{{Short description|British author (1962–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox writer | name = Mo Hayder | image = Author Mo Hayder.jpg | birth_name = Clare Damaris Bastin | birth_date = {{birth date|1962|1|2|df=y}} | birth_place = Epping, Essex, England<ref name="Timesobit" /> | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|7|27|1962|1|2|df=y}}<ref name="Bkslr20210728" /> | death_place = Cheltenham, England | years_active = 1982–2021 | education = The American University<br />Bath Spa University | genre = Crime, thriller | pseudonym = Candy Davis (acting name), Mo Hayder, Theo Clare | occupation = Novelist | notable_works = ''Birdman''<br />''The Treatment''<br />''Pig Island'' | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Gary Olsen|1985|1990|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Bob Randall|2021}}<ref name="Gdn20210802">{{cite news|last=Billingham|first=Mark|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/02/mo-hayder-obituary-clare-dunkel|title=Mo Hayder obituary|work=The Guardian|date=2 August 2021|access-date=2 August 2021}}</ref> }} | awards = Edgar Award (2012) | children = 1 }} '''Beatrice Clare Dunkel''' (born '''Clare Damaris Bastin''';<ref name="Timesobit" /> pen names, '''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''' and appeared as Miss Belfridge in the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' for two series. She went on to write novels as '''Mo Hayder'''.<ref name="Gdn20210802" /><ref name="DTelobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/08/09/mo-hayder-author-inventive-jaw-droppingly-grisly-thrillers/|title=Mo Hayder, author of inventive but 'jaw-droppingly grisly' thrillers – obituary|work=The Telegraph|date=9 August 2021|access-date=9 August 2021}}</ref> She won an Edgar Award in 2012.
Her novels have sold more than 6.5 million copies, as of 2021.
==Early life== Born in Epping, Essex on 2 January 1962, Hayder grew up in Loughton as the daughter of John Bastin, an astrophysicist, and Susan Hollins (née Jacobsen), a teacher.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-07 |title=Clare Dunkel obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/clare-dunkel-obituary-kcbkpx8ds |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=The Times|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Gdn20210802" /><ref name=bookdeal>{{cite news|last=Alberge|first=Dalya|title=£200,000 for an author who left school at 15|work=The Guardian|date=9 October 1998}}</ref> She had a younger brother, Richard.<ref name="Timesobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/clare-dunkel-obituary-kcbkpx8ds|title=Clare Dunkel obituary|work=The Times|date=9 August 2021|access-date=9 August 2021}} {{subscription required}}</ref> She left school and home for London shortly before her 16th birthday. Hayder was educated at The American University and Bath Spa University.<ref name="Bkslr20210728">{{Cite news|last=Wood|first=Heloise|title='Extraordinary' crime writer Mo Hayder dies of motor neurone disease|work=The Bookseller|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/extraordinary-crime-writer-mo-hayder-dies-mnd-1273889|date=28 July 2021|access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref>
==Acting and modelling career== As Candy Davis, she won the Miss Nude beauty pageant in 1982 and became a Page 3 model.<ref name="Timesobit" /> A likely source of this pseudonym is that the name 'Candy Davis' was used in season 2 episode 19 of the Beverly Hillbillies for an attractive secretary, played by Susan Hart. As an actress, Mo's first credit was as a stripper in an episode of ''Minder''. She played 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 song "Poison Arrow".<ref name="DTelobit" /><ref name="Timesobit" />
After a brief marriage to Gary Olsen she emigrated at 25 to Japan<ref name=ind>{{cite news|last=Dickson|first=E. Jane|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-books-interview-mo-hayder-death-beneath-the-dome-1131632.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-books-interview-mo-hayder-death-beneath-the-dome-1131632.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The Books Interview Mo Hayder: Death beneath the Dome|date=23 October 2011|work=The Independent|access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="Gdn20210729" /> where she became a teacher of English as a foreign language in Tokyo.<ref name=ind/> She was also a waitress at a nightclub and an amateur filmmaker.<ref name=ind/>
==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 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".<ref name=bookdeal /> This debut novel, ''Birdman'', was published in December 1999 and was an international bestseller.<ref name="Gdn20210729">{{cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/29/novelist-mo-hayder-dies-aged-59-from-motor-neurone-disease|title=Crime novelist Mo Hayder dies aged 59 from motor neurone disease|work=The Guardian|date=29 July 2021|access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref> Her second novel, ''The Treatment'', was a ''Sunday Times'' bestseller and won the 2002 WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award.<ref name="Gdn20210729" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://everything2.com/title/W+H+Smith+Thumping+Good+Read+Award|title=W. H. Smith Thumping Good Reads Award|access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref>
Her third novel, ''Tokyo'', was published in May 2004 and was another ''Sunday Times'' bestseller.<ref name=tokyo>{{cite news|last=Petit|first=Chris|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/may/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview22|title=Review: Tokyo by Mo Hayder|work=The Guardian|date=8 May 2004|access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref> ''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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/pig-island/|title=Pig Island|access-date=29 July 2021|publisher=Grove Atlantic}}</ref> Her fifth book, ''Ritual'' was the first in "The Walking Man" series, and was nominated for CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award.<ref name=ritual>{{cite book|url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/ritual/|title=Grove Atlantic|publisher=Groove Atlantic|accessdate=29 July 2021}}</ref> ''Skin'' 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 Edgar Award for Best Novel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criminalelement.com/the-edgar-awards-revisited-gone-by-mo-hayder-best-novel-2012/|title=The Edgar Awards Revisited: Gone by Mo Hayder (Best Novel, 2012)|date=14 February 2020|publisher=Criminal Element|accessdate=29 July 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crimebythebook.com/blog/2020/4/7/book-review-birdman-by-mo-hayder|title=Book Review: Birdman|date=7 April 2020 |accessdate=29 July 2021|publisher=Crime by the Book}}</ref> Her second novel, ''The Treatment'' tackled themes of paedophilia.<ref name=SFG>{{cite news|last=Dunn|first=Adam|url=https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/A-disturbing-journey-into-the-pedophile-mind-2863839.php|title=A disturbing journey into the pedophile mind|date=17 March 2002|work=SF Gat|location=San Francisco, CA|access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref> The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' called the novel a "disturbing journey into the pedophile mind".<ref name=SFG/>
Hayder also wrote the screenplay for ''De Behandeling'' (2014) which was a Belgian film adaptation of ''The Treatment''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dogandwolf.com/2015/08/the-treatment-de-behandeling-review/|title=THE TREATMENT / DE BEHANDELING (2014)|date=21 August 2015 |publisher=Dog and Wolf|accessdate=29 July 2021}}</ref><ref name=THR>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/treatment-de-behandeling-montreal-review-729139/|title='The Treatment' ('De Behandeling'): Montreal Review|date=29 August 2014|access-date=29 July 2021|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> A sequel ''Ritueel'' followed in 2022, based on ''The Ritual''. A television adaptation of ''Wolf'' was made for the BBC in 2023.
Shortly before her death, she completed a new novel, ''The Book of Sand'', a speculative thriller written under the pseudonym Theo Clare, which was published in 2022.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clare |first=Theo |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442433/the-book-of-sand-by-clare-theo/9781529158014 |title=The Book of Sand |date=4 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== In 1985, she married actor Gary Olsen. The couple divorced in 1990.<ref name="Timesobit" />
Hayder lived in Cheltenham, England with her second husband, Bob Randall, a retired police sergeant whom she married in 2021.<ref name="Gdn20210729" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/leisure/interviews/4219850.bestselling-crime-writer-mo-hayder-gives-a-lunchtime-talk-at-watford-library/|title=Bestselling crime writer Mo Hayder gives a lunchtime talk at Watford Library|date=20 March 2009 |publisher=Watford Observer|accessdate=29 July 2021}}</ref> She had one daughter.<ref name="Bkslr20210728" />
She died on 27 July 2021 from complications of motor neuron disease, aged 59, having been diagnosed in December 2020.<ref name="Bkslr20210728" />
== Bibliography ==
===Jack Caffery series=== *''Birdman'' (2000)<ref name="Gdn20210729" /> *''The Treatment'' (2001)<ref name="Gdn20210729" /> *''Ritual'' (2008)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digyorkshire.com/HighlightDetails.aspx?Article=202 |title=Shortlist for Theakston's Crime Novel of the year Award 2009 |publisher=digyorkshire.com |date=2 June 2009 |accessdate=17 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815160519/http://www.digyorkshire.com/HighlightDetails.aspx?Article=202 |archive-date=15 August 2016 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> *''Skin'' (2009) *''Gone'' (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mohayder.net/books.html |title=Mo Hayder books|date=22 February 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222065033/http://www.mohayder.net/books.html|archive-date=22 February 2006}}</ref> *''Poppet'' (2013) *''Wolf'' (2014)
===Stand-alone novels=== *''Tokyo'' (2004), also published as ''The Devil of Nanking'' (2010)<ref name=tokyo/> *''Pig Island'' (2006) *''Hanging Hill'' (2011) *''Bonehead'' (2024)
===Writing as Theo Clare=== *''The Book of Sand'' (2022)<ref name="Bkslr20210728" />
==Filmography== ===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable" |-1982 ! Year ! Television ! Episode(s) !Character Played |-H |1982 |''O.T.T.'' | A short lived TV series presented by Chris Tarrant | Herself |- | 1982 | ''Minder'' | Rembrandt Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Stripper |- | 1983 | ''The Benny Hill Show'' | Holiday | Hill's Angel |- | 1983 | ''The Entertainers'' | Jeff Stevenson | |- | 1983 | ''The Comic Strip Presents'' | Five Go Mad on Mescalin | Janie |- | 1983 | ''The Two Ronnies'' | Episode 10.2 | The Colonel's Niece |- | 1984 | ''Cannon & Ball'' | Episode 6.6 | Herself |- | 1984 | ''Bottle Boys'' | Here Comes the Groom | Deirdre |- | 1983–1985 | ''Are You Being Served?'' | Main characters, series 9 and 10 | Miss Belfridge |- | 1985 | ''The Two Ronnies'' | Episode 11.3 | Actress |- | 1985 | ''The Two Ronnies'' | Episode 11.4 | Miss Exotica Stormtrooper |- | 1986 | ''The Two Ronnies'' | Episode 12.3 | Woman with Trevor |}
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Character |- | 1983 | ''Fanny Hill'' | Girl in bed (uncredited) |- | 1985 | ''Underworld'' | Barmaid |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204093409/http://www.gregoryandcompany.co.uk/pages/authors/index.asp?AuthorID=21 Mo Hayder] at Gregory & Company Authors' Agents * {{LCAuth|n99036062|Mo Hayder|13|ue}} *{{IMDb name|id=0204306|name=Candy Davis}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayder, Mo}} Category:1962 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Writers from Essex Category:21st-century English women novelists Category:21st-century English novelists Category:American University School of Communication alumni Category:Alumni of Bath Spa University Category:English crime fiction writers Category:Edgar Award winners Category:British women mystery writers Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease in England Category:21st-century pseudonymous writers Category:20th-century English actresses Category:Actors from Loughton Category:English television actresses Category:English female models Category:British glamour models Category:Page 3 girls Category:Models from Essex Category:Actresses from Essex Category:Actresses from Cheltenham Category:Models from Gloucestershire Category:Actors from Epping Category:Actresses from London Category:Models from London Category:People from Loughton Category:21st-century pseudonymous women writers