Cry of the Children

Lambert and Hook #26

by J.M. Gregson

Seven-year-old Lucy Gibson can barely contain her excitement when she learns that the funfair has come to town and Matt, her mother’s new boyfriend, has agreed to take her. Despite her slight uneasiness in Matt’s company and her upset over her parent’s split, she readily goes off with him one evening, as excited as only a young innocent child can be.

The next morning, Chief Superintendent Lambert briefs DS Bert Hook and DS Ruth David on the disappearance of a young seven-year-old local girl from a funfair the previous evening. On questioning her distraught mother, it appears that Lucy has vanished into thin air and so begins an intense investigation, racing against time, to discover who took the young girl – and to prevent more children from going missing before it’s too late . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Crime

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 20, 2013

About the author

James Michael Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare.

Reviews

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a harrowing and well written police procedural about a girl who goes missing at a fun fair. Lucy is nearly eight years old. Her parents have recently split up and her mother has a new boyfriend - Matt. Lucy wants to go to the fair and Matt agrees to take her. But Lucy disappears and Matt is immediately suspect if only because it takes a couple of hours for Lucy to be reported missing to the police.

But there are plenty of other suspects including her mother, her estranged father, a known local paedophile and one of the fair ground workers. Lambert and Hook must try and set aside their own feelings and tackle the case in an objective way if they have any hope of catching the perpetrator. When another child goes missing the pace speeds up and they wonder whether this is another crime by the same person or a copy cat abductor.

If found this a disturbing book to read and it does show how the police are affected by missing children just as much as the public are. It shows how difficult it is for them to remain calm and objective when all human instinct wants to punish anyone suspected of the crime. I must say I didn't work out who was responsible until almost the very end.

I also liked the scenes showing the children's feelings as well and thought they were very well done. This book is part of the Lambert and Hook series but it can be read as a standalone novel.

[Lesli Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable and pretty quick to read. It had a large amount of suspects and good background into why each one could be guilty. The ending tied in nice and was quick and to the point. I enjoy books that are like this where you don't really know for sure until the very end!

[Kim Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story but I do love a good English police story. I liked the characters & found it interesting to see their view if things

[Lynn Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This is another series that is new to me. Will look for others.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I read by J.M. Gregson and I would like to read some of the older ones. Lambert and Hook are old veterans, who are very thoughtful about figuring out the cases. There isn't much action in this book, no foot chases, for example --as compared to the Maeve Kerrigan, Helen Grace or Lacey Flint police procedurals. I chalk that up to the fact that Lambert and Hook are aging (we we all are.) I found the plot to be so incredibly sad. Also the ending was rather abrupt, no real wrap-up at the police station, which is why I gave it only 3 stars.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy disappears from the state fair when she goes with her mom's new boyfriend. As Lambert & Hook search for her, another boy goes missing. Can they figure out what is happening?

Great police procedural.

[Norma Laming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plonking. Could not finish. Pedestrian writing.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.



When seven-year-old Lucy Gibson disappears into thin air at the local funfair, Chief Superintendent Lambert, along with DS Bert Hook and DS Ruth David have a race against time to discover who took the young girl – and to prevent more children from going missing before it’s too late . . .



First things first - this book is the latest of a series but it is the first Lambert and Hook mystery that I have read. I can say for certain that it won't be the last - this was an old school flavoured murder mystery, with a gentle yet resourceful protagonist at its heart. Beautifully yet simply written it was a "curl up under the duvet and leave the world behind" read.

I read a lot of crime fiction and there were a few things about this particular example that I loved. The story flow was mellow yet captivating and the characterisation was outstanding - whether this is because the author now knows his "people" well or whether it has always been that way is something I am looking forward to discovering. I particularly liked Lambert - despite his position on the team he determinedly follows the clues himself and gets right into the action. A true detective...

Another thing I loved about it was the presentation of the clues and the suspect pool within the story - each one well presented and well drawn with all the reasons why they may or may not have reason to commit the crime, you can attempt to work out the mystery right alongside Lambert and Hook. Clever and highly enjoyable. The resolution does not disappoint and feels exactly right.

A perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter's night I would highly recommend this series to lovers of Christie style mysteries with a modern twist. A little research tells me that "Murder at the Nineteenth" is the first of the series- however you can easily pick this one up and read it as a standalone story with no problem whatsoever.



Happy Reading Folks!

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cry of The Children by J. M. Gregson is the 26th book in his Lambert and Hook series of British police procedurals.

The search begins for seven-year-old Lucy Gibson, who disappeared from the village fair. As Det. Chief Supt. John Lambert, Det. Sgt. Bert Hook, and Det. Sgt. Ruth David begin the investigation, the unthinkable happens: Lucy's body is discovered in the Wye River. Several suspects are identified. High on the list of suspects is Lucy's mother's boyfriend, Matt Boyd, the man who took Lucy to the fair and didn't immediately report her missing, but there are 4 other equally qualified, albeit ignobly, suspects. Fair worker Rory Burns has already reportedly tried to molest another young girl. Then there is 70 year-old Dennis Robson, a known pedophile. Big Julie Foster is a mentally challenged woman who they know longs to have a child to care for and love. Even Lucy's father, Dean Gibson, is a suspect. The police rush to solve the crime before harm comes to another child.

This is not a novel full of breath-taking twists and turns in the plot. What it is, however, is an excellent, very traditional British police procedural that moves along at a fast pace and will keep your interest right up to the end. Gregson did an outstanding job keeping me guessing. As I followed along the information and clues the police uncovered, I'm going to admit here and now that I didn't have a clue who the guilty party was for sure until the very end. Oh, I had some good guesses, but nothing was confirmed until the end.

Although I have not read all the books in this series, that wasn't a hindrance at all in my enjoyment of this latest mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Very Highly Recommended

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Severn House Publishers via Netgalley for review purposes.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The disappearance of a child strikes fear into the very heart any police force and Chief Superintendent Lambert and his team of officers have very few clues to follow when seven year old, Lucy Gibson goes missing after spending an evening at a local fairground. What then follows is a fairly straightforward police procedural crime story which has the added advantage of being part of a series and which will no doubt appeal to the author’s legions of fans who follow the Lambert and Hook style of crime resolution.

In many ways this is a rather gentle story, which sits oddly alongside the story of child abduction, and yet, for me, what sets this story apart, is in the finely observed character detail and in the calm attention to the minutiae of daily life. Beautifully written, the story carries the reader along without ever needing to resort to sensationalistic tactics. Sure, there is more than enough gusto in the story, but the blood and gore is firmly left at the crime scene, and sometimes I enjoy that more than standing in a mortuary with the pathologist as they poke around in someone’s insides.

The severity of the crime being investigated and the outcome of the enquiry into child abduction is resolved by the end of the book, and whilst there are no great surprises in the outcome, the journey to get there is a very enjoyable reading experience.

My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for my advance e-copy of this book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably this would get a three or four star rating if I liked police procedurals more, and if I minded kid jep novels less. As it is, the somber subject (a seven-year old is kidnapped) precludes much banter between Lambert and Hook, both of whom are deeply affected by the crime. Good, solid writing, just not for me.

[David Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this a very well-constructed police procedural. It plays absolutely fair with the readers who want to try to solve the case before the detectives. But I found it slightly uninvolving.

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[Mary Hauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good character, believable outcome but kept me guessing til the end

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the five suspects in the investigation of the abduction and murder of one child as well as the abduction of a second, the culprit turns out to be the one with my most sympathies. A good read.