Mo Hayder
BornClare Dunkel
(1962-01-01)1 January 1962
Essex, England
Died27 July 2021(2021-07-27) (aged 59)
Bath, England
Pen nameTheo Clare
OccupationNovelist
NationalityBritish
EducationThe American University
Bath Spa University
GenreCrime, thriller
Years active2000–2021
Notable worksBirdman
The Treatment
Pig Island
Notable awardsEdgar Award (2012)
SpouseBob Randall

Mo Hayder (born Clare Dunkel; 1 January 1962 – 27 July 2021) was a British author of crime and thriller fiction. She authored more than ten novels under her pseudonym Mo Hayder and one under Theo Clare when her career began in 2000.[1][2] She won an Edgar Award in 2012. Her best known work was Birdman, which was followed by a sequel The Treatment. Her final book, The House of Sand, will be published in 2022, a year after her death.[1]

Early life

Born in Essex on 1 January 1962, Hayder grew up in Loughton, but left school and home for London at aged 15.[3][2][4] She was an English educator as a foreign language in Tokyo.[4][3] She was also a waitress at a nightclub and an amateur filmmaker.[3] Hayder was educated at The American University and Bath Spa University.[4][1]

Career

Her debut novel, Birdman, was published in January 2000 and was an international bestseller.[2] Her second novel, The Treatment, was a Sunday Times bestseller and won the 2002 WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award.[2][5]

Her third novel, Tokyo, was published in May 2004 and was another Sunday Times bestseller.[6] Tokyo was published as The Devil of Nanking in the United States in March 2005.[7] Pig Island was her fourth best seller and was published in April 2006.[8] Pig Island was nominated for both a Barry Award for Best British crime novel, and a CWA dagger.[9] Her fifth book, Ritual was the first in The Walking Man series, and was nominated for CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award.[10] Skin is the second book in The Walking Man series, and was released in early 2009.[11] Gone, the third book in The Walking Man series, was released in February 2011.[12] Gone won the Edgar Award for Best Novel.[13] Her novel Hanging Hill was published 2011,[14] Poppet in 2013,[15] and Wolf in 2014.[16]

Her novels were controversial when published such as Birdman, which was seen as violent and disturbing.[17] Her other novel, The Treatment tackled themes of paedophilia.[18] The San Francisco Chronicle called the novel a "disturbing journey into the pedophile mind".[18]

Hayder also wrote the screenplay for De Behandeling (2014) which was a Dutch film of an adaptation of her book The Treatment.[19][20]

Shortly before her death, she completed a new novel The Book of Sand, a speculative thriller written under the pseudonym Theo Clare, which will be published in 2022.[1]

Personal life

Hayder lived outside Bath, England with her husband, Bob Randall, a retired police sergeant.[21] She had one daughter from a previous relationship.[1]

In December 2020, she was diagnosed with motor neuron disease.[1] She died on 27 July 2021 from complications of the disease, aged 59.[1]

Bibliography

Featuring Jack Caffery

Standalones

Film

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "'Extraordinary' crime writer Mo Hayder dies of motor neurone disease | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Crime novelist Mo Hayder dies aged 59 from motor neurone disease". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "The Books Interview Mo Hayder: Death beneath the Dome". Independent. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Mo Hayder". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. ^ "W. H. Smith Thumping Good Reads Award". Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Review: Tokyo by Mo Hayder". The Guardian. 8 May 2004. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b "The Devil of Nanking". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Pig Island". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Pig Island". Grove Atlantic. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Grove Atlantic". Groove Atlantic. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Skin". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Gone". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  13. ^ "The Edgar Awards Revisited: Gone by Mo Hayder (Best Novel, 2012)". Criminal Element. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Hanging Hill". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Poppet". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Wolf". Good Reads. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Book Review: Birdman". Crime by the Book. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  18. ^ a b "A disturbing journey into the pedophile mind". The San Francisco Gate. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  19. ^ "THE TREATMENT / DE BEHANDELING (2014)". Dog and Wolf. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  20. ^ a b "The Treatment". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Bestselling crime writer Mo Hayder gives a lunchtime talk at Watford Library". Watford Observer. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Shortlist for Theakston's Crime Novel of the year Award 2009". digyorkshire.com. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  23. ^ "Mo Hayder books". 22 February 2006.
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