I've had a plea for help - authors who write like Mo Hayder please. The only Hayder I've read is Pig Island but my initial suggestions are Val McDermid (Tony Hill series) and based on what I've listened to so far - Sacrifice by S J Bolton.
So learned blog readers, who else do you suggest?
10 comments:
Karin Slaughter. The acknowledgements at the end of one of her novels -- and her acknowledgements are often a nifty read in themselves, for she is very funny -- include a comment about she and Hayder seeing who can out-scare the other -- in their books, that is. And more recently KS has posted a conversation between herself and Hayder on her website. Slaughter's books are best read in order, but I will just mention that Beyond Reach is the darkest and closest to Hayder. It also contains at the end the funniest acknowledgement I have ever come across in a book, so it rather oddly and very nicely leaves you laughing.
How about Simon Beckett?
Two of Thomas Harris's earlier books, Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, are rather Hayder like, they share a kind of visceral fascination (as does Simon Beckett).
Denise Mina's Garnethill trilogy is not so much into the bodily fuction aspects, but in terms of thrills and ambience, it has similarities.
Karen, I know you like P J Tracy - maybe some similarities there?
I also cannot resist adding early Patricia Cornwell (Scarpetta) - not the later, though, which plummets in quality. Similarly, early James Patterson Alex Cross novels are quite similar, but not the post-quality-plumment ones (ie the first three or four are OK).
Other suggestions I've received are Stuart MacBride and Mark Billingham.
I've been looking and I can't find anyone. I think Hayder is in a league all of her own. I've reall Karin Slaughter's books and all Tess Gerritsen's and they are both pretty good with the grusomeness like Mo Hayder.
But what I want is the gore and gruesomeness and heart palpitating fear of Mo Hayder along with an intelligent twist turning practically unsolvable mystery that always shocks me with the ending. Mo doesn't have happy endings and I like that. She's a smart writer. I'm pretty good at figuring out whodunit before the end of the book (the above mentioned Slaughter and Gerritsen) but Mo just keeps me on the edge of the seat. Sometimes I figure her out but I won't believe she'll go there. Like with The Treatment, my favourite so far. I knew what the "secret" was but my mind would not let me believe that Hayder would actually dare to go that far and yet she did and she didn't cross the lines of decency when she did even though the 'secret' was the most debased thing anyone could imagine.
I love Mo Hayder and if anyone truly finds someone who matches her both in gruesome, scary details along with intelligent, twisting plot I'd love to find them. Mo's not writing fast enough for me. And I'm in Canada and practically having a conniption waiting for Skin to be released here.
I guess I tend to steer away from the really gruesome so i probably can't be of much more help. Val McDermid writes some pretty gruesome (viscerally speaking) books, and in the early Tony Hill books she certainly pushed at the edges of how far you could go with the involvement of the protag with it all. But I think she decided to veer off on a more mainstream course with Tony H in his past couple of outings. Might be worth checking out the early ones, though - he was pretty messed up, emotionally speaking in terms of identifying with the dark side of emotions.
My thoughts exactly, Nicola! I have yet to find anything quite like her. I'm in the states and order each of her books new from the UK because I just can't wait for the US editions to hit shelves!
Nicol try Chelsea Cain,not like Mo Hayder tension....but a good scary read
Supriya
I'm a fan of Mo Hayder and agree both of these authors are comparable to the level of creepy unthinkable real life horrors that come out of Mos head. I am just rereading Stuart McBride's Cold Granite.
Oliver stark, American devil was a truly gory read,, i have read all of Mo Hayders but he surpassed her for gore
Post a Comment