Review: Cry Baby

Cry Baby by Mark Billingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.

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