Books That Got Me Thinking Differently About Writing…Part Two

A disturbing subject delivered with dignity.

I genuinely LOVE Mo Hayder (the Jack Caffrey series anyway – I’ve yet to read her stand-alone novels). To me she represents the best in gritty crime/suspense paired with a prose style that is practically literary fiction. I don’t believe it is categorized as such, but in my humble opinion, it should be. Her stories are layered, gripping, lyrical, and among the very few that manage to make me grimace, wince, and even sometimes, put the book down and walk away (or lie awake).

This second book in the Caffrey series, The Treatment, is the “worst” in terms of its ghoulishness, and it’s the kind of book you love to hate…or perhaps hate to love? And what it ultimately taught me is that a good writer can tackle a reprehensible subject – pedophilia – so long as it is done with dignity and tact. It’s a fine line, a tricky balance, all eggshells and thin ice, but when done well it will blow the top off any so-called “thriller” or “horror” out there. I’m not saying that I, personally, am ready to tackle such subjects as of yet, but this has given me permission to experiment and be as fearless with my premise or my theme as Hayder is, and as I am with my characters. There are dark crimes and true evil in this world, and literature shouldn’t necessarily shy away from them just because they are uncomfortable or taboo. What literature – and all media – needs to avoid is the glorification of these crimes, however inadvertent or unintended. Hayder has shown me that a talented author can make a novel double as both a warning, and entertainment.