Book Review: BIRDMAN by Mo Hayder

BIRDMAN by Mo Hayder

Grove Atlantic; 7/3/12

CBTB Rating: 4/5

The Verdict: gritty, graphic crime fiction for fans of The Silence of the Lambs

You know those books that have been sitting on your to-read list for ages, but you just never seem to find the time to read them? I’ve got plenty of crime novels like that, and one of my goals during this period of self-isolation is to tackle a couple of them. First on my list: Mo Hayder’s BIRDMAN, a serial killer thriller that I’ve had my eye on for years. Compared to the work of Thomas Harris, Mo Hayder’s BIRDMAN promises a gritty, psychologically complex reading experience—and boy, does it deliver. BIRDMAN is an excellent piece of crime writing: a detailed procedural, a masterfully-crafted thriller, and an arresting deep-dive into the psychology of a twisted criminal. Blending the classic British procedural with the blood and guts of a terrifying serial killer thriller, BIRDMAN casts an enticing and chilling spell over the reader. The premise is simple: a newly-appointed detective finds himself in over his head, chasing down a killer with a penchant for not just kidnapping and murdering young women, but mutilating them, too. What Hayder does with this premise is far from ordinary. Moving from the police department to the underbelly of London to the personal lives of its characters, BIRDMAN puts readers up close and personal with the cruelties—big and small—that people inflict on one another. Not every scene in this book is dripping with blood and guts, but the scenes that are violent are violent enough to put you off your next meal. Hayder’s writing is methodical and precise, and layer by layer, she paints a vivid picture of a deeply damaged individual and the truly horrific atrocities he commits on women unlucky enough to cross his path. BIRDMAN is not a book for the faint of heart, but readers in the market for a deeply twisted crime novel will find it an irresistible ride. 

Plot Details: 

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.

I don’t normally do this, but I’d like to start this review with what didn’t work as well for me here—and it’s for a good reason, I promise! BIRDMAN is, on so many levels, a book that’s right up my alley: it’s got a compelling protagonist and an even more compelling villain; it’s a blend of classic procedural and very dark serial killer story; it spends a significant amount of time delving into the backstory of its villain, “The Birdman” himself. Check, check, check—these are all hallmarks of some of my favorite books. However, perhaps the one barrier to fully losing myself in this story came right at the outset. For how much I ended up enjoying this book, BIRDMAN was surprisingly hard for me to get into. From page one, BIRDMAN announces itself as a book that pulls no punches: within our story’s first few pages, readers will find themselves up close and personal with a very disturbing crime scene. But what happened after that initial scene slowed down my reading momentum slightly. Mo Hayder spends a significant amount of time at the outset of this book laying groundwork for the rest of the story; the first 100 or so pages of BIRDMAN felt a bit labored to me. It wasn’t until the 100-odd page mark that I found myself genuinely swept up in this dark and twisted tale. Don’t misunderstand: once this story clicked for me, I was in. But readers who prefer an out-of-the-gate thrill ride might want to temper their expectations a bit when diving into BIRDMAN. All the puzzle pieces Hayder establishes in the first 100 pages of this story did ultimately prove to be essential building blocks for it, I simply found myself not quite as engaged from the outset as I had hoped to be. This is a book that takes its time reeling you in—but once it sinks its teeth into you, you won’t be able to let go.

When BIRDMAN kicks in full gear, it really kicks in. It’s been years since I read a book this visceral or disturbing. In BIRDMAN, police are hunting down a serial killer—a premise that, if you’ve read your fair share of crime novels, might sound tired. I promise you, here, it’s anything but. Central to this twisted story is a killer with a stomach turning modus operandi: after kidnapping and murdering his victims, our killer performs amateur surgery on them, altering their bodies to suit his whims. And when he’s done with them, he disposes of them, leaving their brutalized bodies in a quiet construction yard. Our story begins with protagonist Jack Caffery being awoken in the middle of the night and called to this very construction yard, where the first in a string of corpses has just been discovered. In total, police discover five bodies, all bearing the marks of a twisted killer playing out a private fantasy on innocent women. It’s a stomach-turning concept, and it’s one that Hayder writes with an unflinching eye. Whether bringing readers up close and personal to a crime scene or an autopsy, no detail is spared; I made the mistake of trying to eat breakfast while reading one such autopsy scene, and let’s just say I didn’t make that mistake again. It’s not just the overt violence that disturbs here—it’s also the everyday cruelties and injustices that will turn readers stomachs. Hayder explores violence against women, prejudice, and childhood trauma with the same no-holds-barred approach that defines her story’s bloodiest scenes. I’ll say it again: BIRDMAN is not for the faint of heart. 

If this story sounds bleak, it is—but it’s not without humanity. Essential to any great crime novel is a compelling protagonist, and that’s exactly what Hayder has given readers with Jack Caffery, our story’s leading man. When readers meet Caffery at the outset of BIRDMAN, he is a newly-appointed Detective Inspector in London’s murder squad. On the job, he is intuitive and sharp, on the top of his game and driven to succeed; off the job, he is grappling with a failing relationship and the long shadow of a childhood trauma. Caffery is that delicious blend of aspirational and flawed, a character whose moral compass and sharp mind inspire awe, while at the same time his emotional baggage and personal challenges inspire sympathy. BIRDMAN is a bleak story, but in Caffery, Mo Hayder has given readers a character to root for and follow into the fire. But Caffery isn’t the only bright spot here. Hayder takes great care to thoughtfully develop her story’s secondary characters, too. In a story as heavily focused on violence against women as this one, I personally find it important to see the author giving care to the way these women are portrayed. As Caffery delves deeper into the mystery surrounding “The Birdman,” he begins to develop familiarity with the key women in the circle in which “The Birdman” seems to be moving. These women—one in particular—become integral to the investigation and to Caffery’s understanding of his own personal baggage and past traumas. BIRDMAN is as violent as they come, but the humanity in all of Hayder’s characters gives this story depth and intrigue beyond the book’s violent crimes.

I have been looking forward to reading BIRDMAN for years, and I can happily say that this book lived up to my expectations and then some. While I did initially struggle to get in sync with this story’s unique rhythm, I found that once this book clicked for me, it really clicked. BIRDMAN is a story very much deserving of comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs: it’s a gory, twisted deep-dive into the mind of a killer, and a gripping thriller following the police officers trying to catch him. It can feel hard to recommend a book this violent, just given the level of graphic content it includes, so I want to be very clear: this book is explicit, and includes graphic depictions of all manner of violence, including sexual assault. If very dark crime fiction is your cup of tea, though, BIRDMAN will deliver. 

---

Book Details: 

Series: Jack Caffery/Walking Man Series

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Grove Press (July 3, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0802146120

ISBN-13: 978-0802146120

Crime by the Book is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the book(s) included in this post.