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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
CRY BABY is Mark Billingham's 20th novel in 20 years and the 17th in his Tom Thorne series. The story takes place 24 years ago in 1996 and sees Thorne as a 35 year old, less experienced but well on his way to becoming the character who first appeared in SLEEPYHEAD in 2001. Thorne investigates the disappearance of a 7 year old boy, a case which echoes another, years before in which a family died, deaths for which Thorne, unfairly, takes some of the blame. An empathetic investigator, Thorne is driven to find the boy, and to fight against the incompetence in the police team, which threatens to hamper progress.
Along the way, we see Tom Thorne's first meeting with Hendricks, a very funny beginning to their friendship, and the aftermath of the breakdown of his marriage, another source of black humour. Billingham, despite downplaying his ability to write historic novels in his afterword, perfectly captures north London in the '90s, particularly in the characters' obsessions with the Euro '96 football tournament, but also in the lack of mobile phones and internet. It feels authentic and is an entertaining and exciting police procedural. A fitting 20th anniversary tribute to the character but also a worthy addition to the series.
Along the way, we see Tom Thorne's first meeting with Hendricks, a very funny beginning to their friendship, and the aftermath of the breakdown of his marriage, another source of black humour. Billingham, despite downplaying his ability to write historic novels in his afterword, perfectly captures north London in the '90s, particularly in the characters' obsessions with the Euro '96 football tournament, but also in the lack of mobile phones and internet. It feels authentic and is an entertaining and exciting police procedural. A fitting 20th anniversary tribute to the character but also a worthy addition to the series.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This is the first time I have read a Mark Billingham novel. I read it with The Pigeonhole, so I must thank the author, the publisher and The Pigeonhole for the free copy of this book.
This story is about a boy who is taken from the woods and held hostage. Detective Tom Thorne must find the abductor before it’s too late. Will he be able to?
Unfortunately, I was not impressed by this book. Maybe it’s because I had high expectations or because I was reading it alongside David Jackson’s The Resident and it paled in comparison. Or maybe it was the digressions to football that delayed the story moving forward. It could have been a lack of likeable characters; the characterisation was lacking something. Fortunately, I was drawn to the two boys - the victims of this story - or else I may have DNF’d this one. I read to the end only to find out if Keiron was saved and nothing more. I don’t like to admit that I was not impressed with a book, but this one just didn’t move me. Sorry Mark.
The premise of this story is a great idea. Unfortunately, I felt that the plot did not progress in a timely manner; there were a lot of digressions that didn’t move the plot forward making the story lag. It’s not a terrible read by any means, but it just wasn’t the right book, and maybe not the right author for me.
This story is about a boy who is taken from the woods and held hostage. Detective Tom Thorne must find the abductor before it’s too late. Will he be able to?
Unfortunately, I was not impressed by this book. Maybe it’s because I had high expectations or because I was reading it alongside David Jackson’s The Resident and it paled in comparison. Or maybe it was the digressions to football that delayed the story moving forward. It could have been a lack of likeable characters; the characterisation was lacking something. Fortunately, I was drawn to the two boys - the victims of this story - or else I may have DNF’d this one. I read to the end only to find out if Keiron was saved and nothing more. I don’t like to admit that I was not impressed with a book, but this one just didn’t move me. Sorry Mark.
The premise of this story is a great idea. Unfortunately, I felt that the plot did not progress in a timely manner; there were a lot of digressions that didn’t move the plot forward making the story lag. It’s not a terrible read by any means, but it just wasn’t the right book, and maybe not the right author for me.
A prequel to book 1, this was very enjoyable in the audiobook version.
Trigger Warnings: missing children and abuse.
I couldn’t put this book down. It kept me guessing from the beginning. Mark Billingham knows how to keep the reader turning the page.
It’s a story of a boy who goes missing while playing with his best friend under the watchful eye of his best-friend’s mom. The story takes you into the mind of the investigating officer Tom Thorne, who is picked on for a mistake made 15 years before this case. Tom trusts his gut this time and does what needs to be done to find the boy.
The plot twist close to the end is what got to me and how it came about.
A really good read and a book I’d recommend.
I couldn’t put this book down. It kept me guessing from the beginning. Mark Billingham knows how to keep the reader turning the page.
It’s a story of a boy who goes missing while playing with his best friend under the watchful eye of his best-friend’s mom. The story takes you into the mind of the investigating officer Tom Thorne, who is picked on for a mistake made 15 years before this case. Tom trusts his gut this time and does what needs to be done to find the boy.
The plot twist close to the end is what got to me and how it came about.
A really good read and a book I’d recommend.
Trigger Warnings: missing children and abuse.
I couldn't put this book down. It kept me guessing from the beginning. Mark Billingham knows how to keep the reader turning the page.
It's a story of a boy who goes missing while playing with his best friend under the watchful eye of his best-friend's mom. The story takes you into the mind of the investigating officer Tom Thorne, who is picked on for a mistake made 15 years before this case. Tom trusts his gut this time and does what needs to be done to find the boy.
The plot twist close to the end is what got to me and how it came about.
A really good read and a book I'd recommend.
I couldn't put this book down. It kept me guessing from the beginning. Mark Billingham knows how to keep the reader turning the page.
It's a story of a boy who goes missing while playing with his best friend under the watchful eye of his best-friend's mom. The story takes you into the mind of the investigating officer Tom Thorne, who is picked on for a mistake made 15 years before this case. Tom trusts his gut this time and does what needs to be done to find the boy.
The plot twist close to the end is what got to me and how it came about.
A really good read and a book I'd recommend.
Very readable, kept me guessing - interesting ending where there is consideration about happy endings and the reality.
A book about an abducted child is never going to be enjoyable. But the writing flows, the lead characters are interesting and the 1996 setting is effective.
Cry Baby by Mark Billingham is the prequel to the bestselling police procedural Sleepyhead, a novel featuring Detective Sergeant Tom Thorne. The year is 1996 and two young boys playing in a park disappear together in the nearby woods and only one child comes back. The other has vanished without a trace and it seems the remaining child is traumatized and cannot talk about the incident. DS Thorne heads the team searching for the child and within a few days two people who had connections with the children are murdered. This is an absorbing and well-developed crime drama. What I found especially interesting was the difference in electronic policing tools of 1996 compared to what is available today. This was a most enjoyable and unpredictable read. Highly recommended. Thank you to Grove Atlantic for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
British crime writer Mark Billingham has written 16 novels in the DI Tom Thorne series, most of them set in North London in the present day, and all of them in sequential order — until now. This, his 17th Thorne book, is a prequel and takes place in 1996. We are introduced to a young-ish Tom Thorne and to several other recurring characters from the series (including one, later to be his best friend, who he takes an instant dislike to).
It’s great fun to see a younger version of a character who has, perhaps, grown a bit jaded over the years. But more than that, this book is a gripping read, a mystery that the reader is invited to participate in (I think I figured it out relatively early because of one too-obvious clue). And as with all of Billingham’s books, one feels the real pain of death and other crimes. This is no Agatha Christie puzzle set in a country manor. Gripping stuff, and the author in top form.
It’s great fun to see a younger version of a character who has, perhaps, grown a bit jaded over the years. But more than that, this book is a gripping read, a mystery that the reader is invited to participate in (I think I figured it out relatively early because of one too-obvious clue). And as with all of Billingham’s books, one feels the real pain of death and other crimes. This is no Agatha Christie puzzle set in a country manor. Gripping stuff, and the author in top form.