Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Feb 2007
352 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
A riveting, disturbing thriller of religious fanatics, hoax debunkers, and the dark side of belief. Journalist Joe Oakes makes a living exposing supernatural hoaxes, but when he visits a secretive religious community on a remote Scottish island, everything he thought he knew is overturned. On the trial of a strange creature caught briefly on film, so deformed it can hardly be human, Oakes crosses a border of electrical fencing, toxin-filled oil drums, and pigs' skulls to infiltrate the territory of the groups' isolated founder, Malachi Dove. Their confrontation, and its violent aftermath, is so catastrophic that it forces Oakes to question the nature of evil--and whether he might be responsible for the heinous crime about to unfold.
"Starred Review. Hayder offers both a riveting story and a nuanced, distinctly modern look at secrecy and publicity, belief and skepticism, normal and taboo, (in)sight and blindness." - PW.
"When she's on, she's an adventurous, edgy, literate writer. This book is, alas, far from her best." - Kirkus.
"Hayder skillfully melds an atmosphere of fear and a gripping sense of place." - Booklist.
This information about Pig Island shown above was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Margaret Lister
Mo Hayder has worked as a filmmaker, Tokyo nightclub hostess, and English language teacher in Asia. She is the author of Birdman;The Treatment; The Devil of Nanking, winner of the Elle Magazine crime fiction prize; Pig Island, shortlisted for the Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel; Ritual,shortlisted both for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award and for the coveted Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award; Skin; and Gone; as well as the winner of the 2011 Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library award for outstanding body of work. She lives in England.
Become a Member and discover books that entertain, engage & enlighten.
Of Women and Salt
by Gabriela Garcia
A kaleidoscopic portrait of generations of women from a 19th-century Cuban cigar factory to the present day.
Reader Reviews
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman
by Julietta Henderson
A charming, uplifting debut about a mother and her 12-year-old son, an aspiring comedian.
Reader Reviews
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
