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6 wins for Penguin Random House at the Specsavers National Book Awards 2018

The astonishing crime novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Rubbernecker

The award-winning crime novel from the bestselling author of SNAP.

One of the most startling plots in contemporary crime fiction

Bauer's great gift is her ability to surprise the reader... [and] she makes you think a bit differently about the world.

Breathtaking. I read this and wished I’d written it

This could be the most astonishing whodunnit you are ever likely to read

Taking the psychological thriller into new territory

Obvious echoes of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time . . . darker and with more twists and coils than a hangman's noose, it deserves to do equally well

Rubbernecker isn’t your average crime novel: it's far better than that

Bauer has once again succeeded in creating an innovative path into detection

The exciting result reads like a collaboration between Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time) and Barbara Vine

A brilliant description of autism from the inside

Obvious echoes of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time . . . and with more twists and coils than a hangman's noose, it deserves to do equally well

Bauer's great gift is her ability to surprise the reader: in the sense of making you jump out of your chair, certainly, but also in that she makes you think a bit differently about the world

The exciting result reads like a collaboration between Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time) and Barbara Vine.

Bauer has once again succeeded in creating an innovative path into detection.

[Rubbernecker] contains one of the most startling plots in contemporary crime fiction

Belinda Bauer is one of the best British crime writers out there right now

Belinda Bauer's thrillers are always compelling, always original, always brilliant. I will rush to read anything she writes

Bold and original, Rubbernecker draws you into unexpected psychological territory with its sophisticated, fast-paced story. A thought-provoking page-turner you won't be able to put down.

Belinda Bauer grew up in England and South Africa and now lives in Wales. She worked as a journalist and a screenwriter before finally writing a book to appease her nagging mother. 
 
For her debut, Blacklands, Belinda was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year. She went on to win the CWA Dagger in the Library for her body of work. Her fourth novel, Rubbernecker, was voted Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Her eighth novel, Snap, was a Sunday Times bestseller. It was longlisted for the Man Booker prize and voted Crime &amp; Thriller Book of the Year at the Specsavers National Book Awards. 
 
Her books have been translated into twenty-five languages.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNAP 
 
*WINNER! Crime Novel of the Year* 
 
'Contains one of the most startling plots in contemporary crime fiction' Sunday Times 
 
___ 
 
Patrick has uncovered a crime that the experts were too close to see . . . 
 
Life is strange for Patrick Fort - being a medical student with Asperger's Syndrome doesn't come without its challenges. And that's before he is faced with solving a possible murder. 
 
Because the body Patrick is examining in anatomy class is trying to tell him all kinds of things. And now he must stay out of danger long enough to unravel the mystery - while he dissects his own evidence . . . 
 
 
'Bauer's great gift is her ability to surprise the reader: in the sense of making you jump out of your chair, certainly, but also in that she makes you think a bit differently about the world' Daily Telegraph 
 
'Breathtaking. I read this and wished I'd written it' Val McDermid 
 
'This could be the most astonishing whodunnit you are ever likely to read' Red Magazine online 
 
Readers love Rubbernecker: 
 
'A compelling, intelligent thriller' ***** 
'A totally brilliant story . . . Gripping and heart-felt' ***** 
'Original and absorbing - a great read' *****

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Snap

Darkside

The sensational, critically acclaimed crime novel by the bestselling author of Snap.

Bauer has shifted the boundaries of what makes a truly gripping, terrifying thriller

Bauer takes astonishing risks but - like a brilliant ski-jumper - arcs down to the perfect landing

She can do tragic brilliantly and she can do grim, but every now and then humour breaks into the tale - and she does that almost best of all

I would press this one on anyone who loves Kate Atkinson, Bauer really is that good

Bold, mordant, compassionate, Darkside confirms Bauer's reputation as a significant new talent

Tense triumph... Bauer defies all expectations and does it again with a book that piles on the tension while remaining credible. It says something about the author that this novel can sit happily next to some of the more hard-boiled heavyweights

Belinda Bauer is the most disturbing new talent around

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNAP 
 
'Bauer's great gift is her ability to surprise the reader' Daily Telegraph 
 
THE QUESTION IS: WHO IS HUNTING WHO? 
 
In a small village where no stranger goes unnoticed, a local woman has been murdered in her bed. 
 
This is PC Jonas Holly's first murder investigation. But he is distracted by anonymous messages that seem to come from the killer . . . 
 
Is Jonas going to be able to solve the crime, whilst being taunted by a psychopath? 
 
___ 
 
'Impressively original and convincing' 
Sophie Hannah 
 
Readers are gripped by Darkside: 
 
'A captivating read which I couldn't put down' ***** 
'Brilliant, clever, crime fiction' ***** 
'Gripping and entertaining' *****

The astonishing Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

Snap

The phenomenal latest crime novel from Belinda Bauer, twice winner of Crime Novelist of the Year, author of The Beautiful Dead.

The best crime novel I've read in a very long time.

Snap is the best kind of crime novel - it gives you chills, it makes you think, and it touches your heart. I loved it!

Sarah Pinborough, No. 1 bestselling author of BEHIND HER EYES

Original, pacy and thoroughly entertaining . . . a cracking read.

Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of I LET YOU GO

If you loved Steven Lamb in Bauer's debut Blacklands you will love Jack Bright in Snap. No one writes crime novels like Belinda Bauer, with such a rare blend of darkness, humour and heart. She's a crime writing genius and no mistake

Intelligent entertainment that keeps you guessing

Belinda Bauer is one of the very few really original crime writers of our time . . . The plot is neat and clever, but it is not the stories, the style or the characters alone - though all are good - that set Bauer's work apart. It is an indefinable extra ingredient that makes some books stand out from the crowd. This is one of them.

Is there a current writer in the genre who can be guaranteed never to repeat themselves - and who comes up with an original premise for each new book? Yes there is - and it is the highly individual Belinda Bauer. Snap, her latest novel, continues this pleasing trajectory . . . Bauer (as ever) is very much her own woman, and produces something that exerts a considerable grip on the reader.

Edgy, original and beautifully written, this suspenseful story is dazzlingly good.

Belinda Bauer's plots are never anything less than original and unsettling, and her latest outing is no exception.

The opening of Snap is one of the most vividly unnerving I have read . . . razor-sharp observation.

Belinda Bauer's fiction teems with life . . . She is also an ingenious creator, never afraid to improve on reality . . . She is on absolutely cracking form in her latest novel . . . Kate Atkinson used to be the undisputed master of this sort of mixture of the serious, the exciting and the anarchic, but Bauer is now firmly in her class.

Belinda Bauer's novels are original, disconcerting and gripping.

A compelling and highly intricate novel . . . Snap follows the human impact of murder rather than the gory details

Crime &amp; Thriller Book of the Year (Specsavers National Book Awards) 
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018. 
 
'The best crime novel I've read in a very long time.' VAL MCDERMID 
 
SNAP DECISIONS CAN BE DANGEROUS . . . 
 
On a stifling summer's day, eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. Jack's in charge, she'd said. I won't be long. 
 
But she doesn't come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed for ever. 
 
Three years later, Jack is still in charge - of his sisters, of supporting them all, of making sure nobody knows they're alone in the house, and - quite suddenly - of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother . . . 
 
___ 
 
 
'Original, pacy and thoroughly entertaining . . . a cracking read.' CLARE MACKINTOSH 
 
'No one writes crime novels like Belinda Bauer, with a rare blend of darkness, humour and heart. She's a crime writing genius.' C. L. TAYLOR 
 
'Edgy, original and beautifully written, this suspenseful story is dazzlingly good.' Sunday Mirror 
 
'The opening of Snap is one of the most vividly unnerving I have read . . . razor-sharp observation.' Guardian 
 
___ 
 
Readers are gripped by Snap: 
 
'Full of suspenseful twists and turns' ***** 
'Twisty, intriguing and so cleverly written I couldn't put it down' ***** 
'A refreshingly different murder mystery' *****

The addictive debut novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Blacklands

CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2010! This powerful psychological debut will leave you breathless . . .

[Belinda Bauer] is such an interesting writer - a restless intelligence that always goes its own way, but always comes up with something that feels both surprising but inevitable.

Extraordinarily powerful and provocative... will leave you breathless

An excellent first novel, with a highly original plot

A very special debut thriller, and a clear-eyed depiction of ordinary people under extraordinary stress. This is something quite new

ANN CLEEVES, bestselling author of the Vera and Shetland novels

A psychological tour-de-force about the cruelty of hope and, ultimately, the triumph of innocence

The reader is fully gripped... Bauer's first novel shows an extraordinary power of imagination and, vital in crime fiction, the ability to create fear and empathy in the reader

In this atmospheric debut, Bauer ably paints a convincingly chilling portrait of a child killer, but it is her moving portrayal of a lonely, bullied child with a comfortless life that singles her out as an accomplished writer

Blacklands caused the hearts of hardened reviewers to flip a beat

Original, unsettling and atmospheric, this is a debut that hits the ground running

Exceptional debut . . . A new UK crime writer to shout about

Blacklands heralds a fresh new voice in crime: Belinda Bauer inhabits the mind of her 12-year-old hero, struggling to tease the whereabouts of his uncle's body from an imprisoned child-killer, with uncanny conviction

A compelling story of a fragmented family and the loss of innocence

A tense, well-orchestrated crime novel with a refreshingly unusual premise

A chilling and gripping original thriller by a great new talent. You'll want to race through to the scary climax

Blacklands... managed to glean the best word-of-mouth for any new crime novel in years.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNAP 
 
'Extraordinarily powerful and evocative . . . will leave you breathless.' Daily Mirror 
 
VOTED CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR when it was first released, and still the most gripping, powerful thriller debut you will read this year. 
 
___ 
 
Steven Lamb is 12 when he writes his first letter . . . to a serial killer 
 
Every day after school, whilst his classmates swap football stickers, twelve-year-old Steven digs holes on Exmoor, hoping to find a body. His uncle disappeared aged eleven and is assumed to have fallen victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery - but his body has never been found. 
 
Steven's Nan does not believe her son is dead. She still waits for him to come home, standing bitter guard at the front window while her family fragments around her. Steven is determined to heal the widening cracks between them before it's too late - even if that means presenting his grandmother with the bones of her murdered son. 
 
But when Steven realises this is an impossible task, he crafts a careful letter to Arnold Avery in prison. And there begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a desperate child and a bored psychopath . . . 
 
Readers love Blacklands: 
 
'A dark, gripping story . . . full of tension' ***** 
'A truly chilling and disturbing read' ***** 
'An intelligent crime thriller that seeps with atmosphere' ***** 
 
*Belinda Bauer's pulse-pounding new thriller, EXIT, is out now*

The Beautiful Dead

The new crime novel from Belinda Bauer, twice winner of Crime Novelist of the Year, author of Rubbernecker and Blacklands. 
 
'One of the most individual of crime writers . . . Bauer is streets ahead of most of her rivals' Independent

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR 
 
'Crime novels don't get much better than this' C.L. Taylor 
 
They wanted the same things. Death - and an audience. 
 
Eve Singer makes her living from death. As a TV crime reporter, she'll go to any length to get the latest scoop. 
 
But when a twisted serial killer starts using her to gain the publicity he craves, Eve must decide how far she's willing to go - and how close she'll let him get . . . 
__________ 
 
'Evocative and disturbing' Shari Lapena, bestselling author of The Couple Next Door 
'Excellent tension' The Times 
'Spectacular' Sunday Times 
 
Readers are gripped by The Beautiful Dead: 
'A fast and thrilling story with twists and turns from start to finish.' ***** 
'Very well-written and extremely tense' ***** 
'A great thriller from a very talented author' *****

Incredible. Just incredible. Belinda Bauer is a genius.

...all the texture and depth of a classic crime thriller... This increasingly taut thriller is page-clawing material.

...this wintery chiller is a fantastic take on the serial killer thriller.

The Beautiful Dead will keep you up all night.

Shari Lapena, author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

...a book you'll read in one go after making sure every door is locked.

Over half a dozen novels, Belinda Bauer has staked a claim to the gruesome, spectacular and bizarre... trademark ingenuity.

A masterclass in storytelling. Crime novels don't get much better than this. I loved it

Belinda Bauer is the connoisseur of crime novels.

...the formidably talented Belinda Bauer. From the award-winning Blacklands onwards, she has shown a plucky willingness to take the crime novel into completely unexpected territory, and a sure-fire grasp of how to unsettle the reader. Bauer aficionados need not hesitate; she's on typically scabrous form here.

Oh my, this is a clever, chilling, and penetrating read...I simply couldn’t put it down. With sharply spiked claws that hook into your mind and don't let go, The Beautiful Dead is a heart pounding and captivating read.

Belinda Bauer used to be a screenwriter and it shows in the fast pace and mounting tension that makes The Beautiful Dead a book you’ll read in one go with all the lights blazing after you’ve made sure every door is locked.

No one writes books like Belinda Bauer, who just gets better and better.

...this all too believable thriller is fast-paced, taut and super scary

Belinda Bauer is probably Britain's most original crime writer.

...polished and breathtakingly tense, this novel of obsession and murder takes a firm grip from the start

I have read serial killer-yarns that are more frightening but few as entertaining or, in its low-key way, as moving.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR 
 
'Crime novels don't get much better than this' C.L. Taylor 
 
They wanted the same things. Death - and an audience. 
 
Eve Singer makes her living from death. As a TV crime reporter, she'll go to any length to get the latest scoop. 
 
But when a twisted serial killer starts using her to gain the publicity he craves, Eve must decide how far she's willing to go - and how close she'll let him get . . . 
__________ 
 
Praise for THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD: 
 
'Evocative and disturbing' Shari Lapena, bestselling author of The Couple Next Door 
'Excellent tension' The Times 
'Spectacular' Sunday Times

The Shut Eye

The exhilarating crime novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Snap

One hundred and twenty days ago, the door had been left open . . . 
 
The Shut Eye is the astonishing new crime novel from Belinda Bauer, twice winner of Crime Novelist of the Year.

The most polished crime writer on the murder beat . . . Exhausting, exhilarating and damn scary

'Belinda Bauer is a marvel. Her novels are almost indecently gripping and enjoyable, and The Shut Eye is possibly her best yet

One of the most individual of crime writers . . . Bauer is streets ahead of most of her rivals

A twisty, fast-paced plot that kept me on tenterhooks

An intricate plot, extremely moving in some places - Bauer's ability to get under the skins of her characters is second to none

So much more than an simple whodunit - a clever, sophisticated modern crime novel

Belinda Bauer is disconcerting. She follows none of the usual formulae governing crime fiction, defies easy labelling and sees deeper than most into people's emotions.

Nobody scares me quite like Belinda Bauer

Bauer's novels are among life's pure pleasures. Her assured style and uncanny knack for capturing the quirks of human nature make her one of the stand-out writers of her genre. Clever, dark, insightful and not just a little bit funny.

ALEX MARWOOD, author of The Wicked Girls and The Killer Next Door

Magical writing from a maestro of surprises

One of the best crime writers in the country

Absorbing . . . refreshingly unconventional

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNAP 
 
'The most polished crime writer on the murder beat' Daily Express 
 
Five footprints are the only sign that Daniel Buck was ever here. 
 
Yesterday they were a family just like any other: Anna and James, and their little boy, Daniel. 
 
But in one careless moment everything changed. 
 
A front door accidentally left ajar . . . and Daniel was gone. 
 
 
Now they are a pair of strangers who can't even look each other in the eye. 
 
Distrust and unspoken words fill the void where their son used to be. 
 
Anna will go to any lengths to find Daniel - a four-year-old doesn't just vanish into thin air. But how far will this desperate search push her? 
 
Right to the brink. 
 
And beyond. 
 
___ 
 
Readers love The Shut Eye: 
 
'Original and inventive . . . Fabulous stuff!' ***** 
'I was absolutely gripped by this novel' ***** 
'A captivating story with such strong characters' *****

Belinda Bauer

The brilliantly funny new crime novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of SNAP

Perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, this is the page-turning, twisty, and often hilarious new crime novel from bestselling author Belinda Bauer. 
 
'Quirky, charming, intensely human, important . . . and very suspenseful. I loved it.' 
Lee Child 
__________________ 
 
Meet Felix Pink. The most unlikely murderer you'll ever have the good fortune to spend time with. 
 
When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he's there to perform an act of charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath . . . 
 
But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police - after making the biggest mistake of his life. 
 
Now his world is turned upside down as he must find out if he's really to blame, or if something much more sinister is at play. All while staying one shaky step ahead of the law. 
 
__________ 
 
'Fresh, funny, flawless. The best crime novel you'll read this year.' 
Clare Mackintosh 
 
'Bauer's judgement of tone is perfect throughout a captivating whodunnit that's often hilarious . . . beady-eyed yet tender, it resembles a collaboration between Agatha Christie and Muriel Spark.' 
Sunday Times

Belinda Bauer

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