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    Ritual: A Jack Caffery Thriller
    Unavailable
    Ritual: A Jack Caffery Thriller
    Unavailable
    Ritual: A Jack Caffery Thriller
    Audiobook12 hours

    Ritual: A Jack Caffery Thriller

    Written by Mo Hayder

    Narrated by Andrew Wincott

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Nine feet under water, police diver Flea Marley closes her gloved fingers around a human hand. The fact that there's no body attached is disturbing enough. Even more disturbing is the discovery, a day later, of the matching hand. Both have been recently amputated, and the indications are that the victim was still alive when they were removed. DI Jack Caffery has been newly seconded to the Major Crime Investigation Unit in Bristol. He and Flea soon establish that the hand belong to a young man who has recently disappeared. Their search lead them into the darkest recesses of Bristol's underworld, where drug addiction is rife, where street-kids sell themselves for a hit, and where one of Africa's most disturbing rituals may be making an unexpected appearance.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateDec 1, 2013
    ISBN9781629230450
    Unavailable
    Ritual: A Jack Caffery Thriller
    Author

    Mo Hayder

    MO HAYDER is the author of the internationally bestselling novels Birdman, The Treatment, The Devil of Nanking, Pig Island, Ritual, Skin, Gone—which won the 2012 Edgar Award for best novel—Hanging Hill and Poppet. In 2011, she received the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger in the Library award. She lives in the Cotswolds, England.

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    Reviews for Ritual

    3.5/5

    229 ratings20 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Setting is Bristol, UK. Not as riveting as Book 1 and 2. Sgt. Flea Marley finds a human hand while diving. She teams up with Jack Caffery to find out where the hand came from. Both Marley and Caffery are flawed as Marley lost her parents to a dive and Caffery is still mourning his brother, Ewen. The Walking Man is introduced and informs Caffery that there is 'no redemption.' Although Hayder's books are creepy and gritty, this one was boring in parts. Too many sub-plots for me. I will continue the series, however, I hope the next one it better than this one. I would recommend this series to those who love gritty suspense thrillers but they are not for the faint of heart.
    • 4/5
      Ritual suffers from the same problem as so many first installments of a series, the unbelievable misfortune of being close friends with a serial killer. There were so many other fulfilling ingredients to the story that I was surprised and disappointed when this book chose this well worn path. I like the characters of Flea and Cafferty, I thought their noirish back stories were interesting and believable without being overdone. I found these two be two believable trying to do their jobs through the filters of their personal perspectives while trying to understand their work place attraction. I thought scuba diving a muti, African witchcraft, to be interesting backdrops which Hayder convincingly developed. It wasn't until the former best friend became the killer that the book started to miss the mark. I did immediately start the next book in the series, I did like the fact that it carries over elements of this book and the first crime.
    • 3/5
      Another odd book by Mo Hayder.... I enjoy them for their unique stories.... I detest them for having so many unlikely coincidences. Ultimately, though I want to read more.
    • 2/5
      I love the Flea character and the tension between her and Cafferey is exceptional. I guess the plot was too gory for me.
    • 5/5
      Oh I love Jack Caffery!! If only this man were real. And the scenes regarding the walking man were fab - so much detail! Mo Hayder is a fantastic author who really does go that extra mile to freak you out.
    • 4/5
      A great British thriller that will keep you gripped to the very end
    • 5/5
      I just love this author's books - she has the ability to shock and surprise. She writes great thrillers that are both shocking and disturbing.Back Cover Blurb:Nine feet under water in Bristol Harbour, a police diver finds a human hand.The fact that there's no body attached is disturbing, but even more disturbing is the discovery a day later of the matching hand and the shocking evidence that the victim was still alive when they were removed.Recently arrived from London, DI Jack Caffery is now part of Bristol's Major Crime Investigation Unit. His search for the victim leads him to a dark and sinister underworld: a place more terrifying than anything he has known before....
    • 4/5
      The first half of this book about reached my personal limit for creepiness -- even recognizing in the moment the techniques Hayder used to make it creepifying did nothing to dispel that feeling -- but fascination with the two leads kept me on the line. After a one-sitting reading, it was a relief to come up for air (pun semi-intended).
    • 5/5
      When police diver Sergeant Flea Marley locates a human hand on the bottom of Bristol's harbour, she tries to picture how the body would be. She is surprised then, when she gives the hand an experimental tug, that it comes free, no weight behind it. The hand had initially been seen disappearing beneath the black water by a passerby, no body, no head, just a disappearing hand.DI Jack Caffery is Deputy SIO, newly seconded to the Major Crime Investigation Unit in Bristol. He first of all assumes that they must be dealing with a suicide, someone who has jumped off a bridge, but Flea persuades him the hand is "fresh", recently detached while the person was alive. And so it becomes a possible murder investigation.The second hand is discovered within a day, but in a strange location, actually under a restaurant that overlooks the harbour. The subsequent investigation ventures into an under-world controlled by drug dependencies, and those who can make money out of the macabre.There are many other threads that develop in parallel: Flea Marley's search for understanding of diving accident that took her parents' lives; Jack Caffery's need to avenge the death of his own brother decades before; and then the story of the hands, how they came to be in the harbour.The novel has a fascinating structure using jig-sawed time frames, and keeps the reader constantly on his/her toes constructing the scenarios. A rather black novel, RITUAL was short-listed for the 2008 Ian Fleming (CWA) Steel Dagger, and is currently in the voting for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. For me the tension that developed in the last 100 or so pages was masterfully done, so good that I wanted release.While Flea Marley is a new creation, Jack Caffery first appeared in 2001 in BIRDMAN, and then in 2002 in THE TREATMENT, subsequently a winner of a 2002 WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award.RITUAL is described as the first novel in the "Walking Man" series, and the second, SKIN, was published in March 2009. In an "after-word" in RITUAL Hayder says Jack Caffery is her "poster-boy". See this article: 'The Problem with Caffery' The article explains where The Walking Man came from, as well as the inspiration for Flea Marley.
    • 3/5
      The story is based in Bristol where Flea Marley, a police diver, finds matching hands but without their body anywhere near.They then start to search for person, believing he is alive, and the abductor. This search takes them through drug addiction and street kids of Bristol onto South African witchcraft and superstition all of which drives the abductor to do this to the victims.During the story Flea finds out more than she wanted to about her friends and family as well as her dead parents. And in the end the abductor turns out to by close to "home" for her.This is a definate beach book. Compared to the first books from her this did fall a bit flat - her earlier books were a lot more gripping. Though she is an author I always look forward to reading.
    • 5/5
      A severed human hand has been found in the harbour and Jack Caffrey is assigned to the incident. Thinking the hand has come off a suicide body he thinks nothing special of the case until he is told that the had was removed while the person was still alive. The case takes a new turn when the matching hand is found buried under the entrance of a nearby restaurant. In Mo Hayder's typical style she starts off slowly building the tension to an almost impossible to handle frenzy. Hayder fans are going to find more of what they've come to expect from the Queen of Psychological Thrillers. This one is not quite so gruesome as the others but when the time comes Hayder knows how to pour on the gore and doesn't disappoint. Ritual takes you on a wild ride through severed body parts, diving accidents, torture, ritual mutilation, African muti (magic medicine) and a sadistic killer. This book also takes the Caffrey character in a new direction. While he is still haunted by his past he is no longer obsessed with it as in the previous two books in this series. Caffrey's character develops and we're also introduced to a new character 'Flea' Marley, a woman with her own personal demons who I hope we will continue to see as a recurring characters.I highly recommend this book and the whole series. Now I just have one more of her books to read and I certainly hope she will have a new one out for us in 2009.
    • 4/5
      Whilst this is certainly a good read, I felt it wasn't quite up to the excellent standard laid down in Birdman & The Treatment which both in addition to being great crime thrillers, also managed to step firmly into horror territory. On the other hand, whilst Ritual is a solid crime thriller, it lacks the impact of the earlier two books, in addition to this there's also much less in the way of Jack Caffery's character machinations and demons. So overall, whilst it's still good, it's not quite up to the standard set in the earlier books, if you're reading this without reading the earlier two you will likely enjoy it, yet if you've read the earlier two it will be a little disappointing if you were anticipating a similar level of tale.
    • 5/5
      Ritual by Mo Hayder

      4.5 Stars

      This is Mo Hayder's third novel to feature Detective Inspector Jack Caffery. Since we saw him in “Treatment” he's trying to move on and has taken a new job in Bristol. His first case involves a severed hand. This is where he meets Sgt. Phoebe “Flea” Marley, a police diving supervisor, when she retrieves it from Bristol Harbor. Eventually the other hand is found buried under a restaurant. They can't be certain the person is dead since they can't find a body, but fingerprints identify the victim as a junkie called Mossy.

      Caffery believes that this death and/or mutilation is connected to drugs but Flea thinks there may be a connection to a brand of African mysticism call muti. Even though her part of the investigation is over she can't stop thinking about the severed hand and consults her father's closest friend who is African.

      If you've read the first two books in this series you'll know what kind of personal damage Jack has suffered. He's trying to move away from his painful past. Flea Marley also suffers from personal guilt over an accident two years ago that took the life of her parents while they were diving in a remote pool in the Kalahari Desert called Bushman's Hole. She cut her foot on purpose so she wouldn't have to go on the dive with them, sending her brother instead. Now Flea's brother is having a hard time accepting the death of his parents.

      Other characters we meet in this novel are Mossy's friend Skinny who tricks him into becoming a prisoner of a man called “Uncle” and Skinny's brother who is deformed and looks like a baboon. We also meet an interesting ex-con named Walking Man, whom Jack is drawn to. One of the reasons Jack has moved to Bristol is to have the Walking Man tell him about his crime and his story.

      I thought this novel was much less graphic than the first two and I enjoyed it very much. The level of depravity and overall horrific actions were missing from this book giving it a more standard mystery feel. It was fast paced and I was interested in all the characters. I'm definitely curious about what happens in the next installment.

    • 5/5
      If you like your mysteries a little creepy, Mo Hayder is an author you will enjoy and this book, Ritual, is one for you to pick up. A solid plot, and an appealing if at time slightly annoying main character in Jack Caffery.And a good dose of creepy!
    • 5/5
      Hayder's work often falls in a gray area between horror and suspense/thriller, and this work is no exception. Hayder's talent for painting the grotesque meshes perfectly with the noir in this mystery, and her writing is as superb as ever. Her characters are as believable as they are flawed, and even the subplots offset major tensions perfectly. Certainly, Hayder isn't for everyone--she's got a talent for painting violence and gruesome scenes which will turn off many readers, if not most, and her flair for capturing the darkness of human nature is what pushes her books so close to the horror genre. But, for readers who want a glimpse of horror in their thrillers and mysteries, Hayder is among the best. Absolutely recommended.
    • 3/5
      This is the 2nd Jack Caffery novel I have read, to be honest it took me a while to get into it but when I did I enjoyed it. Story is Jack relocates from London to Bristol, 2 hands are found in the local harbour, A police diver Flea Marley and Jack slowly but eventually team up and with a few red herrings and time for them both to reflect on their own guilt, regrets eventually solve the case. This book touches on African witchcraft which I know nothing about but found quite interesting. A gruesome good read.
    • 1/5
      400 Seiten passiert....nichts! Total langweilig, Finger weg!
    • 3/5
      Ritual. Mo Hayder. 2008. I think this is the third in Hayder’s series with Jack Caffery. I read and enjoyed Birdman, the first one. When Flea Marley a police diver finds a hand in the bay, Jack Caffery who has been moved to Bristol to work in the Major Crimes Investigation Unit, is assigned the case which turns out to involve drugs and African religion. Caffery is still a loner and is still brooding over the disappearance of his brother. Working alone and off and on with Flea he manages to put the pieces together and arrest the murderer. There are lots of plot twists that make this a suspenseful book. Caffery is a sympathetic character and I enjoy these books.
    • 5/5
      I was first fascinated with Hayder’s character Jack Caffery in Birdman. Like Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor (must be something with the name Jack), Caffery is flawed by past hauntings, the kidnap and murder of his brother 30 years ago. In RITUAL he has moved to Bristol and a case involving African occult practices teams him with Flea Marley, a police diver with hauntings of her own, the death of her parents two years ago in a diving accident. Fate has brought these two together even if they don’t realize it yet. What I found most mesmerizing and disturbing was Jack’s obsession with The Walking Man, an ex-con who lives on the land. Jack seems to fulfill his quest to somehow make the pedophile who he believes killed his brother pay for his crime, even though the pedophile hung himself. Jack appears to listen with rapture as The Walking Man slowly explains in great detail and pleasure what he did to the man who had raped and murdered an eight-year-old, his only child. The Walking Man has a strange insight into Jack’s soul. The crimes in this book are not for the faint at heart but once you have started this book you will be too hooked to put it down.
    • 3/5
      Ritual by Mo Hayder (Book Review)Ritual by Mo Hayder is the first novel in her new Walking Man Series. It is a paperback published by Bantam Press and its ISBN is 0553820435. From the author who brought us The Birdman, Skin and The Treatment like the others it is a graphically scary novel not for the faint hearted. While I enjoyed it I felt it was not her best book. To be fair it is the first book in a new series and new characters and scenes are been introduced. This will be a good series. A severed hand is found in Bristol waters and the other hand is found buried under a restaurant. It is believed that the person may be alive. The hands belong to Mossy, a missing drug addict. Mo introduces us to African rituals and folklore but that is not the main story it is a straight forward crime novel. For a female she writes very graphically gruesome scenes and is a major crime thriller writer I look forward to the next in this series. Here is an extract of the book: “Just after lunch on pontoon tanks, then dump a little air from her suit so she was stabilized enough to get to the bottom and take a little time to feel the object.It was pitch dark down there, like having her face in mud, no point in trying to see what she was holding. With most river and harbour diving everything had to be done by touch, so she had to be patient, allow the thing to feed its shape from her fingers up her arm, download an image in her mind. She palpated it gently, closing her eyes, counting the fingers to reassure herself it was human, then worked out which digit was which: the ring finger first, bent away from her, and from that she could figure out which way the hand was lying – palm upward. Her thoughts RITUAL raced, as she tried to picture how the body would be – on its side probably. She gave the hand an experimental tug. Instead of there being a weight behind it, it floated free of the silt, coming away easily. At the place where a wrist should be there was just raw bone and gristle”. This book was reviewed by Annette Dunlea author of Always and Forever and The Honey Trap.