ISBN-13: 9780593068182
Publisher: Bantam Press
Publication Date: April 2014
Format: Hardcover, 416 pgs
Source: Personal Library
I always find myself in a dilemma while reading a Mo Hayder book. Why? Because they are all so good and intense that I want to devour them all and get to the bottom of it quickly; on the other hand while I still want to devour them all, I want to do it on my regular reading pace, and try to think of the missing puzzles and how they would fit towards the end. So in the end, I just find myself lost in Mo Hayder's world and let her words push me whichever ways they want me to.
Wolf, let me tell you, is not an easy read. Gruesome, violence, cruelty . . . you name it, they are all here. There were times I had to tear myself away from the book and let my mind wander about other than the story. Yes, I think I could say this is not a book for the faint hearted but what can I say . . . the plot is simply stunning!
Fifteen years ago, two teenage lovers were brutally murdered in a patch of remote woodland (I won't go into details on how they died but all I could say is it is terribly horrifying and violent). The prime suspect confessed to the crime and was kept behind bars. The story should have ended there but it didn't.
A five-year-old girl found a dog while picking flowers near that woodland. Attached to its collar was a teeny-weeny piece of paper are two legible words - Help us (the rest are a filthy smudge). Her parents are unaware of the little note, but someone who called himself The Walking Man does know about the note. In fact, he had struck a deal with the little girl that he would help the dog to find its owner.
DI Jack Caffery, on the other end, is still looking for answers on his older brother's disappearance all these years (this issue was brought up in previous installments but there isn't any clue or answer until this installment). Ewan Caffery was nine when he walked out of the family's back garden and never came back. There was an ageing paedophile called Ivan Penderecki who lived hundred and fifty yards from their family. Jack is sure he played a part in Ewan's disappearance but there is simply no evidence, and Ewan's body is never found.
Now the Walking Man and Jack Caffery knew each other. They have something in common (loss of their dear ones) and that's why they somewhat feel they are on the same path regardless of their class. The Walking Man told Jack that he would help find answers to Ewan's disappearance but in return Jack is to help him look into the doggy's case and find out the story behind its note.
What came off from these two cases had totally shocked me; and no I'm not going to elaborate any further. It spoils the fun, as you my dear readers know it. All I can say is, I am in awed of Ms Hayder's brilliance for creating such a terrifying yet a perfect thriller that still sends shiver down my spine as of writing this post. I simply have no words for her Jack Caffery series and I just hope that she will write quickly so that we will have a new Jack Caffery thriller to devour, I mean, read.
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That is a creepy cover and the book sounds intense! I've never read this author, but I might have to.
You finally got it! Yay! I am glad it lived up to your expectations. :-) I really need to read this series.
Naida, I hope you'll read her books. They're so good! Besides the Jack Caffery series, there're a few stand alone too.
Yes, Wendy! I was glad I got the book although I'd waited for a while. At one time I was worried it got lost in the mail.
I can't wait for the next installment already. ;)