Reading matters

'Tokyo' by Mo Hayder

Fiction - paperback; Bantam; 480 pages; 2005

Having written just two previous novels, Mo Hayder already has a reputation for writing fast-paced, intelligent thrillers. Tokyo is no exception.

For the first time, Hayder sets her novel on foreign soil, although her main narrator, the weird "Grey" whose shadowy past is never detailed in full, is English.

Grey has an obsession with the infamous Nanking Massacre of 1937. She tracks down a Chinese professor working in Tokyo who may be able to help her find a piece of film that records the atrocities that happened at the hands of the Japanese. But when Shi Chongming meets her he denies all knowledge of the film, claiming that it does not exist. Grey, who is annoyingly childlike and frustratingly naive throughout this entire novel, is unconvinced.

'Birdman' by Mo Hayder

Fiction - paperback; Bantam; 395 pages; 2001

If you like crime thrillers that are fast-paced and intelligent, with believable characters and a plot that keeps you guessing right until the end, then you will eat up this book. Mind you, the gruesome detail is not for the faint-hearted, but this is what elevates Hayder's writing above so many run-of-the mill crime novels cluttering the bestseller lists — she is not afraid to tell it like it is even if the descriptions may be hard to stomach.

Essentially, Birdman is about the police hunt for the murderer of five prostitutes, whose bodies are found dumped in wasteland near the Millennium Dome in south-west London. Inside each victim lies a mysterious clue left by the perpetrator of the crime.

It is the Met's crack young detective inspector, Jack Caffery, who looks beyond the obvious, often incurring the wrath of his fellow colleagues, to track down the sexual serial killer before another woman falls victim. Meanwhile, Caffery is wrestling demons of his own, including the mysterious childhood disappearance of his brother, a demanding girlfriend fighting off cancer and a burgeoning relationship with a pretty female artist who he feels he shouldn't be getting involved with. This not only makes Caffery such a compelling and convincing character, it underpins the novel's intelligence and moral seriousness, something which also characterises Hayder's second novel, The Treatment.

Unfortunately, I read these books in the wrong order, not knowing that the storylines are linked, so I'd recommend reading Birdman first (otherwise you know which girl he ends up with and which of his fellow crimefighters is killed on the job).

'The Treatment' by Mo Hayder

Fiction - paperback; Bantam; 496 pages; 2002

This is one of those books that you read with a mixture of fascination, fear and repulsion.

It's a disturbing and gruesome tale set in south London in which a young boy goes missing from a quiet residential area. It's not a normal case of child abduction though — his parents are discovered tied up and beaten in the family home. It's police detective inspector Jack Caffery who must not only find the boy but piece together what happened in the hours leading up to his disappearance.

The parents, traumatised by the experience, hint at a horror to despicable to imagine. But it's only when Caffery — battling childhood demons of his own and juggling a volatile relationship with his demanding girlfriend — puts his life and job on the line, that things begin to fall into place.

All in all, this is a fast-paced read with enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing all the way through. Hayder has created a relentlessly intense and chilling story with believable characters — particularly Caffery, who is drawn with just the right measure of tough-guy attitude and human vulnerability. If you like your crime thrillers to be edgy, intelligent and thought-provoking, look no further than The Treatment, just don't expect to sleep easy at night!