
It’s 1996. Detective Sergeant Tom Thorne is a haunted man. Haunted by the moment he ignored his instinct about a suspect, by the horrific crime that followed and by the memories that come day and night, in sunshine and shadow.
So when seven-year-old Kieron Coyne goes missing while playing in the woods with his best friend, Thorne vows he will not make the same mistake again. Cannot.
The solitary witness. The strange neighbour. The friendly teacher. All are in Thorne’s sights.
This case will be the making of him . . . or the breaking.
The gripping prequel to Mark Billingham’s acclaimed debut, Sleepyhead, Cry Baby is the shocking first case for one of British crime fiction’s most iconic detectives.

My Review:
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.