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Toyer
Bientôt adapté par Philippe Djian pour le théâtre et par Brian de Palma pour le grand écran, un des chef-d'œuvres oubliés du thriller, paru aux États-Unis en 1999, enfin publié en France. Los Angeles est la proie d'un monstre très particulier. Un homme qui ne viole ni ne tue les femmes mais leur réserve un sort peut-être pire encore : il les séduit, les kidnappe, joue avec elles, puis les abandonne à l'état de mort cérébrale. Neurologue, Maude Garance est en charge des neuf victimes de celui que la presse a surnommé Toyer. Bouleversée par le sort de ces femmes, elle accepte la proposition que lui fait Sara Smith, une jeune journaliste ambitieuse : s'adresser directement au coupable par voie de presse. C'est le début d'une relation très particulière, par médias interposés, entre Maude et Toyer, qui bien vite passionne un lectorat avide de sensations. Grisé par une célébrité grandissante, Toyer commettra-t-il le faux pas qui permettra de l'identifier ? Alors que dans l'ombre Maude et Sarah continuent d'enquêter, elles ne tardent pas à réaliser que leur mystérieux interlocuteur est beaucoup plus proche d'elles qu'elles ne le croyaient.
Avec ce thriller très stylisé, qui ne laisse pas une minute de répit au lecteur, Gardner McKay nous offre avec un art magistral de l'intrigue et du suspense une réflexion passionnante sur les relations entre le mal, la société et les médias. Sujet en or pour Brian de Palma qui adaptera bientôt Toyer au cinéma.
" Los Angeles, la ville des masques, est le cadre idéal pour cette danse macabre et ambiguë entre un tueur et une neurologue. C'est une véritable descente effrayante dans les catacombes de l'esprit que nous offre ici Gardner McKay. "
James Cameron
Avec ce thriller très stylisé, qui ne laisse pas une minute de répit au lecteur, Gardner McKay nous offre avec un art magistral de l'intrigue et du suspense une réflexion passionnante sur les relations entre le mal, la société et les médias. Sujet en or pour Brian de Palma qui adaptera bientôt Toyer au cinéma.
" Los Angeles, la ville des masques, est le cadre idéal pour cette danse macabre et ambiguë entre un tueur et une neurologue. C'est une véritable descente effrayante dans les catacombes de l'esprit que nous offre ici Gardner McKay. "
James Cameron
760 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
19 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
January 20, 2018
We just saw a production of this very passable little thriller at Adelaide's Bakehouse Theatre. After an hour and half of assorted twists (Is he a psycho or a method actor? Did he really cut her phone line? Is she going to take any more of her clothes off? etc) the play appeared to reach a resolution, with .
Someone in the audience started to clap and then thought better of it... could there be another twist left? It's possible that this had happened before, since the babe just said "The End!", helped her co-star wipe some of the fake blood off his face, and they both took their bows. Now that's the right way to do it. Quite the best thing we've seen at the Bakehouse.
Someone in the audience started to clap and then thought better of it... could there be another twist left? It's possible that this had happened before, since the babe just said "The End!", helped her co-star wipe some of the fake blood off his face, and they both took their bows. Now that's the right way to do it. Quite the best thing we've seen at the Bakehouse.
May 14, 2009
Meh.
Thriller about a serial killer who doesn't quite kill but renders his female victims in a vegetative state and a doctor and a journalist who try to find him.
The beginning was quite interesting, to see the doctor, Maude, run up against all kinds of walls because the people in charge don't take the crimes really seriously, but it fails to build/keep suspension and is rather boring. I skipped a huge chunk in the middle and read the ending just to see what's going to happen and it is kind of predictable. The writing also left a lot to be desired. So. Meh.
Thriller about a serial killer who doesn't quite kill but renders his female victims in a vegetative state and a doctor and a journalist who try to find him.
The beginning was quite interesting, to see the doctor, Maude, run up against all kinds of walls because the people in charge don't take the crimes really seriously, but it fails to build/keep suspension and is rather boring. I skipped a huge chunk in the middle and read the ending just to see what's going to happen and it is kind of predictable. The writing also left a lot to be desired. So. Meh.
January 21, 2024
Un peu long mais la fin était imprévisible. Drôle de style d’écriture, j’étais moins habituée mais j’ai apprécié
April 2, 2009
I've never read a book I disliked as much as this one!!! And yet, I finished it! Go figger?!
July 7, 2010
Uninteresting, and the killer was obviously based off of Ted Bundy.
Boring and dragged on info you didn't need to know.
Boring and dragged on info you didn't need to know.
November 14, 2014
Toyer by Gardner McKay (Little Brown & Co. 1998)(Fiction - Mystery) was a book I really wanted to like. Gardner McKay (the author) is apparently the guy cited by name in a Jimmy Buffett song (e.g. "Hey hey Gardner McKay - take me on the Leaky Tiki with you..."), because Jimmy Buffett is one of the named authors on the recommendations page. Unfortunately, this mystery whodunit is simply not compelling. I kept going...and kept going...and kept going but just finally gave up on page 393 of 437. It was that bad. I simply didn't care what happened to the villain or the protagonist. My rating: 2/10, finished 2/21/12.
May 26, 2013
LOVED this book. Very clever plot. Characters alternately tell the story in a chilling and compelling way. Mystery fans should seek out "Toyer."
I was intrigued by the fact that Gardner McKay was the author. I and most of my female friends were madly in love with him when he was in the tv series Adventures in Paradise. Curious, I read about McKay and found he was an educated, literate, creative man. He hated the tv series and quit acting afterwards. Wish he had written more books.
I was intrigued by the fact that Gardner McKay was the author. I and most of my female friends were madly in love with him when he was in the tv series Adventures in Paradise. Curious, I read about McKay and found he was an educated, literate, creative man. He hated the tv series and quit acting afterwards. Wish he had written more books.
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September 9, 2025Dnf!
Livre beaucoup trop long à mon goût. L’histoire en devient redondante. Beaucoup trop de personnages qui apporte pas nécessairement quelque chose d’utile à l’histoire. Les dialogues sont difficiles à suivre parfois. J’aurais aimé être en mesure de le terminer, mais bon.
Livre beaucoup trop long à mon goût. L’histoire en devient redondante. Beaucoup trop de personnages qui apporte pas nécessairement quelque chose d’utile à l’histoire. Les dialogues sont difficiles à suivre parfois. J’aurais aimé être en mesure de le terminer, mais bon.
July 12, 2011
One of the scariest books I have ever read. Because it could be so true, you never know. Very thrilling.
September 4, 2023
Mal écrit. Mal traduit. Trop de détails pas nécessaires du tout. Difficile de suivre les conversations. Beaucoup trop long. Fin prévisible.
January 26, 2025
Sympa.
July 5, 2014
Dès qu'un personnage est arrivé, je me suis dit que c'était lui le coupable et j'avais raison. Pas vraiment de surprise, assez vulgaire manque de finesse dans l'écriture. La fin est vraiment décevante. Je croyais que les crimes de Toyer étaient abominable, mais bof.
September 18, 2017
I didn't manage to read it completely, as the sentences were strangely constructed - short, often unrelated to each other. It was difficult to become engaged in the story, I fell asleep few times. The overall idea of the story was really interesting, but the style made it impossible to focus on it.
February 11, 2008
This was one of the scariest books I have ever read and made me check and double check my doors. Great read.
February 20, 2008
frightening but riveting!
March 11, 2012
I wasn't impressed with this book. It was just kind of....blah. Not thrilling or mysterious at all
August 19, 2017
I think it's rather unique as far as mystery/thrillers are concerned. I thought the author gave life to a "killer" without being overly specific.
September 14, 2020
Less creepy serial killer portrait and more unrealistic serial killer sexual fantasy.
January 18, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Toyer begins as an intelligent, unsettling psychological thriller with real momentum. The first half builds tension effectively, establishes compelling stakes, and suggests a disciplined exploration of power, violence, and moral restraint.
Unfortunately, the second half indulges itself.
As the novel progresses, sexual content escalates into repeated, detailed depictions of sexualized violence across multiple POVs, to the point that it begins to eclipse plot rather than serve it. Nearly every male interior voice is warped in the same way, and the constant access to these thoughts—often emphasized through italicized intrusions—starts to feel less like examination and more like fixation. The repetition dulls the impact and becomes exhausting rather than illuminating.
The ending compounds the problem. Instead of reckoning with consequence, the novel opts for indulgent symmetry: Maude’s descent into revenge mirrors Toyer’s pathology, collapsing moral distinction rather than clarifying it. The final act—a lobotomy framed as grim satisfaction rather than tragedy—feels theatrically shocking but ethically and narratively underdeveloped. The story goes dark at the moment of the author’s apparent interest, not at a point of earned resolution.
This is a skilled debut with real strengths: atmosphere, tension, and ambition. But it ultimately overstays its welcome, allowing excess—particularly sexualized interiority—to overtake structure and clarity.
Content warning for readers: sexual violence is not isolated or brief. It appears repeatedly in the second half of the book, often in graphic and psychologically invasive detail, and will likely be a dealbreaker for many.
Toyer begins as an intelligent, unsettling psychological thriller with real momentum. The first half builds tension effectively, establishes compelling stakes, and suggests a disciplined exploration of power, violence, and moral restraint.
Unfortunately, the second half indulges itself.
As the novel progresses, sexual content escalates into repeated, detailed depictions of sexualized violence across multiple POVs, to the point that it begins to eclipse plot rather than serve it. Nearly every male interior voice is warped in the same way, and the constant access to these thoughts—often emphasized through italicized intrusions—starts to feel less like examination and more like fixation. The repetition dulls the impact and becomes exhausting rather than illuminating.
The ending compounds the problem. Instead of reckoning with consequence, the novel opts for indulgent symmetry: Maude’s descent into revenge mirrors Toyer’s pathology, collapsing moral distinction rather than clarifying it. The final act—a lobotomy framed as grim satisfaction rather than tragedy—feels theatrically shocking but ethically and narratively underdeveloped. The story goes dark at the moment of the author’s apparent interest, not at a point of earned resolution.
This is a skilled debut with real strengths: atmosphere, tension, and ambition. But it ultimately overstays its welcome, allowing excess—particularly sexualized interiority—to overtake structure and clarity.
Content warning for readers: sexual violence is not isolated or brief. It appears repeatedly in the second half of the book, often in graphic and psychologically invasive detail, and will likely be a dealbreaker for many.
February 20, 2021
I loved the unique style of writing that Gardner McKay displays in Toyer. Unfortunately, this book is entirely flawed, but WOW! Did he know how to close this tale with an ending, or what!? This book doesn't really have any chapters, it has a rather unique format for that, also. You get the title of a name, and it focuses in on that character. The problem with Toyer, is none of these characters really come together, almost deliberately disconnected. Toyer, on the other hand, is the one doing the real disconnecting. All of his victims are female, and he leaves them all alive, except for one attribute: he performs a procedure on them all that pretty much leaves them a vegetable. The police supposedly cannot do anything to classify this as any sort of felony, since these aren't murders, hence, this is how he earns the name 'Toyer'. He's not a killer, and yet, he kills the part of women that makes them alive. Our protaganist ( I can't remember her name, I haven't read this since 2000) is a female surgeon, and instead of staying up all night worrying if she's going to be the next victim, she's up all night trying to save not only the victims, but any future victims as well. The book is littered with meaningless characters that have little to nothing to do with the book, almost an excuse to beef up the pages, I would reckon. For the most part, this was a fun but flawed read, you have to overlook the problems and just enjoy the ride. Trust me! The ending is to die for!
April 18, 2021
J'ai apprécié que ce livre contienne de courts chapitres, ça m'a facilité la lecture. J'ai trouvé intéressant qu'on voit la psy "changer" au fur et à mesure de l'histoire, on voit vraiment l'impact que cette affaire a sur elle au quotidien. Et même si certains chapitres sont superflus, on a envie de lire la suite pour connaître le dénouement.
Par contre, je trouve que la bande des "Incastables" vient comme un cheveu dans la soupe, on se doute évidemment que leur apparition soudaine n'est pas anodine. A un moment donné, je trouve qu'il y a beaucoup d'indices qui incriminent un personnage en particulier de cette bande là, j'ai donc pensé pendant de nombreuses pages qu'il s'agissait de Toyer, à tort. J'ose espérer que c'est volontaire de la part de l'auteur sinon j'y vois pas l'intérêt.
Et je trouve cela dommage de toujours mettre des histoires d'amour et/ou de sexe dans les thrillers. Une passe encore mais là entre la psy qui couche avec son supérieur et avec le tueur (!), la journaliste qui couche avec un ami et avec son supérieur,... Ca commence à faire beaucoup et ce n'est pas toujours nécessaire à l'histoire.
Au final, même si je trouve la fin assez bien, je ne recommande pas ce livre, ça fait beaucoup de pages à lire pour pas grand chose.
Par contre, je trouve que la bande des "Incastables" vient comme un cheveu dans la soupe, on se doute évidemment que leur apparition soudaine n'est pas anodine. A un moment donné, je trouve qu'il y a beaucoup d'indices qui incriminent un personnage en particulier de cette bande là, j'ai donc pensé pendant de nombreuses pages qu'il s'agissait de Toyer, à tort. J'ose espérer que c'est volontaire de la part de l'auteur sinon j'y vois pas l'intérêt.
Et je trouve cela dommage de toujours mettre des histoires d'amour et/ou de sexe dans les thrillers. Une passe encore mais là entre la psy qui couche avec son supérieur et avec le tueur (!), la journaliste qui couche avec un ami et avec son supérieur,... Ca commence à faire beaucoup et ce n'est pas toujours nécessaire à l'histoire.
Au final, même si je trouve la fin assez bien, je ne recommande pas ce livre, ça fait beaucoup de pages à lire pour pas grand chose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2020
An intricate serial killer thriller, with some good writing and a certain amount of excess. The serial killer is somewhat like Ted Bundy, sometimes using the technique of disabling his victims' cars and then posing as a good samaritan. He is not technically a killer, since he "only" paralyzes his victims, leaving them disabled and catatonic for life. His adversary is a psychologist, who is tortured by the victim's plight, but also perversely attracted to him. A bit too long for a thriller, but not one I wanted to put down before I knew what happened to him.
July 21, 2021
Amateurish writing and the serial killer who calls himself "Toyer" is an odd one, to say the least. Is he supernatural or is he psychological? For the first 45 pages and it reads less like a suspense novel amd more like a stilted script for a bad play. Dominick Dunne actually liked this book? 🤔 After 70 pages in, i stopped caring about all the characters after a while I can now see why this novel is always in many a thrift and bargain bin store evetywhere!
May 17, 2023
C’est bien parce que c’était un défi entre Littereures que j’ai lu cette énorme brique de 760 pages.
L’histoire est bonne, un thriller-psychologique. Ce que je n’aime pas des gros livres : plusieurs chapitres ne sont pas nécessaires à la compréhension de l’histoire et viennent donner des longueurs à celle-ci.
L’histoire de Toyer est intéressante et bien exploitée. Elle vient déranger et obséder plusieurs personnes. J’aurais pris plus d’action comme celle des derniers chapitres.
L’histoire est bonne, un thriller-psychologique. Ce que je n’aime pas des gros livres : plusieurs chapitres ne sont pas nécessaires à la compréhension de l’histoire et viennent donner des longueurs à celle-ci.
L’histoire de Toyer est intéressante et bien exploitée. Elle vient déranger et obséder plusieurs personnes. J’aurais pris plus d’action comme celle des derniers chapitres.
July 1, 2023
Enfin fini.
Même si on devine le tueur à la moitié du livre, je me suis donné comme défi de le terminer.
Beaucoup trop long pour rien, beaucoup de longueur. Il aurait pu y avoir 200 pages de moins et ça n’aurait rien changé à l’histoire.
J’ai beaucoup aimé les petits chapitres qui alternaient d’un personnage à l’autre. L’histoire du tueur en série est bonne, ce qu’il fait à ses victimes est particulier.
Ça se lit bien et l’intrigue est bonne même si on devine la fin.
Même si on devine le tueur à la moitié du livre, je me suis donné comme défi de le terminer.
Beaucoup trop long pour rien, beaucoup de longueur. Il aurait pu y avoir 200 pages de moins et ça n’aurait rien changé à l’histoire.
J’ai beaucoup aimé les petits chapitres qui alternaient d’un personnage à l’autre. L’histoire du tueur en série est bonne, ce qu’il fait à ses victimes est particulier.
Ça se lit bien et l’intrigue est bonne même si on devine la fin.
August 22, 2018
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Was wanting to see how each character would end up in this story. Trying to find out who toyer was and how he would end up. The ending was ok but it left you wondering What happened. The ending left questions instead of answering them. Good book for anyone who like criminal minds.
May 4, 2017
On m'avait parlé en bien de ce livre. Mais, j'ai été déçue. Bien que le début m'avait mise sur les dents, j'ai trouvé qu'il y avait beaucoup de longueurs, de moments qui auraient pu ne pas y être et qui aurait accéléré le rythme. La fin m'a aussi laissé sur ma faim. Bref, peu impressionnée.
July 19, 2023
This is one of the only books I've read multiple times and still enjoy it fully. Right away I was taken with the idea of a predator who doesn't kill his victims but makes them incapacitated, sentenced to live but not be able to move or communicate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2024
This was recommended to me back in 2001. I finally got around to reading it. It’s a fine thriller. Very 90s. Not very twisty, but at times pleasantly disturbing. Surprised it’s never been made into a film.
December 13, 2025
J'ai adoré cette lecture: l'histoire, les personnages, l'avancement. Cependant, j'ai deux déceptions. Il y a une longueur entre Maude et Toyer à la fin. C'était redondant. De plus, j'aurais aimé savoir si les filles s'en sortent... surtout Mélissa.
Tout de même, je ne regrette pas cette lecture.
Tout de même, je ne regrette pas cette lecture.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews