I read this when I was around 13, and can still trace elements of my occasional nightmares back to this book. It was very disturbing in a gratuitous/shock-value way, and though I found the book gripping, I finished it feeling like I'd finally gotten through an ordeal. It's the least enjoyment I've ever taken from a decently well-written novel. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone I like. ( )

This is the second title I have read by Mo Hayder. I really like the
main character, Jack Caffery. I enjoy how Mo Hayder writes. But,
this title was way too gritty for me. I'm reluctant to read the next book in the series, "Ritual" ( )

Gruesome, terrifying and the most disturbing book I've ever read! A real page turner and hard to put down. If you're not squeamish, then I'd highly recommend it. ( )

#2 DI Jack Caffrey mystery, set in London. Jack Caffrey is a mess. Still haunted by the disappearance of his brother Ewan when they were children, obsessed with nailing the (now elderly) pedophile next door whom Jack believes was responsible for stealing Ewan, Caffrey is in no condition to take on an investigation into the kidnapping of a nine-year-old boy (just Ewan's age when he went missing) by a likely sexual predator. Rory Peach's parents were drugged and tied up in their home along with Rory for three days before the abductor had to make a run for it with Rory when a shopkeeper looking for money came knocking. Where did they go? The hue and cry was raised quickly afterwards, and every inch of the park behind the Peachs' home has been searched. Caffrey goes into a very dark place as he hunts down clues about who could have done such a thing--and believes it is a serial criminal, so sets to searching old records for similar cases as well. Interviews with neighborhood folks turn up a few clues that lead to a shocking conclusion when they are all pieced together. Meanwhile, Caffrey's personal life is in a shambles as well, as his girlfriend Rebecca also confronts the ghosts haunting her and Ivan Penderecki, the object of Caffrey's obsession, dies, leaving him a package that may contain information about what happened to Ewan.

Dark, gut-wrenching and utterly horrible in some places, this is not a book for those with a tendency towards queasiness. At times it almost feels like the author uses some of the more dark stuff purely for the shock value. That said, it's one of the few so-called "thrillers" that has actually thrilled me to any degree of late, that provided a true "edge of your seat, got-to-get-to-the-end-and-see-what-happens" experience, with plot twists that I didn't see coming and slammed me in the gut when they arrived. ( )

A man and his wife are found handcuffed in their home, severely dehydrated, the man badly beaten, and the wife's hands nearly severed from trying to get free. This is not the worst of it though, they have an eight year old son and he is missing. Jack Caffery is on the case and as he hunts for the missing boy he can't help but be haunted by the long ago disappearance of his own brother.

This story slowly escalates into the most disturbing book I've ever read. Mo Hayder is a master of this genre. I found the tension almost unbearable. I quickly realized on the first evening that I could not read this book at night if I wished to sleep peacefully. I often found myself setting the book down just so I could catch my breath and let my heart stop pounding. I literally could not read fast enough at times. The subject matter is perverse and unsettling in the extreme. As I read I often wondered if it would become too much for me but Hayder never crosses that line.

The narrative switches between several points of view, keeping the tension taught and the reader on the edge. There are many twists and turns and this is an intricate plot with many reveals along the way. Any future book I read in this genre is going to be held up to Ms Hayder as an example of the best. This book receives my highest recommendation for those with the stomach and the nerves for it. ( )