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Ritual | 
| Author: Mo Hayder
Publisher: Bantam Press
Category: Book
List Price: £14.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 63473
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0593056418
EAN: 9780593056417
ASIN: 0593056418
Publication Date: March 10, 2008
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Amazon.co.uk
When it comes to crime novels designed to chill the blood in their unblinking treatment of the darkest recesses of human behaviour, Mo Hayder is unquestionably in the forefront of British practitioners in the field. What is even more striking is the fact that more than any other female writer, she is moving comfortably in the bloody territory that has long been the traditional prerogative of male writers, and never for a second allows her writing to be any less disturbing than that of her male confrères.Ritual is par for a course where this writer is concerned: a tough, scarifying novel, delivered with maximum narrative rigour. A police diver discovers a severed human hand in Bristol's floating harbour. Shortly afterwards, another hand -- from the same victim -- is found buried underneath a restaurant. The severed hands are those of a young heroin addict who has recently gone missing from the Bristol drugs scene. A police diver, Flea Marley, finds herself joining forces with DI Jack Caffrey, recently seconded to the Major Crime Investigation unit. Jack is attempting to come to terms with the murder of his brother, but finds himself more than occupied with the details of the death of Mossy, the young heroin addict. It appears that the latter has become embroiled in a sinister black market trade stemming from Africa, where the value of human life is held at less than nothing. Jack and Flea form an uneasy alliance, tackling together a world steeped in the most appalling torture and abuse of human life. Those who have read the powerful predecessors to this novel (such as Birdman and The Treatment) will know what to expect. Mo Hayder is always reliable in delivering riveting (if deeply uncomfortable) reads. --Barry Forshaw
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Mo Hayder Ritual - Quite simply boring!! September 13, 2008
I purchased "Ritual" in hardback a week ago and have struggled to get half way through this book. Compared to "Birdman" and "The Treatment" (which were both hard to put down - great stuff!) ... this is a big dissapointment. The plot and characters lack depth and I am afraid I won't be finishing the book. If you want to pick up a bargain check eBay in a few days!!
 Mo Hayder - Ritual August 10, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
With Ritual, the first of a new series whose links are yet to become clear, Hayder firmly cements her reputation as Britain's finest contemporary crime writer, and certainly the most daring. Fans seem to be split between favouring her two Jack Caffery novels (of which this is a slight continuation), and her two excellent standalones, so given that Ritual is a kind of blend of both, I'm curious about what the overall reception has been or will be.
After reports of a body being sighted, police diver "Flea" Marley uncovers a severed human hand from the bottom of Bristol docks. Searches turn up no body. But, the following day a second hand is uncovered, previously buried beneath the entrance to a restaurant and now fallen into a drain. Investigations suggest that the person from whom they came was alive at the time of removal. This is all disturbing enough, but for reports of a small priapic black man hanging around the restaurant and diving silkily into the waters. And there's fear around.
Newly seconded to the Major Crime Investigation Unit of the City, DI Jack Caffery is charged with looking into the discovery. Fresh from his disastrous personal life in London, Jack is still haunted by the disappearance of his brother Ewan when both were children. It's a ghost that leads him to seek out, when free from the case, the Walking Man, an ex prisoner charged with a horrific crime of vengeance who now spends his days walking the roads of the nearby countryside, sleeping in the shelter of verges and in fields, with only his few possessions and thoughts for company. Jack seems to hope this man will give him some insight into his life, into his anger and desire for revenge.
Flea is not without her own troubles. Just as compelling as Jack (and therefore I am not one bit disappointed that Caffery shares the book with such a fellow rounded, fascinating character), Flea is a bit of a mess, still reeling from her own parents death in a sinister accident in Africa, for which she shares a great burden of guilt with her brother. She is instinctive, impulsive, dangerously curious, as much driven to investigate the horrific things she suspects might lurk behind the case as she is to investigate the hidden corners of her father's life. And when Jack starts to take her disturbing instincts about the case seriously, the two are set to be mired in a horrific quarter of the Bristol underworld, where human life is cheap and ancient beliefs still hold sway.
And then there's Mossy, a young heroin addict who agrees to do something strange but innocuous in return for a fix, but ends up locked in a cell, with only the presence of a sinister black man called Skinny for company. And soon Mossy will be fighting for his life.
I enjoyed every moment of this. Every last word. There's not been a book I have been looking forward to so much this year, and every moment of anticipation proved worth it. As so often, it's hard to say why you have such incredibly positive reactions to a book, but in my experience it mostly happens when everything about it - the plot, the characters, the back-story, the writing, the setting, the atmosphere etc. - just absolutely fits. I adore Hayder's style, her "voice" (though I hate the term), is enchanting, and is so appealing to me that I couldn't put the book down. She has the great suspense writers' way (like Ruth Rendell), of keeping shadows in every corner so you never know what's there, what's lurking, if anything at all. She knows exactly what to hold back and what to reveal, and when to do it. And there's a LOT of material here that needs dealing with, teasing out to us: The present case, Flea's back-story, Flea's current personal life, Jack's back-story, the sinister figures who populate the story, and the mysterious "Walking Man" (who is based on a real-life character and after whom the series is named). And Hayder handles it all with such skill, moving the story at perfect pace.
There are several prominent features to this book. The strength of the characters is one, the strange pull of the back-story is another, and the atmosphere is the third. And possibly the one I relished most. Ritual is a sinister, unnerving book. It's a strange comparison I'm about to make, but Hayder's skill with quirky fits of the imagination is similar to Fred Vargas. The nature of the quirks is different (Vargas' are lighter, more off the wall, and Hayder's are more imbued with darkness and menace), but the similarity in style is still there, and it's why the books are so intriguing, because the atmosphere is so unusual and compelling. Imagination is the key, the key to making the reader either shiver or think "whoa, that's something new", and Hayder's is sharper than most other writers'. Hints at the supernatural, too, help make things constantly fresh and hidden from the reader, and maintain the sinister, disturbing cast of the plot.
Marley and Caffery are brilliant, Flea in particular. Caffery we know from before (and if anyone is unsatisfied that Hayder doesn't touch on his issues re: Ewan too much, please do bear in mind that this is a series of five books and there's quite a way still to go!!), but Flea is entirely new, and, though damaged, it's a pleasure to be shown her. She really is just as compelling, complex and realised as Caffery, and I'm sure could carry a book of her own.
Ritual is a complete triumph. Certainly the best British crime novel I've read so far this year. We are treated to some nice twists and turns, and one masterly piece of misdirection by the time the book reaches its satisfying end. I recommend it completely, as much as I recommend all her previous work. Her talent really is quite special.
 Lets hope therest of the series is better... July 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I normally love Mo Hayder books and I was looking forward to her latest but I was left feeling very disappointed after reading this one. The main character Jack Cafferty seems like a completely different man and the other leading character (Flea) is just weird. I found that I didn't really understand how all the characters fitted together. The `Walking Man' seemed not to be important but clearly he will be involved in the future books. I did find the topic of African Rituals very interesting and I was gripped by the scenes with Mossy in his lair. The story was easy to follow even though the timeline jumped around although I found it predictable and was not surprised by the ending. It's just frustrating because we know that Mo Hayder can do better.
A gripping read June 2, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. Even though it didn't quite match the graphic horror of Birdman or The Treatment, it could still chill my blood. Mo Hayder writes about an unusual killing (or is it???) when a human hand without a body is found. Jack Caffery, who we know from the earlier books mentioned, is assigned the case; his first after his relocation to Bristol. I also enjoyed his new partner, a police force diver. Her position in the Force gave the story a different angle over other, similiar books. I didn't want to put it down. It certainly isn't your typical mystery novel.
 What a disappointment May 30, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that I love Mo Hayders books, she goes where no female author has gone before. So when I saw that she had written another Jack Caffery novel I was eagerly expectant, but what a disappointment, at no time did this grip me, easily put down and a bit of a chore to pick up. I couldn't relate to any of the characters, they all seemed rather two dimensional, normally you can see a character in your mind, get a flavour of the person, but not this time, I actively dislike Flea the new female police diver, and even Jack seemed oddly insubstantial. And as for The Walking Man, Walk away!
The whole book had an ethereal unworldly feel to it, apparently this is the first novel in a series featuring the walking man. I'm afraid the second book will have to improve greatly to make me want to stick with a whole series of novels.
Mo Hayder has earned the right to produce the odd duff story, all authors throw at least one out, but she could lose a lot of fans by perpetuating the error.
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