Reviews

Birdman by Mo Hayder

gasoline_allie's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Honestly…too gross for me. Far, far too graphic. It was well written, though.

stephzilla's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

For fans of stabby books - this could be the book you're looking for. Delightfully creepy and disturbing with an extremely unsettling villain. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

This police procedural is set in the UK; which, in my opinion just seem to hit better. We follow Detective Jack Caffrey as he explores the case of "The Birdman" - a serial killer that's been preying upon and murdering vulnerable girls. There's a lot more to these killings that I don't want to spoil here - just know this isn't for the weak-hearted.

I felt the buildup was good and the twist towards the end surprised me. I think this is a solid first entry in a series and I look forward to exploring the next book in the series.

With that being said, there are some problematic elements regarding race. It's not the most tasteful and it could have been entirely axed from the story as it was not a necessary plot point; instead it was very cringe-worthy.

I'm cautiously optimistic that this inclusion was just in poor taste and isn't indicative of the author's work in general. I guess we'll see with the next installment.

krustations's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tiffmbq's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

orizenda's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

really went off the wall for me at the end. i wanted to like this but i just got too disgusted like it didn’t feel like haydee was trying to make a point just wanted to go over the top idk maybe i’m just missing something

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mrpowerreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ndenitto's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mwellemeyer's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

psychologicalthrillerlover's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

marco5599's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.5

Serial killer thriller that pretty much offers what every other serial killer thriller has to offer. Only more gruesome and nasty perhaps? Because there is some sick stuff going on. Damn. Didn't elevate it for me though. It's Jack Caffery's private life that got to me. The girlfriend has some serious health issues, physically and mentally, and the missing brother thing with the sinister neighbour actually got under my skin. Somewhat funny at first, I thought, but quite chilling later on. Too bad this side story doesn't get a satisfactory outcome. It kind of fades away, while Birdman's story eventually gets a little too contrived for my taste. Jack is a cool character though, so I might be back for more some day.