Detective Inspector Zoe Benedict investigates the brutal
murder of a popular teenage girl which has shocked the local community while
ensuring that secrets from her past remain hidden in the latest thriller from
Mo Hayder.
Zoe’s estranged sister Sally is recently separated and
struggling to bring up her rebellious daughter who was a friend of the victim.
What lengths will she go to in order to keep her head above water financially
and to keep her daughter out of harm’s way?
Mo Hayder exploded onto the crime fiction scene back in 2000
with her fantastic début, Birdman. It’s sequel, The Treatment, was arguably
even better. These were ferocious serial killer tales that featured cop Jack
Caffery and were too disturbing for many readers but became critically
acclaimed bestsellers.
Several stand-alone thrillers followed which didn’t match up
to the original two books and in 2008 Hayder returned to the character of Jack
Caffery.
Hanging Hill is another departure from the security of a
recurring character series and while it remains a police procedural it lacks
the bite of the Caffery stories. Zoe Benedict is interesting enough but the
investigation meanders along while Sally goes to work for a very shady
character which leads to a tragic event that eventually re-unites the two.
This competent but unimaginative thriller is for those not
willing or able to delve into the depths of depravity that Hayder is very
capable of exploring.
Ric’s Rating: Good
Some how I missed this series of books. It sounds pretty good and very powerful as well. Thanks for the review. I'll check them out.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Pig Island, but haven't read anything else by Mo Hayder yet. I'm glad I saw this post because it has been something I've been meaning to change. I think I will start with Birdman given what you said about it, and go from there. For some reason I find it fun to be disturbed by what I read, so that one sounds like a winner.
ReplyDeleteHi Guys, Birdman is really cool so let me know how you get on if you check it out. Thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeletePS William, I'll be reading Scraping The Bone pretty soon.
Just ordered a copy of it so I shall be reading it soon. I hope you enjoy Scraping the Bone. That collection has some of my first ever published tales in it.
ReplyDelete