Cry Baby is the new Tom Thorne thriller from Mark Billingham, the 17th book in this popular series and a prequel to the first Tom Thorne novel Sleepyhead. I hadn’t read any of the previous titles in this series but enjoyed this book as a standalone and am looking forward to meeting this detective again in the future.
Two mothers are sitting in their local park, one pops off for a minute leaving her friend to watch their two children playing. When she returns her son is gone. In that moment the worlds of both of the women start to fall apart, their friendship left in tatters as they struggle to deal with the fallout of the child’s disappearance.
Detective Sergeant Tom Thorne is on the case, a man still haunted by a gruesome crime that was committed when he ignored his instinct once before. This time he refuses to repeat any of his past mistakes, vowing instead to follow his gut at all costs. But the case soon takes a turn for the worse when two people connected to the missing boy are also murdered, as Thorne and his team must race against the clock to investigate the solitary witness, the strange neighbour and even the friendly teacher to find the child.
Cry Baby is very story-driven, with well crafted characters and a plot that will draw you in and only promise to let you go once you know the truth. It’s the sadness of a failed marriage, the jealousy of financial stability, the longing for a missing partner, the terror of a lost child. It’s a mother’s worst nightmare brought to life, and you won’t want to put it down.
Cry Baby is available from book stores and online retailers.
Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sharing this thriller with me.
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