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Résumé
Résumé
In his first case as lead investigator, Detective Jack Caffery is called on to investigate the murder of a young woman whose body has been discovered near the Millennium Dome in Greenwich. Brutalized and mutilated beyond recognition, the victim is soon joined by four others discovered in the same area, all female and all ritualistically murdered. When the postmortem examination reveals a gruesome signature connecting the victims, Caffery realizes he's dealing with a dangerous serial killer.
Résumé
Birdman showcases Hayder at her spine-tingling best as beloved series character Jack Caffery tracks down a terrifying serial killer. In his first case as lead investigator with London's crack murder squad, Detective Jack Caffery is called on to investigate the murder of a young woman whose body has been discovered near the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, southeast London. Brutalized, and mutilated beyond recognition, the victim is soon joined by four others discovered in the same area - all female and all ritualistically murdered. And when the postmortem examination reveals a gruesome signature connecting the victims, Caffery realizes exactly what he's dealing with - a dangerous serial killer.
Critiques (3)
Critique du Publishers Weekly
Eschewing histrionics, narrator Damien Goodwin uses an understated, soft voice to effectively convey the horrors of this latest serial killer yarn from Hayder. London homicide detective Jack Caffery has been summoned to the iconic Millennium Dome in Greenwich to investigate a particularly gruesome crime. A young woman was raped and then killed via an injection of heroin into her brain-but the kicker is the killer's postmortem addition of a live bird, sewn inside the victim's torso in place of her heart. And that savagery is just the beginning, as the body count of the murderer dubbed the Birdman rises. While the volume of extreme violence in this audio edition could overwhelm some listeners, Goodwin's matter-of-fact delivery-even when narrating insect activity on a cadaver-helps obviate the gore and slaughter. The voices Goodwin lends the different investigating officers could have been more distinctive, but given his strong representation of Caffery, fans of the series will likely look the other way. A Grove paperback. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Critique de Kirkus
Britain's best actors are probably already queuing up to audition for the TV miniseries that will inevitably (and rightly) be made from this top-notch debut thriller, a deftly plotted assault on the nerves whose only serious weakness is its over indebtedness'for crucial horrendous details'on Thomas Harris's already seminal The Silence of the Lambs. Protagonist Jack Caffery, a streetwise and burnt-out detective inspector in his early 30s, is introduced to us as the bearer of several potentially crippling burdens, including relationships with a lover he can't bring himself to abandon (she being a recovering cancer patient), a rival detective dedicated to putting Caffery in his place, and the haunting memory of his brother's unexplained disappearance and probable murder, years earlier, by Jack's grinning next-door neighbor, who seems perpetually to dare the detective to accuse him. Then, a series of grisly murders of strippers and prostitutes, whose surgically mutilated bodies are discovered near the millennium dome in Greenwich, sets Jack and colleagues in pursuit of the 'target,' immediately dubbed 'the Millennium Ripper.' The story zips along energetically, helped enormously by Hayder's gift for introducing colorful peripheral characters at virtually every stage. Then a highborn, emotionally disturbed loner enters, and Hayder juxtaposes his murderous memories and fantasies against Caffery's ongoing investigation'before springing another trap that suggests the possibility of an accomplice, and the final hundred pages gather terrific intensity, leading to a powerfully ugly finale. Genre clichs are not entirely avoided: Jack falls for the tough-but-tenderhearted girlfriend of one of the victims, and of course it is she who walks into the monster's lair at precisely the worst moment . . . . No matter. Birdman preys on the reader's expectations expertly, and Hayder handles her story's (perhaps unnecessarily?) complicated time scheme with enviable assurance. Graphic, disturbing, splendidly readable. (Literary Guild alternate selection; author tour)
Critique du Library Journal
Hayder's publisher is comparing the first-time British author to John Sandford, which is something of a stretch. Her hero, Detective Inspector Jack Caffery, is as sympathetic as Sandford's Lucas Davenport, and at times the level of suspense is comparable, but her character and plot development fall short. Other than Caffery, few of the characters are fully realized, and the explanation for the serial killings that occur is unbelievable. The newest member of the Area Major Investigation Pool, Caffery is called to examine the deaths of five women, each found with a bird in her chest cavity. When other investigators take the case in a wrong direction, Caffery risks his new position to find the truth. His search is at times gruesome but always compelling. As a first book in a potential series, Birdman is recommended for larger public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 8/99.]ÄJane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.