Birdman

This book is like a ride that starts out rather slow and appears harmless enough until you realize, too late, that it is about really mess you up. I was reading along, enjoying the tour of London and the exposure to British terms that I had never heard before, admiring the detail of the forensics (I was thinking of calling this CSI London), getting into these interesting characters, trying to solve the clues and only getting it partially right---which I am sure is what the author intended, and then in the last 20% this thing got very dark and naaasty.

Suffice it to say that Hayder pulls no punches. No quarter is given and no one is safe.

I am most definitely hooked and already have the next two in the series loaded onto the Kindle.

Undoubtedly one of the most visceral listening experiences I have ever had. Birdman, published in 2000, tells the story of a murder investigation after the mutilated bodies of five young women are found near the Millenium Dome in London. The author spares the reader/listener none of the gory details as the case turns out to be even more complicated and gruesome than originally suspected. And the main protagonist of the book, Deputy Inspector Jack Cafferey, has some problems of his own. Only toward the end do things falter just a bit, with some plot elements that seem a bit contrived. In some ways, this book could be compared to the Silence of the Lambs, but it makes that book look like a children's story. It has more in common, in fact, show more with Red Dragon, which had not yet turned Hannibal Lecter into a mythological superhero of evil.

When I was done with Birdman, my first reaction was, maybe I don't want to go down this road with this author again. But then I can't get it out of my head, and I am a bit awed by what the author achieved in her very first novel. Just look up Hayder on Wikipedia and be a bit more astounded at the career path that brought her to writing novels. It is very sad to know that she died--at the early age of 59--last year (2021) of motor-neuron disease. Her other words are apparently just as extreme as this one. Build up your courage and read it. Or listen to the audiobook, as I did, which was extremely well read by Damien Goodwin. show less

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 show more thriller, and I’ll definitely pick up more of the series. show less

Detective Inspector Jack Caffery has a lot on his mind. He has a girlfriend he doesn’t love. He has a neighbor haunting him who may have murdered Jack’s brother years ago. He has parents who don’t want to be around him. And now he has five mutilated bodies that were found buried at a construction site in Greenwich, England. Soon Jack finds that it is not just the killer he is fighting against. There are others in the Major Crime Investigation Unit who don’t want to see him succeed. Jack isn’t sure if his boss does either. Employing every forensic and investigative weapon at his disposal, Jack tries to find the sexual serial killer in spite of the distractions. But even when he has found his suspect, it still might not be the show more end of the reign of terror by psychopath known as The Birdman.

Birdman is British novelist Mo Hayder’s first novel, and the first featuring Detective Inspector Jack Caffery. The series now totals five installments. Right from the start, Hayder does a masterful job of capturing the utter confusion that surrounds a police investigation, where there are far more unknowns than reliable facts. Jack Caffery makes for a compelling hero – not without many flaws – but duty-bound to do the right thing when he knows what the right thing is. He is an everyman with a knack for putting disjointed pieces together. Hayder also provides the characters around Caffery with diverse personalities and vivid dialog.

It is with the crime that Birdman really hits its chilling stride. Without ruining the plot, I will say that it is very well constructed and produces a really big twist in the middle of the story. There are a few well-placed red herrings to keep the reader guessing, but no dirty tricks to spring a manufactured “gotcha” on you. Everything passes the plausibility test with flying colors. Hayder also brings a dark, foreboding edge to the world of her characters. It isn’t over-the-top gothic, but it is just inauspicious enough to make you want to tiptoe through the pages so as not to draw attention to yourself.

Birdman is also quite unsettling. It is graphic and at times sadistic. The villain is so incomprehensible, and yet realistic, that is will give you the chills right from the beginning. The scenes are intense and there don’t seem to be any taboos to Hayder’s storytelling. It is not a crime story for those with a weak stomach. However, this is one of the only negatives – and it depends on the reader as to if it is truly a negative – that I can identify in this page-turning crime thriller

Birdman resonates with a raw intensity. It is not perfectly written. Some of the sentences seem clunky at times, but the story moves very well. The characters are real and the peril is even more so. I kept turning the pages feeling a bit like a voyeur wondering what was going to happen next. I will certainly be picking up the next book in the Jack Caffery series. show less

4.0 stars

Detective Inspector Jack Caffery has a lot on his mind. He has a girlfriend he doesn’t love. He has a neighbor haunting him who may have murdered Jack’s brother years ago. He has parents who don’t want to be around him. And now he has five mutilated bodies that were found buried at a construction site in Greenwich, England. Soon Jack finds that it is not just the killer he is fighting against. There are others in the Major Crime Investigation Unit who don’t want to see him succeed. Jack isn’t sure if his boss does either. Employing every forensic and investigative weapon at his disposal, Jack tries to find the sexual serial killer in spite of the distractions. But even when he has found his suspect, it still might not show more be the end of the reign of terror by psychopath known as The Birdman.

Birdman is British novelist Mo Hayder’s first novel, and the first featuring Detective Inspector Jack Caffery. The series now totals five installments. Right from the start, Hayder does a masterful job of capturing the utter confusion that surrounds a police investigation, where there are far more unknowns than reliable facts. Jack Caffery makes for a compelling hero – not without many flaws – but duty-bound to do the right thing when he knows what the right thing is. He is an everyman with a knack for putting disjointed pieces together. Hayder also provides the characters around Caffery with diverse personalities and vivid dialog.

It is with the crime that Birdman really hits its chilling stride. Without ruining the plot, I will say that it is very well constructed and produces a really big twist in the middle of the story. There are a few well-placed red herrings to keep the reader guessing, but no dirty tricks to spring a manufactured “gotcha” on you. Everything passes the plausibility test with flying colors. Hayder also brings a dark, foreboding edge to the world of her characters. It isn’t over-the-top gothic, but it is just inauspicious enough to make you want to tiptoe through the pages so as not to draw attention to yourself.

Birdman is also quite unsettling. It is graphic and at times sadistic. The villain is so incomprehensible, and yet realistic, that is will give you the chills right from the beginning. The scenes are intense and there don’t seem to be any taboos to Hayder’s storytelling. It is not a crime story for those with a weak stomach. However, this is one of the only negatives – and it depends on the reader as to if it is truly a negative – that I can identify in this page-turning crime thriller

Birdman resonates with a raw intensity. It is not perfectly written. Some of the sentences seem clunky at times, but the story moves very well. The characters are real and the peril is even more so. I kept turning the pages feeling a bit like a voyeur wondering what was going to happen next. I will certainly be picking up the next book in the Jack Caffery series. show less

Birdman is a well executed contemporary crime thriller set in the United Kingdom involving what initially appears to be a sexually sadistic necrophiliac serial killer.

Mixed in is the police detective whose personal life is a mess, and colleagues who are more interested in confirming their own biases than active police work (along with being rather inept themselves).

It's a good novel with detail in all the right places conveying the disturbing nature of the crimes and actions of those responsible without veering off into gore for gores sake.

Would recommend for fans of darker police procedurals.

Mo Hayder conceives the most frightening villains but her writing style and plots are superb so you just have to keep reading. In this book, a number of decomposing bodies are found in an empty field near the dock area in London. The victims are all young women and they have all been inexpertly autopsied. As the forensic scientists and detectives do their jobs more horrific details unfold. Also, it becomes obvious that the killer is still on the loose and the intervals between killings is getting shorter. The chief investigator, who has a mystery in his background, zeroes in on the identities of the victims and discovers that they are all strippers who last worked at a pub. He becomes acquainted with an artist who used to be a stripper show more but left that life to work as a painter. Although he has a girlfriend he is attracted to the painter and she provides him with some vital information. The characters of the protaganists are well-developed and the plot has many twists and turns. A very hard book to put down. show less