The Beautiful Dead - Belinda Bauer

 

58%

12.10.22

I'm a big fan of Bauer's thrillers but this wasn't her best. Why? Perhaps it was a bit too weird, without the oddly humorous, very British, small-town authenticity of Snap or Exit. And there was the big problem of the serial killer's eight or nine (I lost track) victims not being as important as preventing the deaths of the protagonist and her father. But it was still better than most novels in this genre.

The Shut Eye - Belinda Bauer

 

64%

06.07.22

I really like Belinda Bauer's mix of tragedy with unexpected humour and this was, on the whole, an intriguing read, though not her best. If the characters didn't quite ring true, and the story didn't quite fit together, and it seemed to be set in 2001 only to explain away inappropriate police procedure, well, it was still diverting and the supernatural element remained pleasingly unexplained.

Snap - Belinda Bauer

 

67%

26.03.22

I like Belinda Bauer's far-fetched small-town crime capers. Yes, the plots don't bear too much thought, and the characters are larger than life, but the quality of the writing makes you suspend your disbelief and just go with it.

Exit - Belinda Bauer

67%

07.05.21

Unlike Rubbernecker, not particularly dark or deep, but just as deftly drawn, quirky and unpredictable, with the occasional skewering one-liner thrown in to light the reader's way. 

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer

70%
20.05.20

This was an easy yet clever read, both quirky and thought-provoking, funny and dark. And set, in part, at Cardiff Uni, where I spent some time many years ago. I even knew a dental student who dissected heads in the very anatomy lab described in the story. I'll definitely search out more by this author (overlooking the slightly scrappy character-driven narrative structure).