Beatrice Clare Dunkel (born Clare Damaris Bastin;

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s, Mo Hayder and Theo Clare; 2 January 1962 – 27 July 2021) was a British author. Earlier in her life she worked as an actress and model under the name Candy Davis. She went on to write novels as Mo Hayder. One forthcoming book, ''The Book of Sand'', will be published in 2022 under the name Theo Clare. She won an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

in 2012. Her best-known work was '' Birdman'', which was followed by a sequel, '' The Treatment''.

Early life

Born in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

on 2 January 1962, Hayder grew up in Loughton as the daughter of John Bastin, an astrophysicist, and Susan Hollins, a teacher. She had a younger brother, Richard. She left school and home for London shortly before her 16th birthday. Hayder was educated at

The American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valle ...

and

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The instit ...

Acting and modelling career

As Candy Davis, she won the Miss Nude beauty pageant in 1982 and became a Page 3 model. As an actress, her first credit was as a stripper in an episode of '' Minder'' although her best known role was playing secretary Miss Belfridge in the BBC sitcom '' Are You Being Served?'' in the final two series from 1983 to 1985. She also appeared in the music video for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

song "

Poison Arrow "Poison Arrow" is a song by English new wave band ABC, released as the second single from their debut studio album, ''The Lexicon of Love'' (1982). The single was released in the United Kingdom on 15 February 1982 on 7" and 12", with the same ...

". After (in her own words) "a wild child phase" and a brief marriage to Gary Olsen she emigrated at 25 to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

where she became a teacher of English as a foreign language in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. She was also a waitress at a nightclub and an amateur filmmaker.

Writing career

Hayder sent the manuscript of her first book to several agents. To her surprise she was accepted by leading literary agent Jane Gregory who secured her an offer of nearly £200,000 from

Transworld Publishers Transworld Publishers Ltd. is a British publishing house in Ealing, London that is a division of Penguin Random House, one of the world's largest mass media groups. It was established in 1950 as the British division of American company Bantam ...

for a two-book deal. Patrick Janson-Smith of Transworld described the manuscript at the 1998 Frankfurt Book Fair as one of the most powerful and violent books he had come across, "a completely gripping story with believable characters". This debut novel, '' Birdman'', was published in December 1999 and was an international bestseller. Her second novel, '' The Treatment'', was a ''Sunday Times'' bestseller and won the 2002 WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award. Her third novel, ''

'', was published in May 2004 and was another ''Sunday Times'' bestseller. ''Tokyo'' was published as '' The Devil of Nanking'' in the United States in March 2005. '' Pig Island'' was her fourth best seller, published in April 2006. ''Pig Island'' was nominated for both a Barry Award for Best British crime novel, and a CWA dagger. Her fifth book, ''Ritual'' was the first in "The Walking Man" series, and was nominated for

CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association for best thriller of the year. The award is sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming. It is given to a title that fits the broadest definition of th ...

award. ''

Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

'' is the second book in The Walking Man series, and was released in early 2009. ''Gone'', the third book in the series, was released in February 2011. ''Gone'' won the

for Best Novel. Her novel ''Hanging Hill'' was published 2011, ''Poppet'' in 2013, and ''Wolf'' in 2014. Her novels were controversial when published. ''Birdman'' was seen as violent and disturbing. Her second novel, ''The Treatment'' tackled themes of paedophilia. The ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' called the novel a "disturbing journey into the pedophile mind". Hayder also wrote the screenplay for ''De Behandeling'' (2014) which was a Belgian film of an adaptation of ''The Treatment''. 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.

Personal life

In 1985, she married the actor Gary Olsen, later the male lead in ''

2point4 children ''2point4 Children'' is a BBC Television sitcom that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porters, a seemingly average, working-class London family whose world is frequently turned upside-down by bad luck and ...

''. The couple divorced in 1990. Hayder lived in Cheltenham, England with her second husband, Bob Randall, a retired police sergeant whom she married in 2021. She had one daughter. She died on 27 July 2021 from complications of motor neurone disease, aged 59, having been diagnosed the previous December.

Bibliography

Jack Caffery series

*'' Birdman'' (2000) *'' The Treatment'' (2001) *''Ritual'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *''

Gone Gone may refer to: Grammar * Gone, the past participle of go (verb) ** Have gone or have been, contrasting verb forms in some contexts Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Gone'', a 2002 a thriller written, directed by and starring Tim Chey ...

'' (2010) *''Poppet'' (2013) *''Wolf'' (2014)

Stand-alone novels

*''

'' (2004), also published as '' The Devil of Nanking'' (2010) *'' Pig Island'' (2006) *''Hanging Hill'' (2011)

Writing as Theo Clare

*''The Book of Sand'' (2022) *''The Book of Clouds'' (2023)

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

*
Mo Hayder
at Gregory & Company Authors' Agents * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayder, Mo 1962 births 2021 deaths People from Essex 21st-century English novelists American University School of Communication alumni Alumni of Bath Spa University English crime fiction writers Edgar Award winners Women mystery writers 21st-century English women writers English women novelists Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from motor neuron disease 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London English television actresses English female models Glamour models Page 3 girls