The Treatment [Paperback]

Caffery’s past continues to haunt him as he is still unable to deal with the disappearance of his brother, Ewan, 28 years ago. The latest case brings back the same feelings of rage and helplessness he felt as a child, so much so that it begins to affect his objectivity.

The details of the case that affects him so deeply involve a boy who is taken from his family home where he and his parents had been terrorised for days by an intruder. The boy was later found, dead and showing signs that he had been sexually assaulted and tortured. The chilling part is that Jack is sure that the man who did this was interrupted and would strike again, an opinion that is revealed to us to be right on the money.

A parallel story involving Jack’s brother ties in nicely to the case and focuses Jack’s, and consequently our, attention on the dim dark world of paedophilia. The story of the disappearance of Ewan is familiar to those who have read Birdman and it is carried on here. Jack is determined to solve the mystery that has been plaguing him regardless of what he may find. Although it’s a tragic story and strains all sorts of friendships and relationships, it proves to be a vital part of the plot.

I particularly appreciated the diary pages at the end of the book and thought they were a brilliant addendum to the story. They gave us a peek at the distorted mind behind the unspeakable acts and the justification the guy had for his actions in the story.

Mo Hayder has produced another thriller that deals with a seemingly deranged maniac performing horrific crimes on innocents. She walks a fine line between fascination and repulsion, tipping to the former emotion in my opinion. My recommendation to absolutely devour this book comes with a caveat that it contains graphic scenes involving children. If you don’t like reading about these kinds of subjects, then this book is not for you.

I was delighted to meet again Jack Caffrey; Hayder's flawed detective hero. He is still with Rebecca... And of course, they BOTH now have baggage from the past which intrudes into their life together; in Rebecca's case her abduction and attempted murder, in Jack's case, the memories of his own brother's sudden - and still unsolved -disappearance as a boy. It is at this point that a child - the same age as Jack's lost brother Ewan - goes missing ....

Jack, still tormented by his memories and unanswered questions, is fascinated and repelled by the similarities between the two cases. The finger of suspicion points to one character and then another.

"The Treatment" is probably less 'disturbing' in many ways than "The Birdman... And yet the terrors are there; the greatest damage occurring in peoples' minds as they struggle to live with what comes to pass.

This is a beautifully crafted book. The characters live and breathe. I can conjure up any number of them; the Armenian lady who presses hospitality on all comers, Souness and her lover Paulina, tormented Jack and his equally tormented Rebecca, the terrified child who has the unexpected resilience to try to escape.

Another small detail that I liked: The characters refer - in passing - to Gordon Wardell, a man who murdered his wife and that's a pretty recent true case that intrigued me enormously at the time; I liked that merging of fact and fiction!

I don't want to give away the ending, but suffice it to say that it was VERY clever. Resolved, but not resolved! Satisfying, but not trite.

Thank you, Mo Hayder. Please write me another one.....soon!