Cry Baby is the perfect prequel to send us back to revel in Tom Thorne's twenty years. As if we needed reminding how good Mark Billingham is., Val McDermid

Tom Thorne is one of the most credible and engaging heroes in contemporary crime fiction. Mark Billingham is a master of psychology, plotting and the contemporary scene - making the Thorne novels the complete package. Twenty years in and better than ever.,

A prequel to sleepyhead set in 1996. Prequels seem to be the literary fad of the moment with a lot of authors doing them, and I’m not overly keen on the concept. 
So how did Cry Baby work for me. The actual story is excellent, Mark Billinghams books are a consistently great read. 
The intro is a bit gory, I’m never one to shy away from a bit of gore so no problem there. 
I felt sorry for Figgis, he was the character that I engaged with most. 
It was good seeing a young Tom who is focused and driven being prepared to go out on a limb to do the right thing and seeing the young Hendricks with his amazing deductions and very different look to your usual pathologists. 
What I wasn’t so keen on was the chosen ‘wrapping’ and presentation for the story with it being presented as a dream. Too Dallas for me. 
So that affects my rating. 4* for this one.

Two boys playing in the park, mums chatting, relaxed, happy, carefree. The lull before the storm, the quiet before everything changed, before they all became public property in a way none could have imagined. Two boys, best friends, dressed distinctively so they were easy to spot, two mums, best friends, so different but so alike, four people for whom 1996 would change everything, forever. 

DS Tom Thorne knew it would be a difficult case, missing kids always were, but no one could have predicted just how bad it would get or how much he'd want to punch his boss's light out. Added to everything going on at work he has an ex-wife who wants him out of their old home, a football championships to watch, and parents to visit. It could be a very long summer. 

This is such a fun book. Not something I usually think after finishing a Mark Billingham book but it is. Not the crime or its aftermath, that is as gritty, as shocking, as always but the fact it is set in 1996. All the memories, the asides, the lack of so many things we take for granted, both good and bad, was a joy to read. Add to that the fact I had no idea whodunanyofit until it was revealed when it all seemed so right and there is no doubt this is a first class, stay up late, must read, prequel of the highest quality. 

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it unreservedly. If you love Tom Thorne read it, if you have no idea who Tom Thorne is, read it and then continue into his world of first class storytelling.

This one's different! I've been following Mark Billingham since his first official visit to New Zealand (the Auckland Writers' Festival), where he shared the podium with two other authors and joked that with that many people in the audience, we could all go up and hold the presentation in his hotel room. I fell in love with his humour right then and promptly bought "Sleepyhead" and all those that came after. I don't regret it.

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS***

The plot of "Cry Baby", written two decades after "Sleepyhead", actually predates it. Don't let it be the first Tom Thorne book you read, because you'll deprive yourself of the little "aha" moments when Tom meets Phil Hendricks for the first time, or walks away from his future flat in Kentish Town, or visits his parents. "Cry Baby" is a throwback to the times when people didn't carry cell phones and there was no CCTV footage to do the police legwork - and it's also a throwback to a younger, less cynical, Tom.

Of course, if you don't want to commit to reading 16 Tom Thorne books before "Cry Baby", go right ahead. It can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

Absolutely fantastic. I had this on pre order and was lucky enough to get an ARC through Netgalley.

Our favourite grumpy, curry, country music and footy loving detective is back. I have read and loved all the Tom Thorne series over the last twenty years and to do a prequel was genius. I loved finding out where everyone came from and how the brilliant relationship between Thorne and Hendricks developed. We also get our first look at Tom and Brigstock working together as well as some more back story to Tom's divorce and the cases that have made him how and what he is.

The story begins when a child, Kieron, going missing. As the case unfolds there's murder, lies, deceit, secrets, with twists and turns galore. Will Kieron be found alive? Who has taken him and what is their motive? As the story comes to it's climax the narrative then brings us back to the present day with Thorne reflecting on his past case. 

Massive 5 stars and highly recommended. If you are a lover of this series then this is a must. If you are a Mark Billingham/Tom Thorne virgin then this is a fab starting place.

This was a really quick read, and I quite enjoyed this installment of the Tom Thorne series. I haven't read the other books, but this intrigued me enough that I would check them out. 
I really enjoyed the characters and the dynamics, I found myself really feeling with Cat because her emotions were described so raw and her pain felt so real. The intensity of the characters was the main reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did and it kept me involved in the plot during the entire read. 
The plot itself felt rather slow, there wasn't a lot of suspense and I did find myself wishing for some more excitement during the first half of the book. The build-up towards the ending was well done though and I enjoyed the ending a lot, especially because I didn't see all of the plot twists coming. I do think some aspects didn't make perfect sense and could have been built up better, but most loose ends were tied up well and I was very pleased with how it ended. 
Overall this was a good read and I would definitely read more books from this series.

I received a free ebook of this title in exchange for a fair review from NetGalley.

This is book 16 in the Tom Thorpe series by Mark Billingham, but it is set back in 1996, so pre-  everyone has a cellphone and internet access and tons of CCTV and other resources to solve crime- era.  In his personal life, Tom is struggling with his ongoing divorce from Jan.  He is also dealing with his aging parents in the midst of this high profile case.

The case the book is centered on involves a kidnapping of a young boy.  The boy, Kieran,  disappears on a play date with a friend.  Two boys enter the woods and only one comes out.  Tom finds himself with an incredible amount of leads to follow up on and narrow down. There are plenty of red herrings and suspicious characters to engage the reader in the investigation along with Tom.  This was a suspenseful  and well paced police procedural.

CRY BABY: A Tom Thorne Novel
BY MARK BILLINGHAM

This was a British crime procedural starring Tom Thorne and his team. This was supposed to be a pre-quell to his famous novel called "Sleepyhead." It takes place in 1996 when two mother's take their two seven year old children to the park by some woods. Maria and Cat are two British mother's each with an only son. The two boy's go into the woods to play hide and seek and one of them gets abducted.

This was suspenseful and I enjoyed it. As in all of Mark Billinham's crime novels Tom Thorne is the investigating detective that this novel mostly focuses on. He is getting a divorce from his wife Jan and they don't have any children. He doesn't like his Boss this time and reports him for leaking their suspect's name to the media causing a tragedy.

I probably would have enjoyed this even more if I had ever visited the UK. The language brogue used in the dialogue was sometimes confusing but not enough to make it so I couldn't understand it. I have read other books in this series so I knew what to expect. This can easily be read as a stand alone.
Great characterization and plot. Recommend to fans of British Crime Procedural's.

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Mark Billingham and Grove Atlantic Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#CryBaby #MarkBillingham #GroveAtlanticPublishing #NetGalley

It's Euro.96 and Tom Thorne is investigating a missing lad from some woods near the park, whilst playing hide n sneek with his best mate.

Thorne is hiding something dark from a previous case, and is desperate to get things right here.

It's a prequel to Mark Billingham's successful Tom Thorne series, which I shall now be reading.

Very impressed with the style of writing and ease of how the whole story flowed.  

Will definitely being reading more from Mark. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for ARC

According to the author this was a historical crime novel. The story takes place in England before cell phones, CCTV, DNA or any of the systems used in today’s crime solving. The characters were not well developed or interesting. There was little suspense although the antagonist did come as a surprise. The protagonist is a haunted man which you don’t find out why until well into the story which leaves you wondering what his problem is and why he acts as he does. A little bit of history might have explained his ridiculous handling of the case. This novel is not my genre so maybe I missed the whole point.

This one was excellent. Totally pulled me in and I didn't want to.out it down. Had me on the edge of my seat wanting to find out what was going to happen.

How odd it is to think of a book where the plot takes place in 1996 as being historical. Twenty-five years ago policing looked very different and yet so many readers will easily remember that time period. I'm more used to thinking of 1696, 1796 or 1896 as the time period for historical mysteries. But, author Mark Billingham definitely made this one work.

I try hard not to read crime novels that involve children so I made a conscious decision to read this book involving two seven year old boys who were playing in a park when one went missing. What follows is a tension filled story where the drama of the inability of the police to quickly find the boy shares the pages with the tearing apart of a friendship because one mother's boy was lost and one mother's boy was safe. There are so many levels of fear written into this plot that I began to wonder how it would be possible for the police to solve the case. At one point I thought I had solved it on one level, and was quite proud of myself, but ultimately was wrong. It certainly had me thinking all the time.

So I broke my own rule about plot elements and am definitely glad I read the book. However, it's now time to put my barriers back up and avoid children in crime novels. It's too stressful for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove Atlantic for an e-galley of this novel.

Nostalgia is not what it used to be......

Well, in this really good read by the prolific author, Mark Billingham, it really is! 
We're taken back to the early Thorne days, when mobile phones were like bricks and Euro 96 is a running theme.
For us fans of Thorne, there are some excellent references and we get to see how Thorne and Hendricks friendship started. Against all of this, a young child goes missing and Tom Thorne is haunted by another case.

For those of you new to Thorne, it's a great prequel and you've got a lot of other books to enjoy. For those of us who have read all the earlier books, I found this a real treat. I don't always enjoy prequels and at times I felt it a little sluggish,  but,  overall this is a really well written, excellently constructed one.

Thanks so much to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

A police procedural set in 1996, a prequel to the series. The narrative is good and the author has taken the pains to keep the story going in the set time frame. Though the story and the suspense are well maintained with a good number of twists,as a police investigation it falls short. The suspect should have been suspected long back, the other child interrogated, the backgrounds verified. The investigation proceeds one dimensional and haphazardly.

Another winner from Mark Billingham.  Here we go back with Thorne twenty years to a child abduction.  I enjoyed the humour, meeting Phil Hendricks for the first time, and of course a first-rate mystery as well.

I was so excited to be approved for this book - Mark Billingham is one of my favourite authors and Tom Thorne one of my favourite characters of all time!

I'm not a big fan of prequels, and I did feel the references to the pop-culture at the time was a little overkill....but I absolutely loved hearing more about what made Thorne the way he is now, and particularly how he became friends with Hendricks.

I did guess "whodunnit" but there was enough mystery for me to second guess myself all of the time.

Loved it. And I don't say that lightly. It was the Tom Thorne hit I needed right now!!

Summer 1996. England is hosting Euro ‘96, “Football’s Coming Home” is being sung everywhere and DS Tom Thorne is haunted by a past case.
When 7 year old Kieron Coyne is snatched while playing with his best friend Josh, Thorne is part of the team tasked with finding him.  He is determined to find Kieron no matter how inept his superiors or how many press leaks occur.
Kieron's mum Cat is devastated and Josh's mum is blaming herself because she was watching the boys when Kieron disappeared.
As Thorne and the team investigate they seem to be getting nowhere. A neighbour with a previous conviction, Kieron’s teacher trying to get close to Cat and the only witness who claims he saw Kieron with a man getting into a car are all suspects. 
Thornes bosses are convinced they have their man but Thorne has his doubts. Will they listen or will Thorne have to keep fighting on his own to find the kidnapper before anything worse happens to Kieron.
I’ve read all of the Tom Thorne books, these are on my “must read” list so I never miss one. 
This is brilliant. Really good to see how Thorne's friendship with the Pathologist Hendricks started and his early relationship with Brigstock. I feel like I understand the character of Tom Thorne even better now.

Although I'm an American, I'm generally a big fan of British crime fiction. But this book... not so much.

It feels like something I've read a dozen times before. The narrative, the characters, the way the story unspools are all so completely familiar that I was simply never drawn into the book. Finishing it was a chore.

Another wonderful installment in the DI Thorne series. As a prequel, it gives a wonderful view into Tom’s early life on the police force, his divorce, and his meeting with Hendricks. If this is your first book in the series, go back and read them all you lucky duck. 

A young boy is abducted from a park in broad daylight and Thorne, reeling from a previous failure, wants to get it right this time. He is consumed with guilt and dreams about the incidents. 

The characters are well drawn and you really get to know them. The writing is spare but exactly what is needed. I actually prefer this to too much description. 

Suffice it to say I could not put it down and went through it in two days (and many chores were ignored in the process). Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my advance copy and the chance to review the book.  If you are a DI Thorne fan you will enjoy this latest tale.

3.5 stars

This author’s Tom Thorne series has been running for years & with this instalment, he gives readers a look at how it all began. 

It’s 1996. “Portable phones” are beginning to appear, John Major is PM & you can still enjoy a smoke with your pint at the local pub. Tom Thorne is a young hotshot detective, newly separated & already haunted by what he’s seen.

He & his squad catch the kind of case they all dread. Two little boys were playing at a park & while the moms were distracted, one disappeared.  The area is searched, witnesses tracked & endless interviews held…..not one sign of the child is found.

The format of this book is a bit different from those that follow. Chapters alternate between Tom & the parents of the 2 boys. We’re kept up to date on the investigation but it flounders & there’s little tension until the final 10%. Instead, we spend time with these MC’s (plus others) & gradually learn their histories, lives & problems. It’s less of a police procedural & more about how these very different people react to each other & the situation. 

It feels like this was written for long time fans. Those familiar with returning characters will enjoy meeting their younger selves. My favourite bit was “When Tom Met Phil”. IMHO their relationship is a highlight of every book so I found Tom’s thoughts after their first conversation particularly entertaining.

“All being well, once the post-mortem was out of the way, he wouldn’t have to see the bloke again, because it was a long time since he had come across anybody he’d taken a dislike to quite so quickly”. Ah, little does he know…

This was an OK read for me. I enjoyed it more as a fan of the books in general than as an individual police procedural. Overall, it’s a slower, more reflective read that gives us a glimpse at the roots of this popular series.