The Treatment is the second novel in the Jack Caffery series by Mo Hayder.
Jack investigates a home invasion which involves the disappearance of a young boy, causing him to relive the trauma of his own brother having been abducted.
Has a Film Adaptation that was released in 2014.
Tropes:
- Dirty Old Man: Ivan Penderecki is an aged pedophile who gets off on abusing little boys.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Ivan Penderecki commits suicide after learning he has cancer, rather than suffer a long drawn out demise.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Jack is remorseful after he impulsively performs sexual battery on his girlfriend while dealing with stress from a child molestation case.
- "Not If They Enjoyed It" Rationalization: Ivan Penderecki suggests, in one of his correspondences with Jack, that the latter's brother enjoyed being violated.
- Would Hurt a Child: Child predators lurk within the pages of this novel, including the child predator and pornographer who abducted Jack's brother, and the "Troll" who targets young boys for the purpose of rejuvenation.
