A dark psychological thriller

Police diver Phoebe 'Flea' Marley discovers a human hand in a Bristol harbour. DI Jack Caffrey, newly moved to Bristol from London, responds to Flea's suggestion that the case deserves more than a cursory handling. A second hand is soon found and when they learn that the person to whom the hands belonged was probably alive when they were severed the investigation moves into overdrive. This is not your standard police procedural. It's far more concerned with the psychological elements of crime and the things that motivate all the players. Flea and Jack both have personal demons that influence their behaviour and the kind of officers they are. The story too is a complex one with many concurrent themes the strongest of which is that almost all the characters have some element of their past that haunts or troubles them in their current lives. But Hayder explores other issues too including the way people deal, or don't deal, with being transplanted from their own culture and the role that family bonds play at all layers of society. She also looks at an urban drug culture and the industry that thrives on exploiting the vulnerable within that culture. Funnily enough, the one element of the book that I struggled with was the inclusion of the more traditional crime fiction elements, like the fairly obvious false trails and red herrings, which I didn't think were handled quite as well as the psychological elements of the book. I've not read any of the Jack Caffrey books before so I don't know how this compares to others but I was certainly captivated by this story. If you imagine TRAINSPOTTING meets MCCALLUM you might get a sense of this world and the fact I was an hour late for work this morning is the best evidence I have that it's an utterly gripping read.

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Brilliant

What made the experience of listening to Ritual the most enjoyable?

Andrew Wincott's narration made it a pleasure to listen. His regional accents were completely credible.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Walking Man is someone I would like to know more about, he is fascinating.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were many scenes that were so well written that it was easy to imagine being there. Mossy getting his hands removed was extremely disturbing for that very reason. It gave me a whole new appreciation for having mine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was certainly a book that I looked forward to resuming.

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Work gets in the way

I found this a great listen. Fortunately I had a weekend with lots of travel so was able to hear most of it before returning to work Monday. Loved the twists and turns and great characters. Look forward to hearing more from Mo Hayder.

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