Another great read in the Tom Thorne series.
This book is a prequel to the first book in the series, Sleepyhead. It’s set in 1996 and it’s really weird remembering life back then without mobile phones and sat nav.
Tom is in the middle of a divorce and doesn’t want to sell the house, so he’s ignoring his ex wife.
We meet Hendricks in this book and Thorne’s description of his first impression made me smile. We all know Hendricks is very likeable but people tend to judge him by his looks, but I was pleased Thorne took to him straight away. (Well apart from being surprised by his manner on the phone!)
The story in this book is centred around a young boy who is snatched while playing at the park with his friend. His mum’s friend turns her back for a few minutes, and he’s gone.
His mum, Cat is distraught and her friend feels terrible about not keeping a closer eye on him.
Gradually Thorne unpicks everything and realises who who kidnapper is and then it’s a race against time to get to Kieron.
This is a great addition to the Tom Thorne series, and I look forward to the next one.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

'Cry Baby' is the 17th book in the hugely popular Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham. Set back in 1996, when Thorne was haunted by his previous cases, ‘Cry Baby’ is a sequel to ‘Sleepyhead’, the first book in the Thorne series. Due to the timeframe, the story provides some useful background to DS Thorne and explains how he became the troubled detective that we know and love today.

This time around, Thorne is struggling to come to terms with the breakdown of his marriage, while investigating the type of case that all officers dread – a missing child. While mums Cat and Maria are talking, their children Kieron and Josh are playing ‘hide and seek’ within the nearby trees when Kieron goes missing. As the days pass by, the tension builds and the likelihood of Kieron’s safe return diminishes. The story moves at a rapid pace with the point of view, interchanging from Thorne, Henderick, Maria and Cat. This allows us to understand the story from various viewpoints and gives the reader a better insight into each character, along with revealing some potential clues about Kieron’s disappearance.

There are many interconnecting storylines which ensure that the suspense does not break for a moment and that there is plenty happening to hold the readers interest. And, being set in 1996, I found it fun to read through all of references to the 90’s and the emergence of technology that we know today: John Major as Prime Minister, Jill Dando on Crime Watch, phone boxes, ‘portable phones’ and floppy disks, computers – and smoking indoors. Absolutely worth a read for newcomers and fans alike.

Thank you to both Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of this book in return for a honest review.

Cry Baby - Mark Billingham
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group Uk
Publication Date 23 July 2020

4.5 stars out of 5

No Spoilers

I have to admit I’m not much of a fan of the “prequel”. However, this did give interesting insight into the character and career development of one of my favourite detectives- Tom Thorne. It also details his first meeting and subsequent friendship with Phil Hendricks. This was a slow burner but once it got going I really enjoyed it. Well researched and written as usual. Highly recommended.

I’d like to thank the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

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.

I can remember twenty years ago purchasing two books by an unknown author. Sleepy head and Scaredy Cat and now this author has written the prequel to these fantastic five star reads. The Tom Thorne series has a special place in my heart. He is a man who was nearly broken by his past. Flawed but likeable. Two children run into the woods and only one comes out. The master of the psychological thriller long before anyone else was writing this genre has done it again. This book can be read as a stand alone and I am sure that if this is your first foray into this series, you will be searching out the rest of this fantastic series.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

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.

Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With Mark Billingham still hammering away at his keyboard and churning out books like this the classic police procedural continues to be in safe hands. For this, the latest instalment in the Tom Thorne series, we are catapulted back to the mid-nineties and England are dreaming of Euro glory on home turf. This is the soundtrack for what proves to be an intriguing mystery for our instinctual detective extraordinaire. The abduction of a little boy throws not only Thorne's tumultuous personal life into focus, but also the assorted cast of characters of 'Cry Baby'. Typically, not everything is as it seems in this twisty mystery, with the spotlight of suspicion falling on one character after another. Then there are the murders... Plural. But how do they link in to the disappearance of seven-year-old Kieron Coyle, if at all? Billingham is more than generous with the proverbial red herrings is this compelling tale, so the conclusion maybe somewhat surprising as the pieces of the puzzle come together. Of course, this is why Billingham's books are so popular, because they never disappoint. In short, 'Cry Baby' confirms Mark Billingham's status as a maestro of this genre - long may it continue!

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.