What do you think?
Rate this book
Pig Island
Fans of Stephen King, Stuart MacBride and Karin Slaughter will devour this warped and brutally bloodthirsty thriller from bestselling and prize-winning author Mo Hayder. Guaranteed to mess with your mind, you'll be on the edge of your seat from start to finish... 'Mo Hayder has a profound ability to shock and surprise her readers, and Pig Island surpasses anything she has written before. She's the bravest writer I know' -- Karin Slaughter'The goriest thriller writer this side of the pond' -- Mirror 'No matter how much you might despise yourself for getting sucked into such places, she is brilliant at making you read on' -- Daily Telegraph 'Engrossing and a definite page turner' -- ***** Reader review'Keeps you gripped' -- ***** Reader review'Awesome writing' -- ***** Reader review'Gripping from the start' -- ***** Reader review***********************************************************************************SEE EVILJournalist Joe Oakes makes a living exposing supernatural hoaxes. But what he sees when he visits a secretive religious community on a remote Scottish island forces him to question everything he thought he knew.HEAR EVILWhy have the islanders been accused of Satanism? What has happened to their leader? And why will no one discuss the strange creature seen wandering the lonely beaches of Pig Island?READ EVILIn PIG ISLAND, Mo Hayder dares you to face your fears head on and to look at what lurks beneath the surface of everyday normality. Because people are perfectly capable of doing unspeakable things to each other...
512 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
288 people are currently reading
3312 people want to read
About the author
Mo Hayder
19 books2,565 followersMo Hayder left school at fifteen. She worked as a barmaid, security guard, film-maker, hostess in a Tokyo club, educational administrator and teacher of English as a foreign language in Asia. She had an MA in film from The American University in Washington DC and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University UK.
Mo lived in Bath with her daughter Lotte-Genevieve. She was also the actress Candy Davis, who was most known as the blonde secretary on “ Are You Being Served?”
Series:
* Jack Caffery
Mo lived in Bath with her daughter Lotte-Genevieve. She was also the actress Candy Davis, who was most known as the blonde secretary on “ Are You Being Served?”
Series:
* Jack Caffery
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 694 reviews
February 7, 2011
On the strength of The Devil of Nanking, I went looking for more Mo Hayder. Pig Island was a great disappointment. Unlikable characters, unlikely villains, unbelievable plot. The high point, if there was one, was the author's attempt to wax erotic over a woman with a third leg growing out of her ass. Have I said enough?
July 13, 2016
This is one of Hayder's two standalone novels and isn't in the same vein as her other released thriller/crime fiction. The themes here border on the almost supernatural and paranormal and it was by far the most thrilling of all her work, in my humble opinion!
Pig Island is primarily set in a remote (you guessed it) island, just off the coast of Scotland, and inhabited by a secular and eccentric small community, who are estranged from their inland neighbours and have long been a source of ridicule and hostility. When a video is captured by a boat passing the island, the inhabitants come under even more scrutiny concerning the evidence the video seems to suggest. Whether a demonic sighting, youthful prank or a means for infamy, what is known is that the contents of the video show something inexplicable and otherworldly; and something that journalist Joe Oakes is determined to get to the bottom of.
There is much traversing of genre boundaries in much of Hayder's writing and this is no exception. I struggled with my classification as this seems to belong to almost every category of fiction: there is a smattering of romance; a harking to the original science-fiction and Gothic fiction of the 17th century; possible fantastical and paranormal elements; and it is undoubtedly a first-class example of crime, thriller and mystery fiction. I feel I fangirl too hard over Hayder's magnificent writing but, let's be honest here, what is there to dislike?!
Pig Island is primarily set in a remote (you guessed it) island, just off the coast of Scotland, and inhabited by a secular and eccentric small community, who are estranged from their inland neighbours and have long been a source of ridicule and hostility. When a video is captured by a boat passing the island, the inhabitants come under even more scrutiny concerning the evidence the video seems to suggest. Whether a demonic sighting, youthful prank or a means for infamy, what is known is that the contents of the video show something inexplicable and otherworldly; and something that journalist Joe Oakes is determined to get to the bottom of.
There is much traversing of genre boundaries in much of Hayder's writing and this is no exception. I struggled with my classification as this seems to belong to almost every category of fiction: there is a smattering of romance; a harking to the original science-fiction and Gothic fiction of the 17th century; possible fantastical and paranormal elements; and it is undoubtedly a first-class example of crime, thriller and mystery fiction. I feel I fangirl too hard over Hayder's magnificent writing but, let's be honest here, what is there to dislike?!
September 17, 2017
On the basis of many I decided to read a novel by Mo Hayder and the premise of the most terrifying novel of the year sounded good.
To make a long review very short, a waste of time nothing terrifying really happened even if the book did show some promise, which it did not deliver and the twist at the end of the book was the expected one. Unsympathetic characters you care little about and a story that is just not good enough. The writing style was not my cup of tea either I kept losing track of who was narrating the story and who was whom.
Do you fancy a disappointing thriller I would not advise this one at all, there are far better disappointing reads than this novel. It is one novel I will be selling 2nd hand fairly quick.
To make a long review very short, a waste of time nothing terrifying really happened even if the book did show some promise, which it did not deliver and the twist at the end of the book was the expected one. Unsympathetic characters you care little about and a story that is just not good enough. The writing style was not my cup of tea either I kept losing track of who was narrating the story and who was whom.
Do you fancy a disappointing thriller I would not advise this one at all, there are far better disappointing reads than this novel. It is one novel I will be selling 2nd hand fairly quick.
September 20, 2007
It started out so good and so creepy, but really turned to shite.
August 15, 2012
I think that On Beauty has ruined me.
This is possibly the worst book that I have read. I dont think I have ever seen a book that has been so badly marketed..... the premise on the front is that this is the most terryifying read of the year. But its not. Its kind of a sick love story.
Starts very well and cinematically. A bunch of lads with a cam corder get images of something that looks like a devil on the shore of a remote scottish island.
Cue the mobilisation of Joe Oakes - A journalist who debunks paranormal activity.
This sounds excellent - how could it fail - a cross between the wicker man and lord of the flies is intimated.
Oakes has history with the religous group that live on the island.
He lands and sees that the factions have split in two - the leader is out on his own on the other side of the island and the rest of the community are scared to death. So far so good.
He investigates and there is a cinematic moment when they do come across the devil creature that works very well indeed.
Then he is attacked by the former leader but rather than inform the police - he goes back to utter carnage and all the village has been wiped out.
He chases the devil and determines that she is the daughter of the leader - who has a tail. An apparantly not too uncommon medical complaint.
This is about a third of the way through the book and guess what - he falls in love with her and leaves his girlfriend for her!
How bizarre.
Then the story gets crappy. They think the leader is still alive but hes not and oaksy gets framed for the murders - which were committed by the daughter in revenge for the history he has between them,
Utter drivel.
Other things I didnt like were the way that these people on the islands all spoke like regualar people - especially the teenagers who had had no contact with the outside their world.
I would watch a film that was made from it as it is fairly cinematic but as stated, I doubt that I have read a book that has so spectaculary failed in its premise on the cover.
This is possibly the worst book that I have read. I dont think I have ever seen a book that has been so badly marketed..... the premise on the front is that this is the most terryifying read of the year. But its not. Its kind of a sick love story.
Starts very well and cinematically. A bunch of lads with a cam corder get images of something that looks like a devil on the shore of a remote scottish island.
Cue the mobilisation of Joe Oakes - A journalist who debunks paranormal activity.
This sounds excellent - how could it fail - a cross between the wicker man and lord of the flies is intimated.
Oakes has history with the religous group that live on the island.
He lands and sees that the factions have split in two - the leader is out on his own on the other side of the island and the rest of the community are scared to death. So far so good.
He investigates and there is a cinematic moment when they do come across the devil creature that works very well indeed.
Then he is attacked by the former leader but rather than inform the police - he goes back to utter carnage and all the village has been wiped out.
He chases the devil and determines that she is the daughter of the leader - who has a tail. An apparantly not too uncommon medical complaint.
This is about a third of the way through the book and guess what - he falls in love with her and leaves his girlfriend for her!
How bizarre.
Then the story gets crappy. They think the leader is still alive but hes not and oaksy gets framed for the murders - which were committed by the daughter in revenge for the history he has between them,
Utter drivel.
Other things I didnt like were the way that these people on the islands all spoke like regualar people - especially the teenagers who had had no contact with the outside their world.
I would watch a film that was made from it as it is fairly cinematic but as stated, I doubt that I have read a book that has so spectaculary failed in its premise on the cover.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2013
One of her best -- really shows her sense of humor. I always think if you could get inside Mark Billingham's head, he might sound a bit like this narrator.
August 21, 2007
I'm not sure why I stuck with this book. I guess I wanted to know if I had figured out the mystery correctly. It was well written but a difficult read. The characters were not likable and there was a lot of gory detail. It takes place on an island off of Scotland and involves an interesting mystery, but not much more.
March 17, 2013
Someone described Mo Hayder as "easily today’s best writer of visceral and elemental horror." I would say without any qualification, that's an absolute UNDERSTATEMENT.
Her writing style is so easy to ready and the tone, to me at least, is what I can only describe as a bit haunting and comes at me in a way that it's impossible to put her stories down. Her characters and their situations from page to page are so real, so life-like, so believable, that the story surrounds me and takes me in so deeply that I just want to crawl through my Nook and become part of that world and interact with those people.
This is the sixth of Mo Hayder's books that I have read -- consecutively, by the way (that's how addictive her writing and stories are for me) -- and I look forward to reading everything she's ever written and will continue to write.
Her writing style is so easy to ready and the tone, to me at least, is what I can only describe as a bit haunting and comes at me in a way that it's impossible to put her stories down. Her characters and their situations from page to page are so real, so life-like, so believable, that the story surrounds me and takes me in so deeply that I just want to crawl through my Nook and become part of that world and interact with those people.
This is the sixth of Mo Hayder's books that I have read -- consecutively, by the way (that's how addictive her writing and stories are for me) -- and I look forward to reading everything she's ever written and will continue to write.
February 25, 2016
It's rare that I read the whole of a book and give it such a low rating. 1-star reviews usually are for 'I could not read as it was so awful', but in this case it more stands for 'I read this, but it was so full of things I didn't like, it p*ssed me off significantly'.
The story is of a journalist tasked with investigating an isolated religious community on a remote Scottish island, and looking into strange goings-on possibly connected with devil-worship and the like. There is more than a whiff of 'The Wicker Man' in the plot, but in truth I didn't particularly object to the set-up. As the story develops, and becomes more about the relationships between survivors of a terrible incident on the island, the journalist, and the investigation into what's been happening.. I lost interest a little, but feel there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the central narrative. In some author's hands, it could have worked really well.
But not here. The central character journalist 'Oakesy' was unlikeable and unbelieveable, amoral and unconvincing - I very quickly gave up on having any particular interest in what happened to this irritating Scouse hack. There is a side story involving his wife 'Lexie' - a pathetic, deluded and equally unsympathetic character who vacillates between obsession and spinelessness like the most ridiculous stereotype of a woman. There is also a cast of additional characters also who barely qualify as three-dimensional, and seem merely there to serve the plot and/or as a wish fulfilment 'Mary Sue' character.
Finally, the writing style really wasn't for me. The vocabulary was pretty basic and full of effing and jeffing, which to some extent I could tolerate as colloquial in the style of the narrator(s). It did get boring quickly, however, and I would've expected a journalist to have a better use of language, even just 'in speech'. The gore was over the top, and some of the inaccuracies in definition really annoyed me (esp. describing *any* little stone monster statue as a gargoyle, when this term has a specific definition as a water spout) - it reminded me of the trashier Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels I read in my mid teens but grew out of.
No to Mo in future.
The story is of a journalist tasked with investigating an isolated religious community on a remote Scottish island, and looking into strange goings-on possibly connected with devil-worship and the like. There is more than a whiff of 'The Wicker Man' in the plot, but in truth I didn't particularly object to the set-up. As the story develops, and becomes more about the relationships between survivors of a terrible incident on the island, the journalist, and the investigation into what's been happening.. I lost interest a little, but feel there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the central narrative. In some author's hands, it could have worked really well.
But not here. The central character journalist 'Oakesy' was unlikeable and unbelieveable, amoral and unconvincing - I very quickly gave up on having any particular interest in what happened to this irritating Scouse hack. There is a side story involving his wife 'Lexie' - a pathetic, deluded and equally unsympathetic character who vacillates between obsession and spinelessness like the most ridiculous stereotype of a woman. There is also a cast of additional characters also who barely qualify as three-dimensional, and seem merely there to serve the plot and/or as a wish fulfilment 'Mary Sue' character.
Finally, the writing style really wasn't for me. The vocabulary was pretty basic and full of effing and jeffing, which to some extent I could tolerate as colloquial in the style of the narrator(s). It did get boring quickly, however, and I would've expected a journalist to have a better use of language, even just 'in speech'. The gore was over the top, and some of the inaccuracies in definition really annoyed me (esp. describing *any* little stone monster statue as a gargoyle, when this term has a specific definition as a water spout) - it reminded me of the trashier Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels I read in my mid teens but grew out of.
No to Mo in future.
June 24, 2021
Been kinda sorta slogging my way through this one until I realized on page 219 how deeply - and I mean truly and deeply - uninterested I was in its outcome. Slow and tension free turns out not to be for me.
Meh.....
Meh.....
August 11, 2021
3.5/5
Pig Island is a disturbing thriller with horror overtones. It's bleak but not as gory as one might expect/fear based on the description.
Joe Oakes, a skeptical journalist, arrives on the west coast of Scotland to investigate a reclusive cult on remote Pig Island. The rumor has it there's a half-animal, half-human creature there.
The story is narrated alternately by Oaksey and his wife Lexie. I enjoyed most of it, but I struggled with the pace in places, and I can't say I found the final shocking twist shocking.
All told, it's a solid thriller with genuinely terrifying moments.
Pig Island is a disturbing thriller with horror overtones. It's bleak but not as gory as one might expect/fear based on the description.
Joe Oakes, a skeptical journalist, arrives on the west coast of Scotland to investigate a reclusive cult on remote Pig Island. The rumor has it there's a half-animal, half-human creature there.
The story is narrated alternately by Oaksey and his wife Lexie. I enjoyed most of it, but I struggled with the pace in places, and I can't say I found the final shocking twist shocking.
All told, it's a solid thriller with genuinely terrifying moments.
January 16, 2021
Good read. I liked the characters and it was an intriguing storyline. Not as good as Hanging Hill though, which I loved.
July 13, 2012
I can certainly understand why some people are not so in love with this book, as it is deeply disturbing to anyone with any sense of humanity. But it is so interesting! it kept me enthralled the whole way through, mainly because i have never read anything like it before. Fantasy come thriller come horror, i loved the originality of the novel.
I think it plays to the imagination of most of the population when you read or hear about cults being found all over the world that practice and preach things, not so tolerated by the general public. Cults are generally the produce of some deep belief stemming from religion and i think the folklore that comes through in this story, covers that side well.
I admit i had to read the book twice just really understand everything going on, but i didn't mind in the least, there was so much to get a grasp on. My imagination worked overtime with this novel and i enjoyed the challenge.
I think it plays to the imagination of most of the population when you read or hear about cults being found all over the world that practice and preach things, not so tolerated by the general public. Cults are generally the produce of some deep belief stemming from religion and i think the folklore that comes through in this story, covers that side well.
I admit i had to read the book twice just really understand everything going on, but i didn't mind in the least, there was so much to get a grasp on. My imagination worked overtime with this novel and i enjoyed the challenge.
February 23, 2021
2.5 stars rounded down. On a remote Scottish island, a Christian cult believes that their founder (Malachi Dove) has lost his mind and is in league with the devil, having gone so far as to conjure a demon as a help-mate. Journalist Joe Oakes is called in to write a feature on the island exposing Dove...and all hell breaks loose.
That's the great premise of "Pig Island'. Unfortunately, it's also where the greatness ends.
Here's the rest of it: Okay writing. Characters about as gripping as a bag of stale popcorn. Tension that flat-lines through most of the book...and you can guess the final twist at around the midway point. Some graphic descriptions of corpses that fail to engender pity or any emotion other than that's nasty .
Themes: cults, belief in the supernatural, does evil really exist?, revenge, physical & mental abnormalities, journalism, erotic attachments, erotomania.
This is the first Hayder I've been able to finish. I DNFed both "Poppet" and "Ritual" after about 100 pages due to the utter lack of any tension build-up and the (largely) flat characters, even though both books were touted as scary thrillers (no-scare, no-thrill scary thrillers apparently).
"Pig Island" suffers from the same problem, but the subject matter and the fact that I'd never actually finished one of hers, kept me going.
Here's something hardly any other review has mentioned:
Some readers have been rather put off by the erotic feelings Joe Oakes has for a woman with a parasitic limb. But that's rather tame and cursorily handled in comparison to Joe's wife, Lexie's, in-your-face erotomania. (Erotomania: a woman becoming convinced that a highly skilled man with a socially prestigious job, usually a specialist doctor/lawyer, is madly in love with her -- he just can't show his true feelings due to XYZ.) That's exploited for all it's worth and doesn't fit the distanced, 'watching from across the room' narrative voice of Oakes, which makes it feel like bleach thrown into a scummy, stagnant pond for effect. Erotomania is a real, if rare, delusional condition.
Both Joe and Lexie are abnormal in many ways. Just as abnormal as Dove and his daughter, who are presented as freaks.
And that's perhaps where the problem with "Pig Island" is to be found: all the main characters are cracked. Nobody is totally sane and Hayder doesn't do a very good job of demonstrating that, as the use of 1st person for the tale automatically drives a lot of that very important insight underground.
We'd need to see these characters from the outside, in 3rd person, rather like we see Angeline or the police officers from the outside, for their abnormalities to really stand out and make an impression. As it is, it's way too subtle and many readers who read for plot and not detail will utterly miss it.
Due to this authorial mistake, the entire idea melts into a soft goo rather quickly that feels about 200 pages too long. And the little thread of smoke at the end is a major cop-out.
I'm giving this one the dead average of 2.5 as that's pretty much what it is. It's not bad enough for the Tree-Murder shelf. It's just an average novel that missed its mark.
That's the great premise of "Pig Island'. Unfortunately, it's also where the greatness ends.
Here's the rest of it: Okay writing. Characters about as gripping as a bag of stale popcorn. Tension that flat-lines through most of the book...and you can guess the final twist at around the midway point. Some graphic descriptions of corpses that fail to engender pity or any emotion other than that's nasty .
Themes: cults, belief in the supernatural, does evil really exist?, revenge, physical & mental abnormalities, journalism, erotic attachments, erotomania.
This is the first Hayder I've been able to finish. I DNFed both "Poppet" and "Ritual" after about 100 pages due to the utter lack of any tension build-up and the (largely) flat characters, even though both books were touted as scary thrillers (no-scare, no-thrill scary thrillers apparently).
"Pig Island" suffers from the same problem, but the subject matter and the fact that I'd never actually finished one of hers, kept me going.
Here's something hardly any other review has mentioned:
Some readers have been rather put off by the erotic feelings Joe Oakes has for a woman with a parasitic limb. But that's rather tame and cursorily handled in comparison to Joe's wife, Lexie's, in-your-face erotomania. (Erotomania: a woman becoming convinced that a highly skilled man with a socially prestigious job, usually a specialist doctor/lawyer, is madly in love with her -- he just can't show his true feelings due to XYZ.) That's exploited for all it's worth and doesn't fit the distanced, 'watching from across the room' narrative voice of Oakes, which makes it feel like bleach thrown into a scummy, stagnant pond for effect. Erotomania is a real, if rare, delusional condition.
Both Joe and Lexie are abnormal in many ways. Just as abnormal as Dove and his daughter, who are presented as freaks.
And that's perhaps where the problem with "Pig Island" is to be found: all the main characters are cracked. Nobody is totally sane and Hayder doesn't do a very good job of demonstrating that, as the use of 1st person for the tale automatically drives a lot of that very important insight underground.
We'd need to see these characters from the outside, in 3rd person, rather like we see Angeline or the police officers from the outside, for their abnormalities to really stand out and make an impression. As it is, it's way too subtle and many readers who read for plot and not detail will utterly miss it.
Due to this authorial mistake, the entire idea melts into a soft goo rather quickly that feels about 200 pages too long. And the little thread of smoke at the end is a major cop-out.
I'm giving this one the dead average of 2.5 as that's pretty much what it is. It's not bad enough for the Tree-Murder shelf. It's just an average novel that missed its mark.
October 25, 2020
Journalist Joe Oakes, makes a living exposing supernatural hoaxes, that's how he ends up on Pig Island. It also doesn't hurt that his nemesis is also on this island. A video appears on the internet one day, of something that looks human, only it has a tail. Joe goes to the Island to prove that it wasn't real and was just a hoax. Only what Joe discovers on that Island isn't what he was expecting.
.
The beginning of this was super creepy, fast-paced and I couldn't put it down. I was so wrapped up in the story, that it was all I could think about or dream about 😶. However, just as quickly, it started to go down hill, and down hill fast. When Joe was on the Island, the book was amazing. When he came off the Island, and we started getting different POVs from the other characters, I just started to lose interest. Every character was unlikable, which is fine, but sometimes their POV just sucked, it didn't go with the story and I just didn't care for it. One scene with Lexie and Angeline was so cringe-worthy and out of the blue that I almost/should have just stopped reading there. The only reason I kept pushing through, was for the mystery. I just wanted to see how it played out. Which, by the way, I surprisingly didn't see it coming. It ended perfectly and twisty, so I'll bump it up alittle for that alone lol
So this would have been a two star read but the last chapter bumped it to a three lol
.
The beginning of this was super creepy, fast-paced and I couldn't put it down. I was so wrapped up in the story, that it was all I could think about or dream about 😶. However, just as quickly, it started to go down hill, and down hill fast. When Joe was on the Island, the book was amazing. When he came off the Island, and we started getting different POVs from the other characters, I just started to lose interest. Every character was unlikable, which is fine, but sometimes their POV just sucked, it didn't go with the story and I just didn't care for it. One scene with Lexie and Angeline was so cringe-worthy and out of the blue that I almost/should have just stopped reading there. The only reason I kept pushing through, was for the mystery. I just wanted to see how it played out. Which, by the way, I surprisingly didn't see it coming. It ended perfectly and twisty, so I'll bump it up alittle for that alone lol
So this would have been a two star read but the last chapter bumped it to a three lol
September 17, 2012
Wow. What a fascinating read - and definitely quite different from what I expected. After enjoying Hayder’s Jack Caffery series, I thought her standalone novels would be in the same sort of vein. This one definitely falls under more of the horror genre than the mystery/thriller genre. It was definitely an entertaining read, but was surprisingly dark. Hayder is certainly a talented writer, and her story ideas are certainly original, but this one was definitely stranger than most. I did enjoy reading this, but part of the mystery was given away by reading the acknowledgments (so beware of that! These acknowledgments are placed at the end for a reason - and you will spoil part of the story if you skip to them!). And there were definite hints to the ending twist... it does seem to beg for a sequel, as there were a few loose ends but, all in all, I really enjoyed reading this, and I do hope that a sequel will be written some day. I will definitely keep an eye for more of this talented author’s work.
September 3, 2022
This was easy to read and interesting even though the story didn't go forward really fast.
This had really unlikable characters...
The beginning of the book was awesome! It was so creepy & scary and I loved it. And saw nightmares, haha. But after the beginning this was more okay than awesome. I still liked the darkness in this book and I wanted to continue reading even though this was quite slow.
This was unbelievable predictable and that was a big disappointment. Well there was a tiny turn of events that I hadn't guessed but everything went like I thought in the big picture. I still liked the ending scene.
This had really unlikable characters...
The beginning of the book was awesome! It was so creepy & scary and I loved it. And saw nightmares, haha. But after the beginning this was more okay than awesome. I still liked the darkness in this book and I wanted to continue reading even though this was quite slow.
This was unbelievable predictable and that was a big disappointment. Well there was a tiny turn of events that I hadn't guessed but everything went like I thought in the big picture. I still liked the ending scene.
October 21, 2019
الرواية ليست بمستوى جيد، بنيتها مفككة وشخصياتها رتيبة تفتقد التشويق.
July 14, 2012
Like several other reviewers, I'm puzzled by the extremely negative response some people have had to this book. Perhaps they were expecting an orthodox horror thriller, and were disappointed to find themselves reading something closer to noir?
The book arguably has more in common with James M. Cain than it does with Stephen King. The overall mood is one of corruption, cynicism, danger, duplicity and despair, and much time is spent on the characters' neurotic or tormented inner lives and morbid relationships. Tight writing and Hayder's tough, almost sardonic approach prevent it from descending into soap opera. It's intelligent, very atmospheric, and sports a good ironic finish.
The book arguably has more in common with James M. Cain than it does with Stephen King. The overall mood is one of corruption, cynicism, danger, duplicity and despair, and much time is spent on the characters' neurotic or tormented inner lives and morbid relationships. Tight writing and Hayder's tough, almost sardonic approach prevent it from descending into soap opera. It's intelligent, very atmospheric, and sports a good ironic finish.
September 29, 2014
It took me forever to finish this. I found myself wondering where it was going midway and it meandered and doubled back and didn't appear to know which direction it was going.
And then in the middle we get epistolary fiction thrown in, in the guise of Lexie's letters. It felt contrived and as a reader, writer and lover of epistolary fiction found it a weak and lazy effort on the part of the author to get to the other side of the story. It is an element that needed to be introduced in the beginning to have credibility as a literary device.
The ending is the only thing that saved this from a two star rating. Looking back its so very obvious who it was all along.
And then in the middle we get epistolary fiction thrown in, in the guise of Lexie's letters. It felt contrived and as a reader, writer and lover of epistolary fiction found it a weak and lazy effort on the part of the author to get to the other side of the story. It is an element that needed to be introduced in the beginning to have credibility as a literary device.
The ending is the only thing that saved this from a two star rating. Looking back its so very obvious who it was all along.
December 8, 2009
In a word 'DAFT'.The first book I've read of Mo Hayder and on the strength of this I'll be in no hurry to read others. Its a weird narrative (but not in a good way) and whilst it started well enough it quickly descends into a clumsy mess. The main characters are poorly written and the story hangs upon a couple of premises that are quite ridiculous. It felt at times more like a rough draft, like Hayder had a loose idea for a story and forced a novel around it. Not recommended.
January 19, 2024
Joe Oakes ir žurnālists, kurš jau gadiem specializējies dažādu mītu, nereti ar pārdabisku un paranormālu elementu iesaisti atnaskošanā. Tādēļ viņa došanās uz saucamo Cūku salu, kura pirms diviem gadiem nokļuva uz brīdi pasaules vai vismaz pārdabiskā fanātu uzmanības lokā, kad tūrists no savas laivas uz dažām sekundēm notvēra, kā jau ierasts, neskaidrus kadrus ar kaut kādu uz divām kājām staigājoušu mošķi.
https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...
https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...
July 27, 2018
I'd heard Mo Hayder's name mentioned on several occasions in various book discussion groups, which immediately piqued my curiosity. I decided it was time to find out more. Looking through her back catalogue I settled upon Pig Island, one of her standalone novels with seemingly dark undertones. I was excited - it could be right up my alley. It immediately appealed with it's cover art of foreboding dark skies and Celtic cross towering above the landscape. From the outset I found it to be an atmospheric and creepy read.
When a video comes to light of a strange creature seen on Pig Island's beach, it leads to rumours of Satanic worship and rituals. Journalist Joe Oakes goes in search of his old nemesis - cult leader and all-round madman, Malachi Dove - who has made the island his home. What Joe discovers is a divided community with Dove's ex-followers now living in fear.
Skillfully written with a plot that slowly grips and doesn't surrender, I really enjoyed this novel. It's dark and creepy; encompassing different genres. Yes, there are moments that will leave you chilled but it's not a blood-curdling shocker. It instills a growing sense of unease and a strong feeling that something's not right. Admittedly it wont be everyone's idea of a bedtime read, but I loved the journey it took me on and look forward to reading more by this author.
Read my review on my blog: https://bit.ly/2LK7h6U
When a video comes to light of a strange creature seen on Pig Island's beach, it leads to rumours of Satanic worship and rituals. Journalist Joe Oakes goes in search of his old nemesis - cult leader and all-round madman, Malachi Dove - who has made the island his home. What Joe discovers is a divided community with Dove's ex-followers now living in fear.
Skillfully written with a plot that slowly grips and doesn't surrender, I really enjoyed this novel. It's dark and creepy; encompassing different genres. Yes, there are moments that will leave you chilled but it's not a blood-curdling shocker. It instills a growing sense of unease and a strong feeling that something's not right. Admittedly it wont be everyone's idea of a bedtime read, but I loved the journey it took me on and look forward to reading more by this author.
Read my review on my blog: https://bit.ly/2LK7h6U
December 11, 2024
De psychologische thriller 'Duivelswerk' is het eerste boek wat ik heb gelezen van Mo Hayder en krijgt drie sterren.
Journalist Joe Oakes (Oakesy) spoort oplichters op tussen de gebedsgenezers. Voor gebedsgenezer Dove heeft hij de meeste aandacht en brengt hem ten val. Dove trekt zich daardoor terug op een eiland, samen met zijn volgers. Op dit eiland is een filmpje gemaakt van een duivels wezen, dat half mens, half dier lijkt te zijn. Joe gaat naar het eiland om onderzoek te doen.
'Duivelswerk' is geschreven vanuit twee oogpunten, die van Oakesy en zijn vriendin Lexie. De schrijfstijl is erg wennen, in het begin moest ik stukjes meerdere keren lezen. Het verhaal wordt goed opgebouwd, bevat genoeg spanning en zit erg goed in elkaar. De duistere sfeer is vanaf het begin duidelijk aanwezig.
'Duivelswerk' is geschreven door Mo Hayder en is vertaald door Yolande Ligterink.
Journalist Joe Oakes (Oakesy) spoort oplichters op tussen de gebedsgenezers. Voor gebedsgenezer Dove heeft hij de meeste aandacht en brengt hem ten val. Dove trekt zich daardoor terug op een eiland, samen met zijn volgers. Op dit eiland is een filmpje gemaakt van een duivels wezen, dat half mens, half dier lijkt te zijn. Joe gaat naar het eiland om onderzoek te doen.
'Duivelswerk' is geschreven vanuit twee oogpunten, die van Oakesy en zijn vriendin Lexie. De schrijfstijl is erg wennen, in het begin moest ik stukjes meerdere keren lezen. Het verhaal wordt goed opgebouwd, bevat genoeg spanning en zit erg goed in elkaar. De duistere sfeer is vanaf het begin duidelijk aanwezig.
'Duivelswerk' is geschreven door Mo Hayder en is vertaald door Yolande Ligterink.
April 12, 2011
Crap. Crap. Crap...
Need I say any more.
Well I will anyway but I think you get the gist of my general thoughts based on the above and my rating, basically this started off with a great premise and so I had fairly high expectations but quite soon into this it began to bore me, again cookie cut out characters, and none of which really at the stage I gave up at were likeable. The writing was also very confused and I had to reread bits several times, good writing then? No.
Basically don't read.
Need I say any more.
Well I will anyway but I think you get the gist of my general thoughts based on the above and my rating, basically this started off with a great premise and so I had fairly high expectations but quite soon into this it began to bore me, again cookie cut out characters, and none of which really at the stage I gave up at were likeable. The writing was also very confused and I had to reread bits several times, good writing then? No.
Basically don't read.
April 15, 2013
Terrible - Possibly the worst book I've ever finished. Almost all the characters were 2 dimensional and unlikable. The premise was interesting but never really expanded upon. The ending, which was an unexpected twist, was totally unbelievable.......which just goes to show - If you take a piece of crap and twist it all up in the end, all you get is twisted crap. Total waste of time. I found nothing redeeming in this book at all.
I was actually angry at the author for wasting my time when I finished it.
I was actually angry at the author for wasting my time when I finished it.
August 13, 2018
As always with a Mo Hayder book she does not fail to disappoint me. This is one of her standalone books, an amazing, exciting, easy read from the start. She tackles uncomfortable and bizarre situations head on. I loved it and the pages were turning fast and furious! Fantastic and I would certainly recommend and be lending on to my friends who are Mo Hayder fans like me.
August 10, 2018
Wow! Just wow... It was a bit slow from time to time, but the ending...!!!! The ending made everything come together, and was weird, and shocking, and gave me goosebumps. Loved it!
June 21, 2021
Lisede okudugum fiziken file benzeyen bir adamla ilgili kitabi hatirlatti bana.
August 25, 2022
This was my first thriller and it freaked me out. Could only read it during the day lol however I enjoyed the new genre which got me hooked on thrillers so I will give it 5⭐️ just for that reason.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 694 reviews