Book #12 Blacklands

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having recently read The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer (her 6th title) and thoroughly enjoying it, I bought a copy of this her first book, "Blacklands”, with which she won the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year in 2010.

Much of the story is told from a child’s viewpoint, 12 year-old Steven Lamb who digs holes on Exmoor, looking for the remains of the uncle he never knew. It is widely believed that ‘Uncle Billy’ fell victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery. Billy (William) disappeared aged eleven.

Bauer’s 12 year-old Steven has such a convincing voice that I really felt for the suffering of this boy in a sad family. His nan, who stands everyday at the window expecting her son to come home, his mum Lettie, who has sought solace with a number of ‘uncles’ and his younger brother Davey. The ‘lack of closure’ afflicts everyone, particularly Steven, who determines to find the body of long-lost Billy, first by digging almost at random on Exmoor and then.... by a much more dangerous stratagem. He contacts the man most likely to have been the killer.

The ability of Bauer to get under the skin of the murderer really chills the blood - I read the last 50 pages or so completely unable to put the book down. The fear created is palpable.

Bauer’s first novel is a terrific read full of menace. I loved it.

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