Birdman

Rating:
Summary: Better than average
Review: An above-average serial killer novel, "Birdman" is at times luridly graphic and suspenseful, and at times routine, predictable and formulaic. On the upside: the pacing of this book is excellent. There is enough character development for the reader to feel comfortable with the main characters, yet to me, it didn't detract from the drama of the search for the serial killer. I'm kind of lukewarm on the graphic nastiness of novels (it doesn't bother me, but I don't usually feel it's necessary) and this is a fairly nasty and unpleasantly direct novel, but for the most part, it seems to contribute to the feeling of horror that the author is trying to evoke. Overall, the writing is pretty good. On the downside: Some of the characters were pretty formulaic, the plot was pretty routine, and the resolution was too predictable. However, I read the book very quickly (I'm an awfully slow reader), which indicates to me that I had difficulty putting it down. In summation, I don't think this book has anything new to offer, but it is a competent and frequently, better-than-average suspense novel.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal, Violent, Gruesome, Horrifying...Classic
Review: Wow, now that's a debut novel! Just when you thought that the serial killer novel genre had been done to death, that no one could take it to the next level, Ms. Hayder surpasses even some of the classics.

Every serial killer book needs a great villain. No ones buying these novels because the good guy is so very interesting. Evil sells. Arguably the best serial killer book ever, Silence of the Lambs, and the other Harris works, have the best serial killer ever invented. Other books try, but no one can really hit that benchmark of evil, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The Birdman is the first to come close. These creature that is the Birdman is so twisted, perverted, and pathologically violent that it makes your skin crawl. You literally want to put the book down when Hayder describes what this man is capable of, and the fiendishly clever ways in which he commits his crimes.

So Ms. Hayder has her villain, and she has a great protagonist. Inspector Caffery is a complex and interesting man, who has the gifts of intelligence, wealth, and good looks. However, he is plagued by failed relationships and his obsession over the disappearance of his younger brother, who was kidnapped as a child and never found.

With these two characters in place, Hayder draws a dark and dreary mystery that has some very clever plot twists. The suspence is almost constant and the story keeps you guessing. Hopefully this is just a sign of things to come from Ms. Hayder.

Rating:
Summary: Don't pass this one by.
Review: If there is another writer capable of describing a character in such complete, aganizing detail as to make you feel as though that villain is sitting right beside you, I have yet to find them. Mo Hayder has a sense of description that is so detailed and complete that it has made her characters leap off the pages and act out the book right in front of you.

Mo has created a set of villains so vile and repugnant that at times I had a hard time reading the words, but the need to know what happened kept pulling me back in.

We do not want to believe that things as horendous as the one's in this book really happen, but they do. If they didn't, there would not be the need for the word necrophilia. This story takes you to the depths of the human animal. To depths I never dreamed existed.

If you want to take a wild, disturbing ride, jump on.

And If you make it through, definately dive into "The Treatment".

This book is amazing.

Rating:
Summary: Birdman Buries Boogieman
Review: That's right. We can forget about that old dependable scare maker. Birdman makes him look like a creampuff. In grindingly, horrific detail we learn just exactly how this Jack-the-Ripper style murderer gets his jollies.

Highly troubled, but blindingly handsome DI Jack Caffery, is called in to investigate a mass burial site in a desolate construction area that contains five female bodies that are in variously advanced state of decay. The ladies are identified as "throwaway" girls, the types that would not be reported missing if they disappeared. Most were part-time prostitutes. They have been hideously butchered, and all have had a small living bird implanted in their rib cage.

The technological gadgetry used by this London police team is first rate and most interesting. The interplay between various police personalities is well done. I would have liked villainous DI Diamond to have maybe one endearing trait to make him human, but I will not quibble. There is one character, like in the usual WWII movie, that is entirely too lovable, and he might as well wear a sign on his back saying "Casualty."

Our hero, Jack starts off with a fascinating, very unsatisfactory love life. Veronica is perfection in beauty, charm, housewifely skills---and Jack is becoming disenchanted---and he wants his house-key back, but does not know how to ask her tactfully. She has planned a Martha Stewart-worthy party at his home, and he hates the whole idea. There are other delightful little subplots in "Birdman" that I fastened onto like a drowning person, perhaps as a breather from the sheer awfulness of The Case.

In this debut novel, Ms. Hyder demonstrates fine writing skills and an ability to pace. At the halfway point the mystery is supposedly solved, but is only a brief hiatus of worse to come. Her plotting for clues needs work. Jack frequently looks up at the stars, and KNOWS! The reader is not privy to just how this revelation came to him out of the blue, so to speak. The unblinking grotesque scenes may or may not sell books. From toilets to torture to trepanning, the repellant/disgust level is high. I hope Ms. Hyder does not find herself in the position of being unable to top herself in the macabre market, such as Thomas Harris has, going from his brilliant "Red Dragon" to the absurdity of "Hannibal." Nevertheless, Ms. Hyder has talent and bears watching.

Rating:
Summary: After You've Finished, You'll Feel Unclean at Best...
Review: Mo Hayder is a fantastic new British talent, bursting onto the scene with this disturbing crime thriller.

It is a grim read, but a fascinating one. The oppressive air of sickness and depravity surrounding the horrific crimes of the titular Birdman is both disturbing and delicious at the same time. I am not generally a fan of crime fiction, but this novel had me hooked from the off.

The novel contains some tough material, with its content matter including necrophilia and other perversions. It is not for the faint-hearted, and I even felt a little queasy at times. But I kept turning the pages, and you cannot really ask for much more than that.

What I will say, however, is that after I had finished it I felt grubby, like Hayder had exposed me to something horrible -- which she had, but with style and flair. I loved it, but as I say, it's not for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: The Literary Equivalent of Paint By Numbers
Review: This is a decent book, but it is dragged down by its overuse of plot devices which have become cliches.

Why is it that in the majority of suspense stories involving serial killers, the protagonist's wife/girlfriend always ends up in the killer's clutches? Haven't we read this story a million times? Isn't it time to bury that cliche? This book is filled with this and other worn out plot devices (the detective who has a lovable sidekick who runs into problems, the competing detective who lets his jealousy derail the investigation, the idea that the killer has been caught and put out of business but he is not the one they are looking for, etc.) and it is frustrating.

The weird part is, the subplots of this book are very interesting. I found myself reading the book more to find out what was going to happen to Caffrey's relationship with his psycho girlfriend, his relationship with the neighbor who may have killed his brother, and how he interacted with his boss Maddox MORE that I read to find out about the killings, which were not well done.

I give the book two stars based on the subplots. The detective work in this book is a joke. There is no detective work. The hero just seems to get his ideas out of the blue sky. The serial killer parts of this book were terrible; the writing, overall, is decent and since this is her first book I will read her next one to see how she develops. But if that one is filled with cliches as well, then I will scratch her off the list of authors to keep up with.

Rating:
Summary: Sadistic,psychopathic killer is loose in London
Review: The story of a serial sexual killer is both intriguing and hard to take. Intriguing because Mo Hayder has a very tight and complex plot involving the search for a killer of prostitutes who is acting out some unknown script through the dressing up and surgical mutilation of their bodies. Hard to take because of the graphic descriptions of the torture and mutilation. If you can get over the graphic scenes you are in for quite a thrilling story.

When five decomposing bodies are found near the Millenium dome in Greenwich, England, headlines proclaim "Millenium Jack the Ripper?" Detective Inspector Jack Caffery, newly assigned to the Area Major Investigations Pool, is assigned to find out. Caffery has his own personal problems at the same time: a rich spoiled girlfriend who plays on his sympathies claiming her cancer has returned and a next door neighbor who is a former pedophile and who Jack is still trying to prove killed his younger brother twenty-five years ago.

When a link is discovered between a local pub and the victims, Caffery delves into the world of prostitutes, dancers and drugs. The murderer is revealed to us midway through the book and we watch the clues unravel as the police discover his identity. When it appears the killer is in hand and all is well, the killings resume.

The complex plot of the murders, mutilation, why they are done and the rationale for birds that are sewn into the victims' bodies make for a great read. The ending of this book is truly breathless as the police chase the suspect before he murders two more women, one with a personal tie to Caffery.

Rating:
Summary: Cast-Iron Stomachs Only
Review: This book should come with a warning label for those who are easily shocked or are frail of stomach to think carefully before turning to the first page. Alternatively, for those with stronger constitutions, the warning should be more along the lines of ensuring that you've got some time up your sleeve because this one's going to hook you and hold on tight. Mo Hayder has produced a stunningly grisly chiller that is as gripping as it is stomach churning.

D.I. Jack Caffery is the new recruit to the Area Major Investigation Pool (AMIP) team, which is the Met's crack murder investigation unit. He's thrown in at the deep end when five mutilated bodies are discovered, buried at a work site. It's only during the autopsy that Caffery finds out just how grim the case is likely to become after a rather shocking discovery.

Although he's young, Caffery is a driven and at times desperate detective who manages to remain unphased no matter what is thrown at him. He is also haunted by his own demons in his past, continually blaming himself for his own perceived shortcomings. He is a strong protagonist who is made all the more likable for his faults, both real and imagined. It's his driven nature that controls the frantic pace that the investigation maintains and compelled me to keep the pages turning as quickly as I could.

A short word on the shocking nature of the book to which I alluded in the opening paragraph. This refers to the detailed descriptions of the mutilated bodies, and the actions and feelings of the psychopath responsible. While not enough to give you nightmares, they were still sufficient to turn my stomach ever so slightly squeamish. In an era of some really bad bad-guys, Hayder has produced one who's right up there near the top of the sicko list.

I found this to be a wonderfully compelling story. Just when I felt that I had a pretty good handle on where it was headed, it suddenly threw me for a loop with a clever change of direction. It contains a well-constructed plot that clicked seamlessly into place and a strong protagonist to hold it all together.

Rating:
Summary: Best book read in a long time!!
Review: Mo Hayders Birdman was a nonstop thriller!! I am a big fan of thriller books and this one is one of the best. The twists and turns of this book kept me on edge until the last page. Can hardly wait for her next book. Just a very good book!!!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Thrill Ride
Review: Mo Hayder's Birdman is one of those rare novels that grips you by the throat from the very first page and does not let go of you until the very last word of the very last page. From the first sentence on, you are immediately thrown into the book's plot, embarking a rollercoaster ride that will leave you feeling both dizzy, disturbed and highly satisfied.

Jack Caffery is the a new DI in London and in his first weeks on the job, he's immediately face with a strange case that involves a sadistic killer who preys on young prostitutes and proceeds at killing them in a horrible ways. When the corpses of five missing women are discovered, the case is immediately thrown open and Jack unwittingly finds himself standing at its very center.

The killer is inevitably called Birdman due to the gruesome ways in which he kills his victims. But the similarities to Jack The Riper aren't left unnoticed and the London press is having a field trip with this breaking story. And as Jack tries to deal both with his past and his present-day personal life, he will also have to try and find The Birdman before he can kill again.

Dark, disturbing and shocking are only three of the many words I can think of to describe this book. This one is not for the faints of heart; the novel is often very graphic in its portrayal of violence. But Hayder is a very skilled writer who knows when and where to draw the line. She gives the reader just enough to disturb him but not so much that the reader will be left appaled and disgusted with the book.

I simply couldn't put this one down. Birdman is an amazing thrill ride that you won't want to see end. If all thrillers could be like this one, then we'd surely be in heaven.