Pig Island by Mo Hayder Book Review

 Pig Island 

By Mo Hayder 

Published Year: 2006

Page Count: 340 pages 

Medium Used: Kindle Scribe 

Genre : Thriller, Suspense, Horror,Crime,Murder Mystery,  Religious Cults, Twists, Shocking Elements, Science Fiction, 2026-read. 

Rating : 5/5 😀😀😀😀😅

Wow. What did I just read?! Beautiful beautiful book!! 

I was a bit wary going into this. I was craving for a good horror book when a friend suggested me the title. Then I read a few discouraging, low rating reviews on goodreads which said this is not a horror book and the characters are not likeable. I still went ahead with the book and now I am like, yes the reviews are correct on both fronts but what they failed to highlight is that this is one solid hell of an evocative story. I was hooked from the first page. The writing is so gorgeous and riveting. There are some shocking elements and suspense driven plot line that doesn't let up. I didn't see the end coming and I got a huge adrenaline rush when I did figure out what was happening. A must read for all Thriller lovers. There are elements of satan/God from the Bible and the pig slaughtering, posturing kept me on edge. Triggered my sympathies for the poor, speechless animals. Now, Mo Hayder will be on my must read list of authors and I already obtained the next books to read from her bestselling collection! 

Joe Oakes is a hoax buster who at one point had a bad run-in with a religious cult leader Malavhi Dove. It wasn't a pleasant experience for him because Malachi convinced him he had a tumor in his bowels and that sent him on a panic tour around doctors to confirm. When he was assured that he had been tricked, he becomes an enemy and defamator of Malachi Dove. Malachi sends him a note saying that his(Dove 's) death will be spectacular and he will run rings around Oakes before dying. Oakes keeps the man in his sights and when he learns that Malachi has retired to a remote island (fictitious) in Scotland called the Pig Island and has set up a village with thirty other members, his interest piques. Then when some surfers release a video showing a 6 foot monster with a 2 foot tail walking around the island in a 2 second video, he goes to investigate. There are many wild stories of satan worship and beelzebub/pan/dionysus conjuring happening on the island and he goes to bust the hoax. On this first journey, he meets with the people of the village and narrowly escapes death at the hands of Malachi. He recuperates and returns to the island for another encounter with his nemesis and obsession, Malachi. I didn't understand the reason behind this fixation. He was similarly fixated on Malachi through out the book and though the ending does make the promise of Malachi true, it must not have been how he expected it to go. 

On his second visit, he sees that someone has butchered/murdered all the thirty residents of the village and Malachi is nowhere to he found. Oakes rescues a girl from the island and brings her to his home with his wife, Lexie. After this we learn the identity of the girl and what sinister plans Lexie has for her. Oakes begins working with the police officials dealing in the murders on the Pig Island and when Lexie is brutally (it was so novel,heinous, nauseating and bothering that only a devil could pull it off in my opinion) murdered, they assume it is Malachi in the works. Towards the end, the police reveal some shocking facts about the murder scene and what that could imply. It knocked me off. Everything started falling in place and it was a game played by a true evil. Not one called so by everyone but a true true evil. Do read this .. only if u happen to be like me who wants their comfort zones busted wide open, exposing them to some real,mind bending horor!

 What happens to Malachi? Does his threat to run rings around Oakes happen? Who is the monster with the tail ? - one give away, there is no Satan or devil from hell in the book. Its all scientifically explained and though it was shocking at first, I got acclimatized to it quick enough. I felt like the ending didn't do justice to whatever took place on the island. This book ought to have a sequel. Atleast some few updates on what happens to Oakes now that we know what we know! Even though this is first person narrative and is written way after the events have occurred, no where does the narrator cast a doubt or shed an inkling of suspicion on the girl he rescued. That is what really got me eventually. The thrill of discovery and suspense. Have u read the book? Or made up ur mind to add this to ur tbr? Do share ur thoughts in comments below.