Average Rating: 5 stars on Barnes and Noble


This sequel to Hayder's 2001 debut Birdman is as raw as a predawn autopsy, and promises to please fans of her beleaguered protagonist DI Jack Caffery and his weary crew of London cops and coroners. Once again, the protagonist is burnt-out police detective Jack Caffery, burdened by memories of his brother's long-ago disappearance (and probably murder by a registered sex offender), and his girlfriend Rebecca's arduous recovery from a brutal rape. The story focuses initially on the discovery of a London couple in their suburban home, severely beaten and dehydrated, their eight-year-old son missing. Hayder builds tension expertly, as Caffery (under the watchful friendly eye of his boss, Hogarthian lesbian DCI Danniella Souness) enters the maze of sex crime files, gradually discovering linkages between his current case and the criminal history of Ivan Penderecki, the neighbor who had almost certainly murdered young Ewan Caffery. In a capably handled series of parallel plots (of which there are, arguably, one or two too many), Hayder depicts several ongoing forensic examinations and investigations, the ordeal of another London family victimized by "the troll" (as the killer is now named), the apprehension of wretched Tracey Lamb (the sister of a sexual predator, who had "appeared" in films he took of molestations in progress), the stories of surviving former victims, and the machinations of the (uncaught) troll, a suitably monstrous invert whose acts constitute a "treatment" devised to restore his own sexual health. There's rather too much attention paid to Caffery's troubled intimacy with Rebecca (which provides both contrast to the plot's emphasis on perversions, and grimly ironic echoes of them),and a climactic last-minute rescue has "movie version" written all over it.

Released on Friday, July 30, 2004 at Controlled Release in Cicero, New York USA.

Heading for San Diego Calif ! to a Mystery Book Swap Member

Mystery Book Swapper Ruth in San Diego -- Thanks for forwarding to me -- looking forward to reading this!

Mo Hayder's second book and sequel to BIRDMAN featuring Jack Caffery -- dark, if not darker, than the first -- creepy yet compelling (although I will agree with the above review that I felt a tad too much emphasis was placed on the Caffery/Rebecca relationship). I look forward to reading more from this talented writer.

RELEASE NOTES:

for Valerie