Mo Hayder has a deliciously dark and devious imagination.
I've been a die hard fan of hers since I plucked Birdman, the first of the Jack Caffery books, off the shelf. Skin is the fourth in the series.
Jack is now a Detective Inspector with the Bristol Major Crimes Investigation Unit. Young women, apparent suicides, are turning up throughout the city. Jack begins to question the suicide verdict when he discovers they all have a connection to a set of quarries, known to attract the desperate. Flea Marley is the police diver charged with hunting for clues or bodies in the depths. But Flea is over her head in more ways than one. The story line involving her brother is a train wreck just waiting to happen.
That's just a very, very bare bones summary of the plot. Hayder's plotting is much more layered and complex. There's no way to predict which way the story is going to turn. I appreciate being Fans of Thomas Harris and John Sandford would enjoy this series. There's a cover blurb from another favourite author of mine - Karin Slaughter. I'll be watching for the 5th in the series - Gone - to hit the North American shelves.kept on my toes. Skin is a murder mystery but so much more. Hayder injects her trademark creepiness into the story, turning up the thriller dial yet another notch.
Caffery is a complex character. He has a strong moral compass, but it doesn't always point north. His sense of justice does not always follow what the law says. Throughout the series, I've changed my opinion about him a few times, but he is always a mesmerizing protagonist. Caffery is a tortured soul, trying to rid himself of the past. Skin lets us explore the character of Flea in more depth. She too is a damaged soul.
A definite creepy, chilling page turner. I would suggest starting with the beginning of this series, to really get to know the character. Skin opens just after the previous book Ritual ends. The case from Ritual is referenced and there is some carry over of plot.
Fans of Thomas Harris and John Sandford would enjoy this series. There's also a cover blurb from another favourite author of mine - Karin Slaughter. I'll be waiting for the 5th in this series - Gone - to hit the North American shelves.
Read an excerpt of Skin.
6 comments:
I've never heard of this author before but the story sounds neat!
I'm a John Sandford fan so you've got my attention! I would want to start at the beginning, though!
I haven't heard of the series before, but this certainly sounds like a good book :)
I totally agree with you on Jack. I did not like him at all in Birdman and my opinion keeps fluctuating. Right now I like them both but it's not set in stone. LOL Flea had some hard stuff to deal with this time around and it was pretty amazing where Mo took her. Mo Hayder has a knack of going right up to that delicate line where it would be too much if she crossed it but she goes right up to it, even touches it but never goes over. kwim?
My sister brought me Gone back from England but I'm holding off on reading it for a bit. Either as long as my will power lasts or until I hear she's got another book in the works. I just hate to sit here waiting for her to write another book for me to read! Mo Hayder rules!
Oh lucky you Nicola! Let's just see how long you can hold off reading Gone..... LOL
I love Mo Hayder, but you can't read her in the dark.
Scary stuff.
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Eileen
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