Reviews

Here is a selection of reviews for Gone, Skin, Ritual, Pig Island, Tokyo, The Devil of Nanking, The Treatment, Birdman.

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Gone

“Where she differs from her peers is her almost outlandish imagination. Hayder pushes the boundaries of what’s been said and written before… Brilliantly perceptive portrayals of the victims and very clever, sympathetic plotting, not to mention an acute capturing of police procedure - Gone is Mo Hayder’s most compulsive thriller yet.” Daily Mirror

“Anyone who enjoys intelligent, well-crafted plots and efficient, glowing writing will enjoy Mo Hayder.  This is the fifth book in the Jack Caffery series and could well be the best. Sunday Express, February 2010

Mo Hayder raises the bar high when it comes to crime fiction and she’s done it again with this clever, stomach-churning, fast-paced, top-notch thriller.”
Angela Cooke, Sunday Express

“Hayder, again, proves expert at ratcheting up the tension.”
Irish Independent

 “Mo Hayder is not a woman to be trifled with. Her haute couture look belies her lacerating prose” Barry Forshaw, Independent

“She jolted the often-sedate world of police-procedural fiction with an unabashed readiness to gaze at the Gorgon of human behaviour; and detail it while pulling no punches”
The Independent 10.02.2010

“Mo Hayder’s speciality, from her bleak and brilliant debut Birdman on, has been a particularly potent blend of terror and horror to create a suspense that not only grips her readers by the scruff of the neck but takes a firm hold on their intestines, too ... Child kidnapping is an easy way to grab hold of our emotions and Hayder does it well, but she also subtly manages to make a mockery of our own – and Caffery’s – predictability. Are things what they seem because that is what we expect?” The Times, Feb 2010.

“Child kidnapping is an easy way to grab hold of our emotions and Hayder does it well, but she also subtly manages to make a mockery of our own – and Caffery’s – predictability. Are things what they seem because that is what we expect?”
The Times 13.02.2010

“Her latest thriller serves up a fast-paced storyline that will see you racing through the pages.”
The Edinburgh Evening News

“What a perverse imagination this writer has. But I write this in praise, not criticism, for it's not that she revels in the perverse, rather that she conveys the atmosphere of evil, both institutional and individual, with such skill.”
www.tonight.co.za

"Hayder is one of the most skilled crime writers at escalating unbearable tension and her description of the waiting period for the Bradley family is nothing short of brilliant."
Carla Macka

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Skin

“Hayder fans expect an adrenalin-pumping plot with a high gruesome quotient and complex characters that don't just flirt with evil, they sometimes embrace it. "Skin" doesn't disappoint.”
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

"This is Hayder's most unresolved thriller yet. It may well leave you uncomfortable. But it will still leave you wanting more.”
Tonight - Independent News and Media, South Africa

"Hayder is not a subdued writer. Her characters are almost as chilling as the horrors that they are investigating. The inner demons of Caffery and Marley make the turmoils of Rankin's Rebus or Mankell's Wallender seem puny and adolescent. Macabre, yes, but also absorbing and hugely entertaining."
The Times - March 2009

“Once again Hayder has written a book that will make you want to leave the lights on and have you squirming while you read. Pure genius.”
Crimespree magazine - www.crimespreemag.com

“Hayder captures the claustrophobia of Flea's dives in unsettling detail and continues to build on her two damaged heroes.”
Publishers Weekly USA (Best Books 2009) more>

“SKIN is certainly a good read, with some genuinely creepy original ideas and characters.”
www.eurocrime.co.uk

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Ritual

“Mo Hayder, like all the best crime writers, is inimitable. She surpasses even Ruth Rendell in her ability to find horror in everyday things.”—The Observer

“Hayder has long been a master at blending crime and horror genres, but this time she outdoes herself, flip-flopping the supernatural and the explainable like a cycle of poison and antidote that will remain with the reader long after the final page.”—Atlantic Monthly

“A vivid and thorough exploration of the clash between ancient superstition and modern science, with plenty of thrills and chills along the way.”—The Guardian

“Harrowing, haunting and sometimes horrific but always compelling…. Hayder is an alchemist who can compound the seeds of truth into the kind of crime fiction that may have mind-altering effects…. Prepare for an adrenalin rush.”—Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

“[Mo Hayder] masterfully explores the horrific boundaries of culture and evil…. Completely gripping.”—Booklist, starred review

“Even in a desensitized time of ubiquitous screen violence and gore, Hayder’s imagery is viscerally disturbing [and] her players, to the minor, are exquisitely, painfully drawn.”—Winnipeg Free Press

“Hayder is a brave writer and she requires brave readers…. I am glad to have toughed it out and finally made her acquaintance.”—Daily Mail (UK)

“Will leave fans craving more.”—Sunday Mail

“Mo Hayder packs plenty of gore and thrills in her work, but her ability to frighten stems from the tremendous sense of empathy she feels for and imbues in her characters…. [Ritual] devastates.”—The Baltimore Sun

“Will appeal to fans of Stephen Booth and the BBC series Wire in the Blood.”—Library Journal

“This disturbing tale … will creep out the steeliest reader.”—CTV.ca

“A perfectly articulated process of minute ratiocination and honestly earned imaginative empathy. Brilliant.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A complete triumph.”—Euro Crime

“Full of the trademarks that made her name: expertly deployed shock tactics, excellent research, a cast of physically, mentally or morally damaged characters, and two sympathetic protagonists with painful past lives...”
Laura Wilson - The Guardian

“A vivid and thorough exploration of the clash between ancient superstition and modern science, with plenty of thrills and chills along the way.”                        
Peter Guttridge - The Observer
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews

“Are you ready for her latest stomach-turner?” Helen Rumbelow - The Times

“Dark, gut wrenching and gloriously readable, Ritual is a welcome return for a character who has been gone too long and for an author who has once again pushed back the boundaries of Crime Fiction.” Chrishigh.com

“There's something almost feral about her fiction compared with other British crime writers. She may be foxy but she's also bloody scary.” London Lite, 4 March 2008

“Expect plenty of blood, gore and black magic.” Daily Mirror, 7 March 2008

“If you like your thrillers gruesome, scary and deep, then reach for the latest, chilling new novel by Mo Hayder. Hayder already has a reputation as an unrivalled writer of terrifying reads - and Ritual will impress even the harshest of critics..” Lisa Moore - The Evening Telegraph

“RITUAL is a complete triumph. Certainly the best British crime novel I've read so far this year. We are treated to some nice twists and turns, and one masterly piece of misdirection by the time the book reaches its satisfying end. I recommend it completely, as much as I recommend all her previous work. Her talent really is quite special.” Fiona Walker - Euro Crime

“A gripping book, high on atmosphere, convincing in its portrayal of major and minor characters and their emotions, and totally involving to the reader.” Maxine Clarke - Euro Crime

“Another fantastic thriller from one of the best in the business.” Becky Lejeune - Book Bitch

“Ritual is a thought-provoking and compelling read.  This novel is not to be ignored or overlooked by any avid reader of the crime genre as well as those who like to read fiction and have a sense of justice within the complicated scheme of multi-cultural life.  Miss it / ignore it at your own peril.  Ritual is both a firm mark on society today and a damn good read.” http://itsacrime.typepad.com/

“Ritual is a fine return to form and has produced another grimly-engrossing read.
Highly recommended.” Dave Roffe www.sunderlandecho.com

“Mo Hayder writes cold, grim, depressing crime fiction, but when she successfully integrates eerie and mystical cultural characteristics unfamiliar to everyday blokes like you and me, and Jack and Flea, the result, is a damn fine story, one I fully expect will be on award nomination lists next Year.” Mystery News

“With characters so complex, so fascinating that they could populate a dozen novels, she sends readers into a demimonde of ritual magic, desperation, guilt and death, all exquisitely composed. ” Margaret Cannon - www.theglobeandmail.com

“The story line is fast-paced as the readers wonders along side of Caffery and Marley what is going on especially when they feel strongly the victim is breathing. Fans will appreciate this strong investigative thriller as Mo Hayder provides an enjoyable whodunit that focuses on learning what was done.” Harriet Klausner, Senior Reviewer - www.Midwestbookreview.com

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Pig Island

"Mo has a profound ability to shock and surprise her readers, and Pig Island surpasses anything she has written before. She's the bravest writer I know". Karin Slaughter

"Hayder has always had the unrivalled ability to conjure up grotesqueries that chill, but here she outdoes herself." The Observer

"Hayder's writing is, as ever, briskly paced and fluid.The sense of place is assured (and) the twist in the tail, as it were, comes like a hammer blow right at the end, clever and unexpected." The Times

"Profoundly creepy and creepily convincing. Though gruesome enough to satisfy even the most hardcore horror fan, this rigorously imagined novel is also full of apt (if bleak) detail and graced with a perfect plot twist at story's end. Hayder offers both a riveting story and a nuanced, distinctily modern look at secrecy and publicity, belief and skepticism, normal and taboo." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Deeply intense, pit dark and vice-like in its ability to grip, this fourth outing by the highly acclaimed writer – following the successes of Birdman, The Treatment and Tokyo – does not fail to disappoint. Chrishigh.com

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Tokyo (The Devil of Nanking)

There are some novels that infect the brain and never let go…….. Hayder writes of past and present horrors with beautifully understated prose, made more so by Grey's innocence in the face of mounting evil. The Devil of Nanking is brilliant, haunting and scary as hell - a book not soon forgotten. Baltimore Sun

Dazzling....... exceedingly creepy. The diabolically gifted British author spins a fascinating mystery from the legacy of Japanese atrocities during World War II. Entertainment Weekly EW Grade: A

'The Devil of Nanking" is such a perfectly sinister novel that doubt creeps in as one reads it. Can Mo Hayder pull it off? ........Hayder creates such a threatening environment that when the novel gains its strength, every page evokes a shudder. And yes, she pulls it off. "The Devil of Nanking" ends as it begins - which is to say it's a thoroughly satisfying thriller. New York Daily News "The Devil of Nanking" is the kind of novel that invites excessive praise. It is beautifully written and often fascinating, and it has a powerful historical hook. Washington Post

No one writes like Hayder about the darkness within, and the shocking revelations that bring her tale to a climax come as both horrific and necessary. There is nothing gratuitous in her insights into the extremes of human nature, and the way she melds soon to be unforgettable characters, a lyrical sense of place, and a plot engineered like a sports car will leave you gasping. This …book confirms a major talent that transcends thriller writing. Time Out: (Book of the week)

Terrifying, compelling….. Hayder expertly piles suspense upon suspense. Tokyo is both a fascinating and moving historical novel and a thriller so fast paced I had to sit up until the early hours to finish it, lest my sleep be disturbed by its chilling vision. Daily Telegraph

Ambitious and impressive, the novel boasts in the character of The Nurse, the gangster’s terrifying, sexually ambiguous minder, one of the most haunting villains since Hannibal Lecter. Sunday Times

Hayder (is) quite Jacobean in that her true subject is death and its constant presence in life. What she does best is damage, much of it self inflicted, and this is the book’s strongest theme – the way in which we haunt ourselves. Guardian Builds to a terrifying climax. Hayder has produced a novel which fully displays her talent. Sunday Times

(Hayder’s) passion for the life of the city and its people is obvious and transforms this chilling thriller into something that will linger long in the mind. Red magazine Mo Hayder writes hauntingly of hidden Tokyo, where the past lies only just below the surface. Literary Review

Hayder is a craftswoman among page turners. Another triumph for a writer with ice in her veins. (Tokyo moves) expertly to a horrific conclusion. Good Book Guide (Fiction Book of the Month)

It is seldom that one has to read a novel with a fist stuffed in one’s mouth to contain the gasps of horror. With Tokyo….some form of gasp containment is absolutely necessary. Daily Express

'Mo Hayder's TOKYO is a haunting, lyrical, disturbing, important, suspenseful, wonderfully written and beautiful book that lingers long after you turn the final page. You will love reading it, and you will not soon forget the experience.' Harlan Coben

'The very best thing a writer can do is to thoroughly and completely immerse the reader in a strange new world. Mo Hayder does it to perfection with Tokyo. This book is deeply felt and haunting. It is elegiac and important. Most of all, it sticks with you well after the last page is turned.' Michael Connelly

'What a story - what a storyteller!' Colin Dexter

'TOKYO left me stunned and haunted. This is writing of breathtaking power and poetry. I stand in awe of Mo Hayder's incomparable gifts as a storyteller.' Tess Gerritsen

'Tokyo catapults Mo Hayder into the front rank of contemporary thriller writers. Compassionate and cataclysmic, stylish and scary, TOKYO is as finely judged a thriller as you'll read this year.' Val McDermid

'In-freaking-credible. With the TREATMENT, Mo Hayder cemented her reputation as one of Britain's preeminent crime writers. TOKYO jackhammers her to the top of the field. This is the epic thriller of the year.' Karin Slaughter

'A real page-turner, full of suspense, with a terrifying, gritty edge that turns the blood cold.' Minette Walters

'More rubbish from that dreadful purveyor of filth, Mo Hayder. Why does she think we're interested in her remorseless excavation of the human soul? I wouldn't recommend TOKYO if it was the last book on the planet.' Norman Quin

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The Treatment

Winner - WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award 2002

“There is no better example of a contemporary masterpiece than Mo Hayder’s The Treatment. Whether she’s exploring social issues such as homelessness and child abuse or just scaring the bejeezus out of you, Hayder spins a tale that feels like a razor slicing apart your soul. The plotting is extremely disciplined, the sort of structure to which all authors should aspire, and the story is a searing dark tale that makes you bolt up in bed during the middle of the night, wondering if that sound you heard was the cat, or Death dragging its sickle across the floor.” Karin Slaughter - The Sunday Telegraph

'The most frightening book I've ever read.' The Guardian

'Mercilessly realistic and depressing…exactly what the crime genre needs: a book that treats cruelty with a new moral seriousness.' Metro

'Books don't get any harsher about the rotten core of humanity than Mo Hayder's THE TREATMENT which is even bleaker than her stunning debut BIRDMAN. Hayder's gory insights into the dark side are compelling. The finale is an extreme emotional catharsis, involving both redemption and terrible irony.' The Guardian

'Hard to put down. The plot develops with satisfying unpredictability; the characters are compellingly drawn… [the] race to save a captured child has nail-biting intensity and the final twist a bravura savagery.'
The Telegraph

'Without doubt she is our Thomas Harris: this is very violent, grotesque stuff which in no way suffers from second book syndrome. It has… excellent characterisation… ultra-gripping.' The Bookseller

'It takes a writer of exceptional skill and intelligence to find a new way through familiar territory, but Mo Hayder can do it. The story twists like an angry mongoose, although Hayder never lets it flex out of control. But it isn't just narrative ability that sets Hayder apart. Her depiction of forensic reporting…is clearly and grippingly authentic, and she shines a bright light on society's darkest parts without any moral flinching. Everything is tempered with a rare sensitivity. Mo Hayder has been promoted to the premier league of crime writers.' Waterstones Quarterly Review

'Even darker and more tense (than Birdman)..who could have thought that Mo Hayder could travel even further into the darkest places of human evil? But she has and the results will leave you reeling!' The Mystery & Thriller Club

'One thing is certain- Mo Hayder can write. THE TREATMENT is a complicated, dark, intense, disturbing and compelling read.' Deadly Pleasures

'This sequel to Hayder's 1999 debut Birdman is as raw as a predawn autopsy, and promises to please fans of her beleaguered protagonist DI Jack Caffrey and his weary crew of London cops and coroners. Hayder handles procedural detail, dialogue and volatile subject matter with powerful dexterity, crafting another deliciously chilling thriller. Forecast: This was a bestseller in England and should significantly build Hayder's fan base in the U.S.' Publishers Weekly

'A first-class shocker which is horrifying, unforgettable and intense.' Irish News

'Gritty and tingling with tension, Hayder's… novel contains gripping plot twists and is absolutely compelling.' What's On

'Watching Jack's psyche disintegrate and then reconstruct proves utterly fascinating in a most sinister way. The horrifying story… is brilliantly plotted, as mesmerising as watching a cobra coiled to strike. A complex, emotional, and thoroughly riveting read.' Book List

'WHAT? Winner? Have those people at WH Smith been on the sherry again? Yet another example of the shameful politics at work in the literary award business.' Norman Quinn

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Birdman

'A British crime novel with a sentimental edge, and one of the best things I've read recently. Although this is Hayder's first novel, she writes with the confidence of a professional of long standing. …….She has the ability to walk the mean-streets walk as well as talk the mean streets talk. …..Here at last is a female voice in British crime who neither refers back to the golden age, nor believes that it is necessary for the female characters to be irritating…Bridget Jones clones.' The Independent on Sunday

'BIRDMAN is a frightening book. As the conclusion is acted out before us, we can scarcely breathe because of the cumulative effect. Mo Hayder draws the suspense out far longer than most writers would dare - and masterfully. If I had to sum this book up in a single word, it would be WHEW!' Washington Post

'A writer in touch with her dark side and a major new talent.' The Guardian

'Extraordinarily good. It is how Hayder moves her story from opening discovery to inevitable conclusion that shows her skills. She has expert control over the pace of her narrative and stage manages a large cast of characters with precision.' Daily Mail

'Wickedly constructed - her cast of characters is the most spooky since Dickens.' The Daily Telegraph

'What sets Birdman apart is Hayder's talent…. She brilliantly evokes the landscape of this corner of London. This will undoubtedly be the first controversial British thriller of the New Millennium.' Express on Sunday

'Hayder's vibrant narrative and crunchy characterisation propel the book along to its denouement with fearsome velocity.' The Times

'Ms Hayder's writing is crisp and tart…her book gripped the mind even as it quickened the pulse'
Richard Bernstein, New York Times

'[An] assured and excellent thriller… Caffery… is a likeable and credible hero, and Hayder tells the story in convincing but flesh-creeping detail - it is hard to believe that this is her first crime novel.' Sunday Times

'With enormous confidence, and in just a few pages, she manages to create a character with the sort of rounded complexities that many writers take books to develop.' New Statesman

'It'll scare the hell out of you' Elle

'A terrific thriller. There are twists and turns in this case that should defy the most ardent armchair detective.' Melbourne Herald Sun

'Its prose is a canny mix of the quasi-literary and the streetwise, it pushes all the right buttons [and] has a giddying excitement in its escalating horrors' The Observer

'Top Notch. A deftly plotted assault on the nerves. Graphic, disturbing, splendidly readable.' Kirkus reviews

'Hayder's atmospheric use of location really brings the novel alive… it is a genuinely thrilling and frightening book.' The Bookseller

'Hayder's prose is daring, assured and graceful…[she] doesn't shy away from breathtaking risks in her plotting… [which is] absolutely special… Hayder may currently be occupying a class all of her own.' The Toronto Star

'Promising newcomer Hayder crafts a blood-curdlingly creepy debut thriller…her graphic imagination knows no bounds.' Publishers Weekly

'BIRDMAN preys on the reader's expectations expertly… Graphic, disturbing, splendidly readable.'
Kirkus Reviews

'an excellent plot, and a wonderful twist… Hayder has created in Jack Caffery a superb central character of whom it would be a crime not to hear more.' Ottakar's, Bookseller's Choice

'Hayder is impressively successful in appealing to a broad, multi- genre fan base. She displays a good working knowledge of forensics and English police procedures, and birdman's plot has more twists than a surgeon's knot.' Mystery Guild

'From a hot new talent, a tough commercial British thriller… [with] a complex and well-drawn detective and a particularly unpleasant serial killer' The Rights Report

'Absolute rubbish. Just an inky fingered secretary with too much time on her hands and no imagination. Don't know how she's got away with it. It won't last' Norman Quinn

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Latest News

Tokyo is now re-released as “The Devil of Nanking”. With its heady atmosphere of overt violence, lurking fear and sexual tension, this is a novel that takes hold of the reader and does not let go until its explosive final pages.

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