The Treatment (Jack Caffery) (Jack Caffery Trillers (Audio))

by Mo Hayder

Midsummer: Donegal Crescent, a quiet residential street on the edge of Brockwell Park in south London. A husband and wife are discovered bound and imprisoned in their own home. They are badly dehydrated, have been beaten, and the husband is close to death. But worse is to come: their young son is missing. When DI Jack Caffery of the Met's murder squad, Amit, is called in to investigate, the similarities to events in his own past make it impossible for him to view this new crime with the necessary detachment. And as Jack digs deeper, as he attempts to hold his own life together in the face of ever more disturbing revelations about both the past and the present, the real nightmare begins. Horrifying, unforgettable, intense, 'The Treatment' is a novel that touches the raw nerve of our darkest imaginings.

• ISBN10: 0593045424
• ISBN13: 9780593045428
• Publish Date: 4 June 2001
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 21 April 2005
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Bantam Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

I have no idea how to rate this book. On one hand, it was haunting, unbearably suspenseful and riveting. On the other hand, it was was so horrifying that I nearly couldn't finish it.

The book's plot concerns children being raped and killed, and while not detailed, was graphic enough that the book was nearly intolerable. Just too much for me.

So, I'll leave this unrated because although well written, I just can't bring myself rate it.

Edit: gave it 4 stars because the book was written so excellently that it's still haunting me weeks later.

[pamela]

I was excited to read this because of how brilliant Birdman was, but while Mo Hayder still proves herself a wonderful writer, The Treatment was nowhere near as polished as her debut.

Hayder writes about gruelling and voyeuristic subjects. I felt she managed to remain respectful in Birdman, but in The Treatment her protagonists simply didn't show enough care or empathy for the victims. I recognise that she is deemed a realistic writer, however as the act of writing a novel is to provide entertainment, treating her victims so dismissively seemed somehow wrong.

Caffery himself in this novel is nowhere near as likeable or human. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he comes across as downright stupid. He gets so caught up in his own issues that he risks the lives and sanity of those around him, and the victims in his care. In fact, the decisions he makes create tragedy not only for those around him but for himself. In Birdman he was equal parts brilliant and troubled. In The Treatment he's just troubled.

The plot wasn't quite as fleshed out as I would have liked. The red herring to put the reader off the culprit was clunky, and as such the plot development felt poor. The motivations weren't properly defined and as such I found it difficult to see this book as more than voyeurism.

I read the book quickly, because it was fast - paced and the action was exciting, and from a writing standpoint it was certainly accomplished. I will try another Mo Hayder book, but The Treatment came as a disappointment after Birdman.