It came as no surprise to me when Snap was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2018, because Belinda Bauer is one of the most talented writers on the literary scene. The novel starts on the hard shoulder of a motorway, as Jack and his sisters wait by their broken-down car for their mother to walk to a phone and fetch help. Only she never returns. This terrible moment shapes the future of the three children, particularly Jack – now 14 – who takes on the role of carer. Belinda Bauer has created such an emotionally complex character in Jack, and I defy you not to root for him. Snap didn’t bag the Booker, but it’s an out-and-out winner for me.
Crime & 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' *****
