Snap

by Belinda Bauer

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE

From award-winning crime writer Belinda Bauer, "the true heir to the great Ruth Rendell" [Mail on Sunday (UK)], Snap is a gripping novel about a teenage boy's hunt for his mother's killer.

Jack's in charge, said his mother as she disappeared up the road to get help. I won't be long. Now eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters wait on the hard shoulder in their stifling, broken-down car, bickering and whining and playing I-Spy until she comes back.

But their mother doesn't come back. She never comes back. And after that long, hot summer's day, nothing will ever be the same again.

Three years later, Jack's fifteen now and still in charge . . . alone in the house. Meanwhile across town, a young woman called Catherine While wakes to find a knife beside her bed, and a note reading I could of killed you. The police are tracking a mysterious burglar they call Goldilocks, for his habit of sleeping in the beds of the houses he robs, but Catherine doesn't see the point of involving the police. And Jack, very suddenly, may be on the verge of finding out who killed his mother.

A twisty, masterfully written novel that will have readers on the edge of their seats, Snap is Belinda Bauer at the height of her powers.

• ISBN13: 9780802127747
• Publish Date: 3 July 2018 (first published 3 May 2018)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 23 August 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Black Cat
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

A shocking beginning and you are sucked in. 3 children abandoned on a roadside, unaware of the fate of their mother. Moving forward, Jack, is now in charge of his 2 sisters and keeping them safe and away from the world, but his world is going to start crashing down around him.

I thought the story was really clever, how the chess pieces all moved around the board, never quite touching each other but so close to each other without realising. It was so clever, the only bit of the story I didn’t like is the police Reynolds and Marvel bringing Jack in on the investigation, I thought that is when it got a bit unbelievable.

That aside, I loved their characters, the shortness of tempers and the determination. I loved how close in proximity everything became.

Goldilocks, a case that police are trying to solve when “Goldilocks” breaks into Catherine’s house leaving her a note, all of this could be tied with Jacks mum, right? Jack is also out trying to keep his sisters going and to find his dad who couldn’t cope and abandoned them in the house, some elements I found so hard listening to because how could a parent do this.

When the title Snap means something it made this book so much more powerful. It took me a while to finish this book and that is because I didn’t click with the narrator, while I was enjoying the story bar a few niggles I did struggle with the narrator.

I will definitely pick up another Belinda Bauer book because I was excited by how her book played out, all the near misses and red herrings made for a thrilling read.