Book #32 Snap

Snap by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mesmerising, in the true sense of the word. Belinda Bauer is a master at creating the perfect crime novel. She often focuses on a child and how trauma affects them. Jack and his siblings, Joy and Merry. Left alone in a broken down car on a motorway as their mother seeks help, looking for a motorway 'phone. She never returns.... Move forward three years. Seemingly unrelated events form threads in the plot. Inexorably they develop and intertwine. The pace of the first few chapters was hypnotic. Think of the soundtrack to "Jaws" - staccato rhythm. Had me holding my breath. It is difficult to say more without spoiling the plot for future readers. I will say that SNAP goes to the top of my Best Reads of 2018. A stunning crime novel.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Book #39 Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You would hardly want to go on holiday to Exmoor after reading Belinda Bauer's trilogy. Six children were buried on the moor in Blacklands, eight vulnerable victims met their ends in its follow up, Darkside, and the curse isn't over yet for the residents of Shipcott, the Somerset village where the author sets her thrillers: now their children are being stolen from cars and replaced with a note: "You don't love her", or him, or them... The familiar characters are here - Steven Lamb, the boy who wrote to a serial killer in Blacklands, his younger brother Davey, Mum and Nan, DI Reynolds (who failed to catch the last killer to terrorise Shipcott) and of course, Jonas Holly. Bauer's renditions of a teenager falling in love are pitch-perfect, the jealous younger brother, the clash between old and new, locals and incomers, money and lack of it. This clash lies at the heart of the novel providing a motivation for the kidnapper's actions. And here, the novel becomes cloaked in the macabre almost descending into horror - some scenes are really creepy. And the latter part of the book ties up so many loose ends resulting in a satisfying conclusion. For plausibility's sake though, it might be time Bauer found a new location. Perhaps she has?

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Book #29 Darkside

Darkside by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has taken me over a week to read Darkside. Not because I did not enjoy the book, more to do with time taken up with garden maintenance and replacing fence panels. This thriller deserves better as I did struggle somewhat to remember who the various characters were. And that is a shame because this is my third read from Belinda Bauer - it's compelling, original and brilliant. Wonderful subliminal nods to her previous book Blacklands, characters turning up in cameo rôles. A great touch, although I understand that Darkside is the 2nd book in a trilogy known as Exmoor. The location is the same - the close-knit village of Shipcott and local policeman Jonas Holly is faced with his first murder investigation. This is handled however by detectives from Taunton under SIO Detective Chief Inspector Marvel, a nasty piece of work, an abrasive bully and a borderline alcoholic. He hates the village, he hates the locals and most of all he hates Jonas, despises him for what he sees as ineptitude. Jonas is soon distracted by an anonymous letter, accusing him of failing to do his job. Trying to cope with this and caring for his wife Lucy who suffers from MS is a strain that at times becomes unbearable. Bauer's use of counting down the days to the final denouement is relentless and if you guess the final outcome you are a better detective than me!

If you have read Blacklands you will enjoy this; if you haven't do read Blacklands first.

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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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Book #10 The Shut Eye

The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I hadn’t come across Belinda Bauer before browsing through books at Waterstones I came across “The Shut Eye”. I had no idea it was her sixth thriller. What a treat I had in store! This is an exhausting, exhilarating and damned scary psychological thriller. This is a non-stop page turner that had me mesmerised.

A missing 12 year-old girl, a missing 4 year-old boy, a missing dog? Is there a connection? Does the missing boy’s mother really have an eerie sixth sense? Is that matched with the equally damaged Detective Chief Inspector John Marvel, who is close to falling off the wagon again and carries more baggage than an airport carousel?

You share the victims fears and torture, increasingly terrified as the full horror of their stark predicament is played out. Bauer creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that really got to me. Unexpected shocks abound, literally had me calling out “Oh my God! What?!”

The Shut Eye is a truly gripping, terrifying thriller - one of the best I have read for quite some time. It certainly won’t be my last book by Belinda Bauer.

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