Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Amsterdam (1999)
Description
A serial killer stalks the streets of London in this "top-notch debut thriller"--the first Jack Caffery novel from the acclaimed author of Gone (Kirkus Reviews). In his first case as lead investigator with London's murder squad, Det. Inspector Jack Caffery is called on to investigate the murder of a young woman whose body has been discovered near the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, southeast London. Mutilated beyond recognition, the victim is soon joined by four others discovered in the same area--all female and all ritualistically murdered. And when the postmortem examination reveals a gruesome signature connecting the victims, Caffery realizes exactly what he's dealing with--a dangerous serial killer. A finalist for the Edgar Award, Birdman explores the darkest reaches of the human mind and introduces a fascinating detective to the world of British crime fiction. "Treading the grisly path blazed by Thomas Harris in 1981 with Red Dragon, promising newcomer Hayder crafts a blood-curdlingly creepy debut thriller." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "A deftly plotted assault on the nerves . . . Birdman preys on the reader's expectations expertly, and Hayder handles her story's complicated time scheme with enviable assurance. Graphic, disturbing, splendidly readable." --Kirkus Reviews… (more)
Media reviews
User reviews
LibraryThing member moosenoose
I love Mo Hayder and I loved this book! Hayder has a way of really taking you out of your confort zone and making your imagination run riot. Just when you think it can't get anymore gruesome, it does! I don't agree with some comments that Hayder stories are too gory. The shock and horror is what
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makes her one of the best female writers of our time. It's nice to find an author who isn't afraid of upsetting or offending - keep it up! Show Less
LibraryThing member csayban
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
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.
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
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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 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.
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LibraryThing member dougbq
Someone is killing exotic dancers in London. Jack Caffery is the policeman charged with finding out who. Inventive storyline, but the details are gory, the people really are not very nice and the book is overall disturbing.
LibraryThing member JRoulette
A book so brutal towards women that only a woman could have written it without being called a misogynist. Good murder tale. Not for the squeamish.
LibraryThing member kylenapoli
I took the Jack Caffery books all out of order, reading from the middle forward and then from the middle backward. Strangely, knowing the answers to some questions did nothing to weaken the hold of each one. No way around the fact that the murders, rapes, and torture in this story are just
Now that I've read and enjoyed every book Hayder's written thus far, I'm looking forward to some lighter, brighter reading matter -- but also hoping for another addition to the series.
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horrible. Now that I've read and enjoyed every book Hayder's written thus far, I'm looking forward to some lighter, brighter reading matter -- but also hoping for another addition to the series.
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LibraryThing member jaimjane
This book started out as ok, as murder mysteries go. Then about two thirds of the way through, pow! The twist hits and I was amazed. Mo Hayder is going to be a new favorite, I can tell.
LibraryThing member Djupstrom
A better version of the detective novel. Great and a bit gross.
LibraryThing member drneutron
Birdman is a rather run-of-the-mill serial killer/thriller/police procedural. Like some of the other reviewers, I thought the first third was unnecessarily slow and somewhat adrift. The twist in the middle piqued my interest again, but Hayder gives away the punchline very quickly. The ending felt
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rushed, but otherwise was good. Not sure I'll read much more of her stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member zoomball
No stars because I didn't finish it. I guess I should have read the reviews here before I got the book - I would have skipped it. I liked the main character and the police department politics he had to work in, but the book was just too gross for me. Yes, a serial killer, shouldn't I expect some
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gore? I guess, but this was too over the top for me. Got past it initially, made it about 3/4 of the way through, but the disgusting text just didn't let up. Not the kind of fiction I find entertaining. But that is just me. Also, as I was listening to the audio version it is not like I could skim over the text and skip the really horrible stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kelslynn
"Birdman" reminded me of a (lengthy) episode of Criminal Minds on television. There were lots of deranged minds in this book: a necrophiliac, an obscenely violent murderer as well as a neighbor of the main character.
The plot focuses on 34 year old Jack Caffery leading investigations into five
This is a very violent book, right up there with Silence of the Lambs for grisliness.
The plot focuses on 34 year old Jack Caffery leading investigations into five
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murders of London prostitutes/strippers. He has problems with female relationships mainly because of his younger brother's death years earlier (and the neighbor's taunting).This is a very violent book, right up there with Silence of the Lambs for grisliness.
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LibraryThing member judithrs
Birdman. Mo Hayden. 1999. This is the first of a series featuring Detective Jack Caffery of the London police, and it won’t be the only one I read. I have already downloaded the next one on my kindle. Caffery fights his inner demons as he struggles to identify the monster who brutalizing young
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prostitutes. The book is filled with sickening details and full of suspense but it is not for the faint-hearted Show Less
LibraryThing member csayban
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
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.
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
Show More
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 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
LibraryThing member LivedeviL
The book doesn't start off great, I found it a bit of a chore to read but once you are nearing the end it really starts to pick up pace and I realised how well Mo Hayder did at fleshing out the characters. You really start to understand the emotions they are feeling so in that respect Mo did an
I will be reading the next story, not just because I have it, but because I want to read it.
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excellent job.I will be reading the next story, not just because I have it, but because I want to read it.
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LibraryThing member pidgeon92
Something went horribly wrong about half way through.... I was loving this book, with it's very interesting serial killer, then things took and odd twist and went downhill into cliche. Oh, well. The writing was pretty good, anyhow.
LibraryThing member adriel
An intriguing, riveting and grotesque novel which centers around solving horrific killings of prostitutes in the England area. Told from the perspective of the lead investigator, the storyline is very engaging both from the suspense and action as well as the human story telling. The novel is so
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gruesome though that many scenes are hard to swallow and become increasingly so right up to the chilling end. Show Less
LibraryThing member RDHawk6886
I may be coming at this book from the best vantage point from which to read it. I have already read the "Walking Man Trilogy" and am coming back to this book. For me, the book serves as a prequel to the Walking Man series and from that standpoint I found it very interesting as a tale of Caffery's
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first case. Had I come to this book as a starting point, I may have had a different enjoyment level. The killer and crimes in this book are particularly heinous. In terms of the disgustingness of the crimes, its an eleven. I like Caffery's development and the disintegration of his existing relationship and development of his relationship with an attractive witness. I found the writing and the plotting of this book to be extremely accomplished for a first novel. Definitely enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Schatje
This is the first installment in the Walking Man series which introduces Jack Caffery, a British Detective Inspector.
Jack leads the investigation into the deaths of five women whose bodies are found with evidence of strange mutilating surgeries. The victims were all drug users/prostitutes who
Some of the suspense is created by the fact that the point of view of the perpetrators is given at different times. Will Jack learn the truth in time to save other women?
Jack is similar to a number of literary detectives; he is a haunted, tortured soul who has been emotionally scarred, but he is intuitive and intelligent. Few would find him unlikeable.
One character, DI Diamond, is unbelievable. He is arrogant and self-centred and keeps making mistakes. He seems to have no redeeming qualities. One is left to wonder how he ever achieved his position.
Some sections of the novel are quite gruesome. Paedophilia, necrophilia and sexual mutilation are all part of this mystery, so it is not for the faint of heart. I also found some of the Britishisms a problem. Nonetheless it is a psychological thriller cum police procedural well worth reading.
Jack leads the investigation into the deaths of five women whose bodies are found with evidence of strange mutilating surgeries. The victims were all drug users/prostitutes who
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would not be missed. The investigation becomes personal for Jack when he begins a relationship with Rebecca, an artist/former stripper, who knew several of the victims. Everyone is lead to believe that the case is solved half way through the novel, but then there is a twist. That's when the real suspense begins. Some of the suspense is created by the fact that the point of view of the perpetrators is given at different times. Will Jack learn the truth in time to save other women?
Jack is similar to a number of literary detectives; he is a haunted, tortured soul who has been emotionally scarred, but he is intuitive and intelligent. Few would find him unlikeable.
One character, DI Diamond, is unbelievable. He is arrogant and self-centred and keeps making mistakes. He seems to have no redeeming qualities. One is left to wonder how he ever achieved his position.
Some sections of the novel are quite gruesome. Paedophilia, necrophilia and sexual mutilation are all part of this mystery, so it is not for the faint of heart. I also found some of the Britishisms a problem. Nonetheless it is a psychological thriller cum police procedural well worth reading.
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LibraryThing member Picathartes
The strength of this book I believe is in the story-telling; I was so engaged that I didn't notice whether the writing was all that good or not. I've got to expect that it was. And what a twisted tale it is. I quickly became invested and developed a certain like for most of the characters.
The
The
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downside came towards the end when more-or-less all the events started to become predictable. It hit all "11-of-the-10" requisite elements of clusterfuckery. Still, the story held true with a solid finish. Show Less
LibraryThing member martinhughharvey
While quite a few moving parts in this story I found it easy to stay in touch and recall the details unlike some books of this ilk. On the one hand it's a pretty plain detective story, policemen, in London. The locale of London I know quite in Greenwich and Lewisham. The crimes being investigated
A great and relatively straightforward read.
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are gruesome in quite a novel (excuse he pun) fashion. It seemed half way through the baddy was found which sort of puzzled me but in a plot development, ore than twist, this was not of course the case. Near the end it seems the perp is caught but surprisingly not so leading to a very gruesome ending. This book as mentioned by someone else is not for sissies!A great and relatively straightforward read.
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LibraryThing member TheoClarke
Well-written nasty prurient novel of necrophilia, paedophilia, racism, and misogyny.
LibraryThing member susandennis
I am getting just a hair concerned at my recent taste for the grizzly… But, lately, the grizzlier the better and Birdman is the perfect answer. British Detective Inspector Jack Caffery is there when the first bodies are found and it's clear that the hand of someone familiar with the medical world
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has been involved. Sutured into the breast cavity of the victims is a small bird. When I say grizzly, I mean grizzly. I did have a bit of trouble with British slang - sometimes I couldn't follow a sentence because I didn't understand the reference. But, otherwise, this was a fabulous first novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member HenriMoreaux
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
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.
Mixed in is the police detective whose personal life is a mess, and colleagues who are more interested in confirming their own
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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.
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LibraryThing member kmajort
Another series I'm just not able to get started...
LibraryThing member blitheandbonny
There was potential here, under the tired tropes and stupid behavior of one dimensional stock thriller characters. I wish Hayder would get a grip on her metaphors, though, they're kind of ridiculous. Sometimes a sky is just blue, Hayder. Also, your artistic love interest for Caffrey? The most
And here begins the ranting about the audio edition. Unfair to the book? Possibly, but the public needs to know!
Stay the hell away from anything Damien Goodwin reads. He narrates all of the women's voices in this ridiculous, breathy drag queen type voice that makes me want to vomit and scream, possibly simultaneously. And don't, just don't even get me started on the children's voices he affects. Luckily, there aren't many children in this book. There is a character, Gemini, who is apparently Jamaican, or pretending to be Jamaican, I can't be sure which, because whenever Goodwin narrated his voice, I was too busy cringing in vicarious embarrassment to listen to the story. I actually had to stop the playback several times to let myself recover.
3 stars because I'm probably being more generous to make up for the absolute frothing rage the narration drove me to, which isn't the book's fault, after all.
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irritating character in the book, and since most of the characters spent their time irritating me, that's saying something. Hopefully in the subsequent novels, the plot doesn't depend on every character's absolute inability to behave like a rational, responsible adult human instead of a self-obsessed rebellious toddler.And here begins the ranting about the audio edition. Unfair to the book? Possibly, but the public needs to know!
Stay the hell away from anything Damien Goodwin reads. He narrates all of the women's voices in this ridiculous, breathy drag queen type voice that makes me want to vomit and scream, possibly simultaneously. And don't, just don't even get me started on the children's voices he affects. Luckily, there aren't many children in this book. There is a character, Gemini, who is apparently Jamaican, or pretending to be Jamaican, I can't be sure which, because whenever Goodwin narrated his voice, I was too busy cringing in vicarious embarrassment to listen to the story. I actually had to stop the playback several times to let myself recover.
3 stars because I'm probably being more generous to make up for the absolute frothing rage the narration drove me to, which isn't the book's fault, after all.
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LibraryThing member MugsyNoir
Hayder holds nothing back in violent descriptions and grisly detail. Characterizations beyond the main character are fairly superficial and somewhat stereotypical, but add to the compelling story nonetheless. Caffrey's is a good character, with an interesting back story. Birdman is not for the
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faint of heart and has its flaws, but it is well-worth your time. Show Less
Subjects
Original publication date
2000
ISBN
9024536987 / 9789024536986