Birdman (Jack Caffery Book 1)

First things first, this kindle book has a lot of formatting oddities. Some scenes transition mid-paragraph and others with no notable break between paragraphs. Just be aware of that when reading.************************Brutal and disturbing like all the best crime stories, Birdman digs into the brain. From Veronica's understandable though never laudable behavior to the origins of our too-much-a-cipher protagonist's pathos, Hayder never blinks.Comparatively, the American crime thrillers and procedurals I've read are sanitary even when they're being ugly. I keep trying to quantify what I mean, but nothing feels right, so I keep taking it back out. Maybe someday I will put my finger on it and share.Hayder handles the scenes of violence and violation matter-of-factly, never squeamishly and never pruriently. The horrors she depicts are recounted with skill, knowing that fading to black would sanitize the story too much just as focusing too finely would betray the casual reader's trust in the author. It's a fine line a novel like this must straddle, and Hayder does it well.We also get a clear-eyed look at how mundane office politics can taint the success of a case, leading to lethal consequences, and how the same can serve to hide awful truths lurking in the murky blur of our peripheral vision.The crime pokes (or do the crimes poke?) at the tender underbelly of modern sensibility, tapping both shame and horror in equal measure, then graft it onto mundane delivery to amplify the sense of filth and fear. Dread comes strongest late in the book when it's made clear that even those living virtuously are not immune to the predation of a monster willing to indulge itself.Despite the big cast, there is only one protagonist here, and it's Caffery. That unfortunately makes the protagonist the weakest part of the story, coming to life only when he's sparring with his girlfriend, both of them calculating angles of attack as proactive defense. There's a verisimilitude here that's not always easy to achieve. The rest of the time he observes, argues, and lusts without ever really bringing it to a place where I feel anything for or about him. He is competent, intelligent, and lucky after a fashion, but he's really not very interesting. He just is.The biggest complaint I read before picking this up - and indeed it was one of the reasons I did and I make no apologies for that - was that it was gory and violent. Most of it's not. Most of it is just the story of a detective trying to catch a killer, his numb life, and the machinations that enable the crimes. But when Hayder engages the violence, she does so without hesitation or remorse and she pulls only one punch.I've already started The Treatment.

"Birdman" by Mo Hayder is one of the rare suspense novels published today that is willing to be something more than completely formulaic. While not perfect, Hayder has created a novel that is suspenseful, disturbing, original and entertaining. Her characters are complex and interesting, and she displays a gift for setting the mood.The action takes place in London during the summer of 1999; five bodies have been discovered at a construction site, each one containing a horrifying surprise. The reader follows Detective Inspector Caffery as he struggles to catch up with the killer, even as more bodies appear. As he draws closer, a surprising plot twist with 100 pages to go only adds to the suspense.It is Caffery's character that really makes this novel. He is haunted by the disappearance of his brother when they were both children, and, as a result, he struggles with relationships and has a dark edge to his personality. As he races against the clock to find the killer, he struggles with his own inner demons, and comes across as much less squeaky clean than your typical suspense hero.Then there are the crimes themselves; in a genre that has seen just about everything, Hayder managed to stake out a truly original (and gruesome) M.O. Along those lines, if you have a weak stomach, you'll probably want to skip this novel. The violence isn't gratuitous, but it is graphic.Ultimately, this is an entertaining read, with above average writing and some genuine thrills. The fact that it takes place in England also adds a twist for American readers, as firearms are nowhere to be found. Moreover, the descriptions of police procedure are detailed enough to be interesting without being overbearing. If you're looking for a fun novel for the weekend, you would do well to pick up "Birdman".Enjoy!

I have packed this in at 27% and deleted it......firstly, I am disappointed to see it's one of these stories re-released years later (21 in this case) that states the published date is 4th May 2009. I'm getting a little cheesed off at authors or publishers doing this. Sometimes, though not in this case, the covers also get amended and even the titles. It's all a bit sly and sneaky to me. Sadly, I've gone past the "return for refund" date as well....she also goes with American spellings, not English. Along with this, she writes like an American, utilising a LOT of acronyms without explaining what they are, so the reader has to keep being interrupted by looking them up....I finally jacked it in (pun intended) when I started chapter 17 with this passage, "Early 1980s. UMDS. Gross Anatomy"......I sighed very heavily and gave up as I just wasn't prepared to look up UMDS to learn what she was referring to. I'd given up the will to live with it. I looked up a TA incision and again, Google couldn't tell me what that stands for, neither for mazis, CDT counsellor, IC3, wash-rock.....I remain none the wiser, and just bloody irritated. It is really distracting and ruins the whole flow of what sounded like it would be a really good tale. She would also refer to stuff and sometimes explain what it was later and sometimes wouldn't bother, which is no help as you read it....for example, "Someone stick an Inci over her." I Googled this and they didn't know (though she did explain what it was in the next chapter.....one of those white scenes-of-crime tents.) We had "Caffery dug a small niche in the wall with his black thumbnail." The way that's written is that we ought to know about this black nail but I flicked back and there wasn't some mention I'd missed. Nope, we got an explanation a couple of chapters further on......well, that's no good. We needed to know when it was first talked about !! I was TOTALLY confused at the following," Stake out every hospital in area 4-RG, PD and PL. I'll start with RG....St. Dunstan's...." cos' this is as clear as mud, isn't it !!!A shame, as I was really warming to Jack as a character, though he does have a bit of a mental side to him. I did keep struggling with his partner's name, Essex, reading it as a place in the first instance when it came up a lot of the time. Especially as the story's based not too far from that county.We went back in time to Jack aged eight, though a page or two on and he'd suddenly become nine. Girl's school should be girls' and I've heard of Ketamine but not Ketalar. I didn't like the way victims' names were written....Shellene, Petra, Wilcox and Kayleigh.......Wilcox had a Christian name so why not use it ?? Jack meets a receptionist as he heads to interview a witness, who quizzed him about where he'd parked for a bit of small talk, but THEN said, "I haven't got a choice. I'm not leaving the car at home, too much building work-just trust some workman to accidentally chuck a spanner through the windscreen"..............huh ???? Why would Jack need to know this ? This was their very first meeting, too !! Very peculiar indeed.I've not deleted this from my Archived Items and perhaps an updated version may get pushed through or another revision in twenty years and I can finish the story !!

If I had to mark Mo Hayder on her plots and writing, I’d give her four stars. This is the second of her books I’ve read, the other being Hanging Hill, which had a brilliant twist at the end. It’s a dreadful shame that Mo feels the need to include in her novels the most horrifying, violent, graphic and sick scenes of animal cruelty, rape and torture. I’ve read thousands of books in my life, many of which have been superb crime thrillers, and a skilful author will captivate the reader with the plot and the power of language alone. Only a weak writer needs to draw people in with gratuitous gore, which is not to most people’s taste. If Mo Hayder tones down the gore and graphic violence, I will read her books, but I can’t quite see that happening, as clearly there’s an appetite for this kind of horrific escapism in pulp fiction. And I believe many, like me, cannot read scenes of animal cruelty. Plenty of superior alternatives to Mo Hayder.

I've been meaning to start reading this series for many years, but finally I picked up Birdman, and like a bird I literally flew through it. WOW! What a shocker! This must be one of the darkest, most gruesome and brutal serial killer thrillers I've ever read.Five mutilated female bodies are found buried near the Millenium Dome (yes this was written in 1999). It's immediately evident to DI Jack Caffery and his team that a VERY disturbed individual is walking the streets of London. But if the discoveries in the wasteland weren't horrific enough, the post-mortems reveal even more unimaginable horror, an even sicker mind than DI Jack Caffery and his team had anticipated at play here. This predator seems to know no bounds and shows an insatiable appetite for blood and flesh.When the body of another woman, showing the same distinctive marks and mutilations, is found, DI Caffery finds himself on a race against time to stop this monster before more women are murdered. But it won't be easy. Another team, supposedly bringing in much needed manpower and resources, proves to be more of a hindrance to Caffery's team than help. The case is very complex and a tough one to crack.I have to say that not everyone might feel comfortable reading some of the most gruesome scenes in this book. It is very pacy and full of twists and turns and the odd red herring, keeping the readers on their toes, gnawing their nails throughout. When I thought Caffery had almost completed the puzzle, the author did not just reshuffle all the pieces around, she overturned the damn table!Caffery is a great character. I liked how his mind works even though he's blighted by nightmares and the demons chasing him since childhood. And that was a very interesting side-story too. I wanted to know if Caffery's suspicions of what had happened back then will prove to be correct.The only thing I find annoying in this book is the use of certain acronyms like 'IC3' and others that the author seems to have taken for granted the readers would know their meaning.Though not for the squeamish, this is a great read and the beginning of a fabulous series. Now, I'm looking forward to dive into book 2, 'The Treatment'.

This is the first book in the Jack Caffery series and it is a British police procedural. In Greenwich, London a body is found and DI Jack Caffery is on the case to find the killer.WOW! This is one scary thriller, gripping from the first page to the last. The writing is top class, very descriptive with an extensive adult vocabulary. It is darkly erotic in places and very imaginative, for example...None of his acquaintances knew about the girls he paid for, about meeting them in the street and bringing them to Croom's Hill, about sending them naked into the garden to stand until they were blue with cold, so they could come glazed and shivering into his double bed. Or him demanding they lie still and unresponsive, eyes rolled back in their heads.... Oh yes, this is not a police procedural from the good guys point of view, no, no, you get the bad guy's story too! The plot of Birdman is very, very good indeed. Yes it is creepy but has some lovely dark humour and is sexy in places too - guess how Pinky got her nickname?Although this book was written in 1999 with technology and transport being very different then, don't let that put you off. This novel packs a tremendous punch which forces the reader to comprehend and imagine actions that are shocking, vulgar and unthinkable.I think Birdman is an OUTSTANDING 5 star read that is both entertaining and gripping. The editing is good yet you get a full story with lots going on but with no dull bits. All the characters are gently developed with lots of issues explored. How to move on from tragic events, dealing with racism in the workplace and an unusual fetish. It would also make a great film.

Readable enough, Hayder's Jack Caffrey series starts well but goes off the boil as gore and horror replace plot and credibility. For all its shock value and gratuitous violence, you've somehow read it all before: the copper with a complex love life and unsolved family secret, the lazy colleagues, the departmental infighting, the unlikely villains. For all the puffery about working closely with the police and the 100% accuracy of the storytelling (whatever that means), this is no police procedural. Peter James covers procedure way better than Hayder, whilst the overly descriptive horror loses any real sense of suspense because it is overdone. Stephen King is way, way better at this sort of stuff. Birdman is readable enough, but is absolutely not the book it is cracked up to be.