Wolf by Mo Hayder

The Anchor-Ferrers have come to their country home to relax and for Oliver, the husband to recuperate after heart surgery.  The couple is accompanied by their daughter and the family dog.  They barely get settled when they are captured by two men who move into the house to hold them hostage.   The dog runs away, leaving the family in the custody of the kidnappers.

Inspector Jack Caffery is in the area, taking a break from his police work after a case he just can't forget.  As always, thoughts of his brother who disappeared when they were just children won't leave him alone.  He realizes that a local tramp, known as the Walking Man, may have a clue to the disappearance and what happened and decides to approach him one more time.  He finds the Walking Man with a dog that he has found.  The dog has a note attached to his collar, 'Help us'.  The man says his price for telling Jack what he knows about his brother is for Jack to find the dog's family and discover what is going on with them.

As Jack starts his investigation, things are tense and getting worse at the house.  Although it first appears that ransom is the reason for the kidnapping, as time goes on it becomes clear that there is some personal motive behind the crime.  The kidnappers seem more interested in terrifying and humiliating the family than in any ransom.  Can Jack find them before a tragedy occurs?

Readers of Mo Hayder will be thrilled to find this seventh Jack Caffery novel.  No one writes like Hayder or leaves the reader so breathless and frightened.  Although the violence isn't that graphic, the tension builds so strongly that the reader may have to take breaks in order to read on. There is a twist that most readers won't see coming.  Wolf is a compelling page-turner.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.