IF you're of a nervous disposition, then look away now. Stop reading. Go and have a nice cup of tea and consider your garden. Don't even think of buying a book by Mo Hayder.
But if you love a story that chills you to the core, then wallops you around the head with an ending that will haunt you for days afterwards, make sure you pick up a Mo Hayder novel the next time you're at a bookshop. And then punish yourself for not doing it sooner.
Hayder blasted her way into the crime fiction scene with her debut novel, the best-seller
Birdman, and remains one of the best thriller writers in the business.
Ritual, her fifth novel, marks a return of DI Jack Caffrey in a chilling plot which delves into the horrors of human sacrifice.
In this OutLoud interview, Hayder discusses the use of violence in her books, why there are no taboos for a novelist and why she finally feels like she's in the right job.
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Hayder left school at fifteen and worked in various guises as a barmaid, security guard, filmmaker, hostess in a Tokyo club, educational administrator and teacher of English as a foreign language.
She earned an MA in film from American University and an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, a course on which she has also taught.
Her first foray into publishing led to the publication of
Birdman, in 2000, to critical acclaim. Written back to back, the follow-up
The Treatment was published in 2001, and won the WH Smith Thumping Great Read Award of 2002.
A stand-alone novel,
Tokyo, was published in 2004, with
Pig Island, also a stand-alone novel, published in 2006.
Ritual is the opening novel in the Walking Man Series, also featuring DI Jack Caffrey.
Hayder now lives in Bath with her daughter and writes full-time.
Ritual, £14.99 is published by Bantam Press, ISBN: 978-0593-056417 Please use the commenting facility to let us know what you think of this book, using the following ratings:
1) Dull as dishwater
2) Okay, but could have been better
3) Pretty good, decent holiday read
4) Really liked it, can't wait for the next one
5) FANTASTIC - couldn't put it down! The full article contains 463 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
