Mo Hayder left school at fifteen. Gifted with intelligence, determined to shape her own future she worked as an actress in tv and film, barmaid, security guard, filmmaker, hostess in a Tokyo club, educational administrator, and teacher of English as a foreign language in Asia. She had an MA in film from the American University in Washington, DC, and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University, UK. She wrote eleven crime novels under the name Mo Hayder, and her fifth novel, Ritual, was nominated for the Barry Award for Best Crime 2009 and was voted Best Book of 2008 by Publishers Weekly. Gone, her seventh novel, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Two of her books, The Treatment and Ritual have been made into films and her novel Wolf, was nominated for Best Novel in the 2015 Edgar Awards and is currently being adapted for the BBC. Prior to her diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease in December 2020, she had completed The Book of Sand under the name Theo Clare, as well as the first drafts of three more books in this series of speculative fiction, from which she took her greatest personal writing satisfaction. She passed away in July 2021 as a result of MND. She lived her life as a creative artist, never afraid to challenge her personal boundaries or those set by the establishment. She leaves behind a husband and daughter, a powerful legacy of books, and an incredible number of people who loved and admired the many facets of her diamond personality.
An utterly original novel from an extraordinary creative mind, The Book of Sand is an absolute standout that's impossible to put down. -- Karin Slaughter Unique and fearless, Theo Clare had that rare ability to lead her readers into places that were genuinely terrifying and to conjure images that would linger and continue to disturb. The Book of Sand is no exception. -- Mark Billingham I inhaled it. It's beautifully written and utterly compelling - I was completely subsumed in the Cirque and the fate of the family -- Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange I didn't want it to end. Audacious, extraordinary and beautifully written ... it's absolutely awesome. -- Alex North, author of The Whisper Man Fearless and compelling, lyrical and devastating by turns, the story never slackens pace. A stunning introduction to a wholly original world. -- Jane Corry