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What's It About?
A bone-chilling novel about a family held hostage in their country home. When a vagrant—the Walking Man, a recurring character in Hayder’s fiction—finds a dog wandering alone with a scrap of paper with the words “HELP US” attached to its collar. He’s sure it’s a desperate plea from someone in trouble and calls on Detective Inspector Jack Caffery to investigate. Caffery is reluctant to get involved—until the Walking Man promises in exchange new information regarding the childhood disappearance of Caffery’s brother. Meanwhile, the Anchor-Ferrers, a wealthy local family, are fighting for their lives in their remote home ten miles away. As their ordeal becomes increasingly bizarre and humiliating, the family begins to wonder: is this really a random crime, or have they been chosen for a reason?
What Did I Think?
I believe if this had been the first book that I had read in Jack Caffery series it more than likely would have received less stars...but because I knew how well it would pick up...I hung in there and wasn't at all disappointed. This author is a master at ratcheting up tension slowly throughout a book to the point that it demands to be finished. Some will find this one a bit depressing and the characters dark...but what characters she has created in the two that held the family hostage. The ending was shocking and so over the top even for Mo Hayder. You will never in a million years see it coming.
