Birdman

Mo Hayder
Four out of Five Stars

I stumbled across Mo Hayder’s Birdman as a result of several readers, independently of one another, mentioning her work. That is one of the great things about talking books with others; they can lead you down paths you wouldn’t have found without their guidance.

Generally, I’m a slow reader, but managed to finish Birdman rather quickly, having enjoyed my time with British-based police detective Jack Caffery. We first meet him when he’s called to the scene of a murder, which turns out to be the dumping ground for a killer who has dispatched five prostitutes. The case becomes a priority, and we’re led to believe that Caffery is a profiler in a department where that skill is not entirely appreciated.

As we follow his investigation of the aptly named, Birdman, Hayder also provides back story on Caffery, as in the disappearance and death of his younger brother when they were both young, and a current relationship that isn’t living up to being all it could be. While the troubled relationship is a common situation in these types of books, it really doesn’t matter, as once the story starts unraveling, Hayder has pretty much drawn us in and has us reading – apparently faster than we normally do, as in my case.

I don’t want to say much about the case for fear of accidentally revealing something I shouldn’t; all I can say is there are a few twists and turns, including one that I kicked myself for not picking up on, and it is grisly.

The Birdman is a satisfying read, and proof of that is the fact, I was looking forward to jumping into Robert Galbraith’s (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling’s) The Silkworm, having enjoyed The Cuckoo’s Calling, but may put it on the backburner to indulge in another Jack Caffery mystery first ( Sorry, J.K., no hard feelings; have your people call me people; we’ll do lunch).