Birdman (Jack Caffery)

by Mo Hayder

Greenwich, south-east London. The Met's crack murder squad is called out by CID detectives to a grim discovery. Five bodies, all young women, are ritualistically murdered and dumped. Post mortems reveal a most dangerous sexual serial killer on the loose.

• ISBN10: 0593045521
• ISBN13: 9780593045527
• Publish Date: 2 December 1999
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 21 April 2005
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Bantam Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

This was a series recommended to me by my mother-in-law, and this first entry doesn’t disappoint. Hayder writes on the darker side of crime fiction, and this book is full of messed up people. Not the least of which is lead detective Jack Caffrey, who carries around a truckload of guilt stemming from the disappearance of his brother when they were children, and who is punishing himself by staying in an unfulfilling, manipulative relationship and nursing an obsession with his backyard neighbor.

Also quite messed up is our antagonist, whose point of view we see often, letting us into the horror of his thinking. Hayder does a good job of making us think we have it all figured out before pulling the rug out from beneath us.

This was a solid thriller, and I’ll definitely pick up more of the series.

[Mystereity Reviews]

I thought I'd take a break from cozy mysteries and read a real mystery for a change. This one was recommended by a friend, with the caveat that it was gory. And there were moments when it was a little bloody, but after reading Stuart MacBride, I 'd have to say it was lite gory. Like, PG-13 gory, not R gory.

DI Jack Caffrey is called out to an industrial field where a woman is found brutally murdered. Soon, more bodies are found and Jack finds himself caught up in the search for a sexual serial killer that he must stop before it's too late.

I enjoyed the book, it was more than your stereotypical police procedural. Steady pacing kept the plot going through the book with no dragging in the middle when the action thins out. I liked that the mindset of the killer was explored in a little more detail through inner dialogue and memories, giving the character more dimension.

I have to say, the little "cliffhangers" throughout the story kind of annoyed me. From the 5 objects they pulled out during the autopsies that wasn't revealed until a chapter or 2 later to Jack's leaps of intuition that launched him into action that isn't detailed to the reader until after, it's just a messy way of writing. It doesn't add intrigue or suspense, it just pisses me off.


Overall, an enjoyable first in a series, and a creepy, unsettling read. This would make a great Halloween read.

[pamela]

Mo Hayder may have just become my favourite crime writer. I couldn't put this book down. It was grim, gruesome, horrific and very human.

The plot and characters were polished, and even the antagonists had moments in which they elicited sympathy. But be warned, these books will not be for the fainthearted or squeamish.