The Treatment
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4.2 • 24 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Now a major motion picture: A boy's abduction reawakens a haunted past for British detective Jack Caffery in this "deliciously chilling thriller" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
In a quiet residential area in London, a couple is discovered bound and imprisoned in their own home. Savagely battered and severely dehydrated, the worst revelation is yet to come: Their eight-year-old son has been abducted.
When the boy's body is found, forensic evidence reveals disturbing parallels to events in Det. Jack Caffery's own past. As more evidence accumulates, Caffery struggles to maintain his professional distance. But the case is hurtling toward a terrifying conclusion that will force him to confront the demons he's tried so hard and so long to bury . . .
"The most frightening book I've ever read." —The Guardian
"Hayder handles procedural detail, dialogue, and volatile subject matter with powerful dexterity." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This sequel to Hayder's 1999 debut Birdman is as raw as a predawn autopsy, and promises to please fans of her beleaguered protagonist DI Jack Caffery and his weary crew of London cops and coroners. The booktrades its predecessor's taboo (necrophilia) for pedophilia, with Hayder delving deeper into the nitty-gritty of police work than many of her American counterparts dare. Called in when a young couple are discovered handcuffed and half-dead in their home, Caffery's infamous Area Metropolitan Investigation Team ("The murder squad, you mean?") combs a seedy park in a gentrifying slum looking for the couple's missing eight-year-old son. Caffery leaves no stone unturned, bringing in helicopters and human remains dogs ("You do know that if we find him the dogs might, uh, destroy some evidence, don't you?") and broods over the resemblance of the case to his own brother's childhood disappearance. With the discovery of the boy's mutilated corpse, Caffery and his boss, the affable DCI Danniella Souness, turn South London upside down hunting the sadistic killer. Meanwhile, the author introduces potential suspects in a parallel narrative, their hidden vices described with stomach-churning clarity. Hayder handles procedural detail ("All prisons in London insist on being informed about any helicopter that passes. It keeps them calm"), dialogue ("I'm not a shagging Yank you know") and volatile subject matter with powerful dexterity, crafting another deliciously chilling thriller.
Customer Reviews
Heartbreaking. Parents: read with caution.
A definite roller coaster of dark emotions run through this book. At first the writing style is convoluted and like trudging through mud, nearly causing me to toss it aside, but once the storyline starts to come together, the story will vise-grip you and ultimately utterly break your heart. It’s been a long time since a novel has impacted me this deeply, leaving me sobbing and clutching my children. No exaggeration. Unexpected ending, you won’t find happily ever afters here. Beware: graphic descriptions of child abuse, both sexual and violently physical. Adult rape. And violent abuse of special needs individual.
NOT for the easily triggered or for those suffering from PTSD.