekend well spent.

So nice to read the genesis of Tom Thorne's beginning, including his first meeting with Hendrick. I live in NW5 and glad to see how Tom got to live in Kentish Town. The case is gripping and I think that both first reader of Mark Billingham (is there any left?!) or love of the Tom Thorne's series will find their fill in this book.

Mark Billingham is easily one of my
Favourite authors and I adore the slightly irascible and sometimes cancerous character of Tom Thorne.

This novel is a prequel to Billingham’s earlier book Sleepy Head, and as such it can be read as a stand-alone, although regular readers of his will also enjoy it. As a long term fan of Tom Thorne, I found it very interesting to learn some more about his background, and see some earlier glimpses of other characters I am familiar with.

As always, the storyline and detail within is very well written and I highly recommend this book (and all works but this author).

You will not be disappointed.

Two young boys are playing in the playground and disappear into the woods while their mums are chatting. Only one boy comes out. DS Tom Thorne investigates the missing boy and the subsequent revelations.
A prequel to the Tom Thorne series. A great read, well written and highly recommended.