I thought an overly long book which took time to get going and in my view the "Walking Man" section didn't add anything to the plot, which at its core was quite clever. The Underwater Support Unit sergeant didn't ring true to me and her back story wasn't relevant to the plot really. The protagonist's ability to locate and exploit the hiding place he used seemed unlikely from what we learnt of him. The "red herring" suspect being exploited by the real villain was a little too convenient. Good use of real locations including Sapperton Tunnel.though. ( )

Dual review with Swedish first and then English!

SWEDISH REVIEW

Om det är något Mo Hayder kan så är det att skriva böcker som går under skinnet på en. Precis som Dennis Lehane så vågar hon ta ut svängarna och det är med isande fasa man läser varje sida.

Försvunnen är inget undantag. Att läsa om kidnappade barn är hemskt och man vet inte om Jack Caffery kommer att lyckas rädda situationen. Caffery är en lysande polis, men i denna bok så verkar det som om kidnapparen kan förutse polisen nästa drag och ju mer tiden går desto mer lutar det åt att det är försent, att flickan inte kommer att räddas.

Sedan har vi polisdykaren Flea Marley, som lever med konsekvenserna från föregående bok, vilket stör henne i jobbet. Hon vet inte om att Jack misstänker henne för ett brott som hon faktiskt är oskyldig till men som i och med det Jack vet om det ter sig logiskt att han misstänker henne. Nu ger hon sig in kampen för att rädda den kidnappade flickan. Men är hon verkligen i form att ta sig an fallet? Kommer hon istället bara att riskera sitt eget liv?

Försvunnen är en ruggig thriller där den okände förövaren hela tiden lurar i bakgrunden och man sitter på helspänd på slutet när Caffery konfronterar förövaren. Frågan är kommer allting att sluta lyckligt?

Tack till Modernista för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

If there is one thing Mo Hayder knows is it to write a book that crawls under your skin. She dares, just like Dennis Lehane can she write in such a way that it's with terror you turn each page.

Gone is no exception. Reading about kidnapped children is always terrible and you do not know if Jack Caffery will be able to save the kidnapped girl. Caffery is a brilliant police, but in this book, the kidnapper seems to anticipate every single move the police do, and as more time goes by, the fear grows that they will be too late.

Then we have police diver Flea Marley, who lives with the consequences from the previous book, which has consequences for her at work. She does not know that Jack suspects her for a crime she's actually innocent of. Although it's quite logical that he suspects her since he doesn't have the whole picture. Now she decides to search for the kidnapped girl. But, is she really in shape to help out? Or will she only risk her own life?

Gone is a tough thriller where the unidentified perpetrator always lurks in the background, and at the end, when Caffery confronts the perpetrator will you still question if everything will end happily...

Thanks to Modernista for the review copy! ( )

I very rarely read two books by the same author in a row, but by some strange twist of fate the stars aligned and I 1) had the next book in the series already waiting to be read on my shelf and 2) was so disappointed by Skin that I knew I had to hurry up and read Gone. Please don't get me wrong - Skin is a good book. It kept my attention, was entertaining, and my all means would probably have been a five star book for me IF it hadn't been written by Mo Hayder.

As those of you who have read a Mo Hayder book before know , this British author is absolutely brutal. A courageous, take no prisoners, leave no line uncrossed, write the absolutely unthinkable type of author. For those of you who haven't read Hayer's Jack Caffery series, you should - if you have a strong stomach and like your detective mysteries vicious, cruel and ruthless. You're not going to find anything cozy in these books.

That's why I was so shocked by Skin. It was kind of tame, focusing more on the two main recurring characters, Detective Inspector Jack Caffery and Sergeant Phoebe "Flea" Marley than on the book's namesake storyline. In fact, this book was more of a character development of the two, moving along the subplot that's developed between them. And there's nothing wrong with that. Under normal circumstances. But when I pick up a Mo Hayder book, it's because I want my earth shattered. I want to lose my breath over the atrocities on the pages.

Which led me to suspect that since Skin was so tame, Gone would be a wild riot. And it was. If you like a book that makes you flinch, hold up your hand and read through splayed fingers, Hayder's your girl. ( )

n Bristol wordt met bruut geweld een auto gestolen: een man met een Kerstmannenmasker slaat de bestuurster neer en scheurt hard weg in haar auto. Met haar vierjarig dochtertje nog op de achterbank.

Het gebeurt wel vaker dat een autodief per ongeluk een kind ontvoert. Het kind duikt altijd binnen een dag weer op – in tegenstelling tot de auto. Dus rechercheur Jack Caffery maakt zich niet zo heel erg druk. Maar dit kind duikt niet op. Ook niet na een paar dagen. Dan ontdekt hij dat er zo al enkele meisjes zijn ontvoerd...

This was okay, but I can say it was the least enjoyable book in the series for me so far. In a way, I feel like the first two books (Birdman, The Treatment) don't even belong in the same series as they're so dramatically different in that they feature solely Jack Caffery, and contain themes that are more horroresque than police procedural. Then along comes Ritual the third book and a new character Flea and the whole vibe of the books shifts from dark and horroresque to pretty pedestrian, although well written, UK police procedural.

In Gone we have kidnappings occurring and Caffery is roped in to find the kids, Flea plays a large part sticking her nose in and pushing boundaries, however I can't say the writing of her character makes me feel much for her. She's so weak and timid when it comes to her brother, yet apparently a strong character in other ways, which seem to contradict the earlier character traits. I think the most annoying thing in this book was the bait & switch, it's portrayed that a particular person, Peter Moon, is responsible for the crimes, the evidence is laid out, then he just disappears from the book as it moves on and this part is never resolved as to if there was any involvement on his behalf or it was all a set up. Rather strange for an author who usually writes so well.

Then the ending for all the build up is rather lacklustre, in finishing my main thought was 'is that all?'. If you're a fan of Hayder you'll likely be entertained but if you're new to the series and author have a read of Birdman/The Treatment first - they're excellent. ( )