Gone by Mo Hayder is so good I read it practically at one sitting. I kept thinking, "I need to savor this because I might not find another book I enjoy as much." But, I just kept reading until I finished. She is the author of six other books and I will definitely be checking them out. Okay, now for the review.
The protagonist is Inspector Jack Caffery Of Bristol's Crime Investigation Unit. The plot begins with Jack looking at video of a carjacking. A man wearing a rubber Santa Claus mask rushed to a woman as she placed packages in the boot of her car, slammed into her, climbed into the driver's seat of her car and sped off with the blur of a small girl's head in the back seat. Jack assured the parents that two other girls had been taken in similar circumstances and released later, unharmed. This is the beginning of a well-thought out, brilliant mystery that doesn't let up until the final pages.
Jack works with a lady diver named Flea Marley and a detective named Prody who transferred in from Traffic. When the eleven year-old Martha doesn't return and another child is abducted, Jack knows
they are probably searching for a pedophile. The plot takes twists and turns never letting up on the adrenalin as the families are tortured, almost beyond belief. Hayder is especially adept at describing the two mothers' feelings of helplessness. The setting switches to a tunnel under the Cotswold where Flea rationalizes the girls might be hidden. Her exploits ratchets up the suspense while Jack keeps looking for a commonality connecting the two families. The ending is unexpected and highly explosive. I'm looking for the next Mo Hayder thriller.
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