59. The Treatment
The Treatment by Mo Hayder
Second Jack Caffery book
Pages: 357
Finished: Mar. 26, 2008
First Published: 2002
Genre: thriller, mystery
Rating: 5/5
First Sentence:
Reason for Reading: next in the series
Comments: 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.
The next book in this series "The Ritual" will be released in Canada in September of this year and I can hardly wait. In the meantime, there are two stand-alones I'll be reading in the near future.
Second Jack Caffery book
Pages: 357
Finished: Mar. 26, 2008
First Published: 2002
Genre: thriller, mystery
Rating: 5/5
First Sentence:
When it was all over, DI Jack Caffery, South London Area Major Investigation Team (AMIT), would admit that, of all the things he had witnessed in Brixton that cloudy July evening, it was the crows that jarred him the most.
Reason for Reading: next in the series
Comments: 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.
The next book in this series "The Ritual" will be released in Canada in September of this year and I can hardly wait. In the meantime, there are two stand-alones I'll be reading in the near future.
I read The Devil of Nanking by the same author and was really impressed. I've been meaning to try this series. A couple of my friends were so furious with the end of The Treatment. I am glad to see the series is continuing. That should make them happy. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Devil of Nanking is the next one I'll be reading! I'm really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Treatment definately does not have a happy ending, Birdman didn't either. But I'm not really angry about the ending, even though I would have prefered things to end differently. Life isn't always a happy ending and I'm coming to expect that from Hayder.
Some Drama lesson teach us that tragedy or unhappy ending can always impress people so much
ReplyDeleteI am so confused. I read on Hayder's site that Ritual is the first in The Walking Man series, yet it appears as if Jack Caffery is a main character making it the third in the series. ???
ReplyDeleteJoy, I saw that too... Not really too sure what that means, but Ritual is definately a Caffery book. Looks like he gets a promotion and moves, ... perhaps there is going to be a new recurring character??
ReplyDeleteThat's probably it. Caffery may be the lead into The Walking Man series. The other guy mentioned is "Flea", so maybe he will be the main character.
ReplyDeleteYou read it and let me know. :)