This is such a good read. It's an emotional tale about a family of 3 children whose mother leaves them in their broken down car when she goes for help and doesn't return.

Jack is the eldest and 'in charge' and he does his best to protect his sisters Joy and Merry and there were so many times that I wanted to climb into the story and help/comfort them, it was so emotionally written.

The threads in the book take time to come together and so the first half of the book is very much 'setting the stage' and drawing the characters, but, please stick with it as it's so worth it. The second half moves along at a great pace as Jack becomes more closely involved in the search for his mother's killer.

It's interesting to read a murder mystery where your sympathies are much more with the criminals than the police, who, in this book are lazy, sexist, self obsessed and sometimes all 3! Thankfully, first impressions can be misleading and in the last half of the book the threads come together and the police redeem themselves, well, most do!

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic Publishers, Net Galley and the author for the opportunity to preview this really good read.

I wanted to love this book, but it was not for me, It was very confusing and had me lost, eventually I stopped reading and decided I wasn't going to be able to finish. Thank you for the opportunity and I'll try again at a later date.

I always enjoy Belinda Bauer books. This one opens with a heavily pregnant mother breaking down. She leaves her three kids in the car but she never returns. She is found murdered. Three years later, her son Jack is looking after his sisters the best way he can. I like Jack. He is a lovable Rogue of a character. But don't under estimate him. A ripping story.

** Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy in return for an honest review.

Honestly….. I believe this book was a little too hyped up.

Jack is the main character of the book and the only character that has any depth to him. One hot summer day Jack, Joy and Mary are driving with their mother, Eileen Bright, when the car suddenly dies and Eileen tells the children she is going to walk on the shoulder of the road to find a phone.

?!?!

Who leaves their kids in the car?! Weird. I didn’t think that part of the book was very realistic.. much like the rest of it actually..

Eventually Eileen never returns (big shocker) so Jack decides to march the children to the next exit to find their mother since he was left in charge. On the shoulder of the road the cars passing by obviously call the police to let them know children are walking on the side of the road but first Jack reaches the phone and realizes that it is just hanging from the latch, which lets the audience know something has happened.

When the children get back home with their father they realize that the father is devastated. LONG STORY SHORT, the father leaves and just abandons the children?! They end up living in the house alone and taking care of themselves?! The new neighbor gets suspicious but eventually ends up saving Jack from the police after he does a good deed for her.

We then switch of to Catherine who is married and hugely pregnant. Someone breaks into her house while her husband is away and leaves a note by her bed that says “I could have killed you….” WITH A HUGE KNIFE. Catherine, being paranoid, hides the knife and doesn’t even call the police. Thinking this will all go away with time a young boy helps her when she drops her grocery’s in town only to find out that HE IS THE INTRUDER. When she goes back to the house to find the knife it is GONE.

Her husband comes home and FLIPPSSSS. Chasing Jack away and even going to the point of trying to burn his house down! He obviously is trying to hide something…

Once we start getting DCI Marvel and DS Reynolds involved there are a bunch of scenes that I think were pointless and had no real connection to the story line. The ending….oh my gosh….. just NO. We have no idea what happens with Catherine or Jack! Nothing is truly answered and at this point in the reading I was just ready to be done anyway.

The killings really had no connection either… I don’t know why Jack did some of the things he did anyway.. It was definitely an “all over the place” kind of book.

I found this book very slow and confusing until I gave up on it. Sorry, this one's not for me

This is my first read of Belinda Bauer but not my last after reading SNAP. Initially it was a slow burner and a bit confusing to begin with as the story was told in three parts but about 35/40% in, I could not put the book down, things started to come together and the pace quickly picked up right through to the end.

The first story was of an 11 year old boy and his two sisters being left in a broken down car in the hard shoulder on a motorway while their mother went to seek help, never to be seen again!!

The second story was about Catherine While who was heavily pregnant who woke one night to a sound, only to discover she had been broken into, after chasing the burglar away, she returns to her bedroom to find a knife left on her pillow and a note saying “I could’ve killed you”, what does she do, ring the police, her husband?

The third story is about DCI John Marvel an arrogant murder detective who was transferred from London to in his opinion “hicksville” who is partnered up with DS Reynolds a know it all sergeant who always plays by the rules and the first case he gets is a burglary case which he thinks is beneath his capabilities!!

I was unsure how these three stories would meld together but when they did, it was explosive and I literally could not put it down. I don’t want to go into too much detail for those of you who are going to SNAP this book up as it wouldn’t be fair as would give too much of the plot away! This book would pull at your heart strings. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and family.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Snap was a first for me from Bauer. Although I did enjoy the novel, I’d say it wasn't the greatest.

The plot of the story is a very thrilling one and I could see why so many people enjoyed it so much. But to me, it was very predictable and I just wanted more of the complexity in twists that you read in Ware novels for example.

I did think the knife aspect brought a creepy sense into the novel. It's interesting because a knife is such a common murder weapon used but in this novel, not only is it the murder weapon but it also plays a huge part in this novel. Bauer really goes in depth about the makings of a knife and I have to say I almost felt that the knife was in my hand and it creeped me out a little.

I really liked the title. Snap. Such a simple title and it's used in so many ways in the book. I always try and see how the title ties into the book and I found this one rather interesting.

Overall a really well-written novel that could be a little more developed plot-wise but other than that it was a good read. (Get it?)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot imagine the enormity of how much weight one sentence would have on a little boy. “Look after your sisters, I won’t be long”. The final words that pregnant Eileen Bright said to her 11-year-old son after her car had broken down on the motorway as she shut them in the car to go phone for help. Three years later Jack is still looking after Joy and Merry, well sort of. He has kept them together in the family home but whoa this is a heart breaking world to entre. These images are still playing in my mind, quite a haunting scene and yet keeping the family together is so very important to Jack. It really is surprising what you do to survive, when the alternative just isn’t acceptable to you. I really loved this very dysfunctional, functional family from the start that clung to each other. It is a real tear jerker moment.
When pregnant Catherine wakens one day to find a very unique knife and note by her bed just saying ‘I could have killed you’ it isn’t just a terrifying thought, it jeopardises her past and her future. Pregnant or not Catherine has to find out what it all means. This is so tense as literally felt like she was being watched all of the time. I cringed every time she went out and held my breath when ever she came back.
This is an absolutely cracking story that just keeps you on that fight or flight mode all of the time. It makes you doubt your conclusions even as Jack begins to form an unlikely alliance with a couple of people. To be honest I really liked this part of the story. For me this story opened with a belting story line and it just stayed there until the end and it simply went off the scale! Brilliant characters, especially the children who have so much baggage than you could ever imagine. It just makes you want to huge them so much. Just brilliance
I wish to thank NetGalley and Transworld Books for inviting me to read this book

This was a riveting thriller about three young children on their own after their mother disappears and is found murdered. Dad can't handle it and also disappears, leaving 12-year-old Jack in charge of his younger siblings with no money or relatives. Three years later a woman across town finds a knife in her bed and a note saying, "I could of killed you." How are these events connected? Well, you'll have to read it to find out! It's a compulsive and fast read with twists and turns you can't imagine. I would definitely read more by this author!

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

Snap decisions, snap judgments, becoming so angry that you finally just . . . SNAP.  What will come of dying dreams, mistakes made, a particularly nosy neighbor, and a demoted homocide copper who takes umbrage at having to use his superior investigative skills to solve a rash of simple burglaries? 

This has a straightforward story line, good sound characters, and a couple of surprising reveals along the way.  The author and publisher apparently felt confident enough not to resort to the ubiquitous blurb "With a twist you'll never see coming!" or some variation on the theme.  Thank you for that.   

As an aside, I loved this bit - Catherine's mother left her husband because he moved his lips while reading.  Priceless!

This is my first book by Belinda Bauer, but I will be looking for more. Snap had me engrossed from first to last.

When their car breaks down, Jack and his two younger sisters are told to wait while their mother walks to phone for help; it is 1998 and not everyone had cell phones. Ten minutes turns into hours in the hot car, and finally the children decide to get out and find their mother. What they find is the dangling receiver of the emergency phone. Eleven-year-old Jack immediately senses that something has gone terribly wrong.

A few days later, the body of their pregnant mother is discovered; the family disintegration is rapid. The father that Jack depended on is unable to cope, and Jack is angry. Angry at the mother who "left" them and at the father who spends his time crying and who eventually abandons his children to fend for themselves.

Forced into being responsible for his younger sisters, Jack does everything he can think of to prevent authorities from realizing that the three children are now on their own. The idea of being taken in by social services is unbearable, and Jack finds a kind of security from the most unlikely of sources. His weird savior is Louis, who introduces Jack to thievery. Learning to break into homes (Louis knows when the families will be absent), Jack becomes a skilled burglar and Louis acts as the fence.

While still a bit of a hand-to-mouth existence, Jack is able to keep the family together and fed, and The Goldilocks Burglar frustrates police.

When Jack is fourteen, he burgles a home that isn't empty and finds a knife that he is certain is the one that killed his mother. This is the inciting moment that changes the course of the story.

Snap is an unusual mystery filled with intriguing characters. Some of the characters that I initially disliked unexpectedly grew on me, that alone is a positive. An absolutely engrossing read that slowly connects several different threads. In spite of the emotional aspect of a young boy doing his best to deal with his grief and the burden of responsibility to his sisters, Bauer manages to include some humor by including the unpredictable elements of human nature and relationships.

Read in May; blog review scheduled for June 28.

Highly Recommended.

NetGalley/Grove Atlantic
July 13, 2018. Print length: 352 pages.

Curate’s egg... 3 stars

When eleven-year-old Jack and his two younger sisters are left in their broken-down car while their mother goes off to phone for help, Jack is left in charge. This is a responsibility that will weigh heavily on him over the next few years when first his mother never returns and then later his father too disappears. Meantime Catherine While, heavily pregnant with her fist child, is terrified when a burglar leaves a knife beside her pillow with a note that says simply, I could have killed you. For reasons of her own, Catherine decides to tell neither her husband Adam nor the police about this episode – a decision she will learn to regret.

Following the outcome of his last case, The Shut Eye, DCI Marvel has been shunted out of the Met, and isn’t best pleased when he ends up in the countryside – not his natural habitat. He’s even more annoyed when the first case that’s handed to him is to investigate a series of burglaries by a perpetrator codenamed Goldilocks. Marvel sees himself as a murder detective and feels his talents are being wasted. But he gets his wish anyway, as he is soon involved in investigating the unsolved murder of Jack’s mother...

I suspect my reading of lots of compact, tightly plotted classic crime recently has made me even less tolerant than before of the over-padding of much contemporary crime fiction. This book unfortunately takes about half its length to reveal what it’s going to be about, and as soon as it does the whodunit along with the how become pretty obvious, so that the second half is mostly spent waiting to see how Bauer is going to handle the ending. The motive is still left to be uncovered which meant that it maintains some suspense, though, and there are plenty of little side mysteries along the way that add interest; and Bauer’s writing is always laced with a nice mixture of dark and light so that for the most part it’s an entertaining read. But I found that I was skipping entire pages at about the thirdway point – never a good sign! - because I was tired of the endless, rather repetitive setting up and wanted to get to the bit where the two threads finally came together as it was obvious they would, and we found out what the book was actually going to be about.

Unfortunately I also found I had lots of credibility issues with too many aspects of the book, from the idea of Jack managing to hold his family together in the way he does, to Catherine’s reasons for not saying anything about the threats she’s receiving, to Marvel’s policing methods, and finally to the thrillerish ending. I tried my best, though, to switch off my disbelief and go with the flow. And, happily, from about halfway through when the two stories finally begin to converge, it becomes a more interesting read, and I found that finally I was turning pages quickly for the right reasons. The pace improves and there’s quite a lot of Bauer’s usual humour in the interactions between the various police officers on the case. Bauer is always great at making her child characters feel believable, and she does here too with Jack, even though I found his actions less than credible. While the main storyline itself heads on a straight line to exactly where one expects, there’s an intriguing subplot in the second half that kept my interest.

So not her best in my opinion but, despite the slowness of the first half combined with the requirement to suspend disbelief more than I could manage, there is still a lot to enjoy in the book once it picks up speed.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.

The thought of three children being left in a car while the mother goes for help is a perfect set up for a chilling novel. The mother never came back, and the life of those
children went downhill immediately. Jack who was eleven at the time was required to take on the care and custody of the children who never told anyone what their circumstances were. The dad fell apart and littered the house with newspapers detailing the mother's murder. He didn't recover.

Jack carried on trying to feed the kids. They didn't go to school, living in a sorely neglected state. Somehow, this fact went unnoticed by the authorities and life carried on for a good long while.

Another story unfolds in the novel about a burglar who breaks into houses when the owners or tenants are away. He eats their food, steals some valuable things and sleeps in their beds. The cops call him Goldilocks, and they can't catch him.

This novel is sad and chilling to the core. GB unfolds the mysteries in a very clever way, telling multiple stories of people who no one cares about. Jack is a hero, a teenager hero.

Thank you, NetGalley and Transworld Digital for offering me this e-ARC.

I'd been missing the sort of engrossing, character-driven psychological mysteries that Ruth Rendell used to write. The kind of novel where you were just so captivated by the characters that the plot was almost secondary, almost, but not quite. "Snap" scratched that itch.

You've probably got a grip on the plot--three children struggle along the side of the road looking for their mum, who left them in a broken-down car and went to get help. They find the receiver of the emergency phone swinging, and their mother is found dead shortly after.

Moving ahead three years, the children are living in a house-within-a-house with walls formed by stacks of newspapers. Their dad is gone. Jack, the oldest, burgles happy homes and sells this goods to the local fence, who supplies him with the only adult guidance he gets. The middle sister seems to have lost the power of speech. The youngest is precocious and curious.

The police squad is equally well drawn, flawed, cranky, pissed-off that no one has been able to catch this burgler who breaks in while the family is gone, sleeps in the child's bed, eats a meal and takes a bath before loading up his bag and scarpering.

All of these characters are completely intriguing. The plot is smart and tight, but it's the characters who keep you bound to the page. Simply terrific and filled with those little details that thrill and delight.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the eARC.
Belinda Bauer is one of my favorite authors and Snap delivers another excellent read.
A pregnant mother leaves her 3 children in a stalled car to find help. Hours later, when she hasn't returned, the children start walking to try and find her...they don't.
3 Years later the children are alone, the father having left. Jack, the oldest, finds himself trying to take care of his 2 younger sisters by becoming the successful burglar known as Goldilocks.
We meet Catharine, a young pregnant woman, who is terrified after someone leaves a knife by her bed with a note: 'I could have killed you'.
The 3 members of the police looking into Goldilocks are finally steered into re-opening the murder of Jack's mother, something Jack has been hoping and praying for.
Jack is a heartbreaking character, burning with anger and grief, haunted by nightmares and the fear of his little family being found by Social Services. His sisters are also beautifully drawn; I wanted to help this little family so much. When Jack is finally nabbed by the police, an uneasy alliance is formed between them as they hunt down the killer of Jack's mum.
The knife left at Catherine's bedside features strongly in this story; who knew knives could be so fascinating?
The 3 threads of the book come together seamlessly with a most satisfactory ending. With strong writing, an appealing cast of characters, a compelling mystery and her usual wit, Belinda Bauer is just getting better and better - highly recommended!

Captivating, dark mystery/thriller about a mother of three who disappears without a trace. Her 11-year-old son, Jack is left with the responsibility of caring for his younger sisters and has to find creative ways to support them. This element makes for a unique and emotional reading experience.

On a hot summer day in 1998, Eileen Bright’s car breaks down. she leaves her three kids on the side of the road (in the car), while she sets out to seek help but never returns. Flash forward to three years later, and Jack is trying to keep his family together. His father has left, and he has the burden of caring for his sisters. But one night while Jack is out “working” he comes across a discovery that is about to tear his world apart.

Jack’s character made this book for me. He is a little boy, trying to play an adult. I could feel his emotions as he struggled with the heavy burden of caring for his sisters; I especially loved his relationship with little Merry. In addition to Jack, several other characters share their POV’s. All come together in their connection to Eileen Bright.

While the tone is heavy some quirky characters, including Donald the turtle, help to the lighten things up. It starts off a little slow and I had no idea where things were going, but Jack’s character kept me reading. What makes Snap standout from other books in the genre is the premise of a little boy trying to come to terms with what happened to his mother, care for his family, and try to right wrongs. This is gripping, intriguing read with strong characterization. I was invested in these characters and a little emotional when the book ended.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review.

❤️
Slipping into a Belinda Bauer novel is like putting on your favorite pair of sweats, grabbing a glass of wine (or coffee for my non-alcoholic friends) and just chilling the night away...

There is such a ease to her writing that I really respond to. It's simplicity is refreshing, and the lack of 'shock' scenes that some authors can be overhanded works so well for her.

Is this book perfect?

Nope... There were some liberties taken to help move the story forward, but I didn't really catch them all until after I had finished and replayed it all in my head. That's how good of a writer she is-she had me sold!!

If you haven't had the chance to experience this author yet, you are missing out! Go grab one, doesn't matter whether it's this one or any of her past books. I'm feeling pretty confident you will become an instant fan like I did!

ARC provided by NetGalley

Snap by Belinda Bauer

When their car breaks down, Jack, Joy and their little sister Merry try to wait patiently in the car while their heavily pregnant mother Eileen Bright walks to a roadside emergency phone to call for help. But it’s so hot in the car, Merry needs to be changed, and their mum has been gone for an hour. SO 12-year-old Jack makes the decision that they should walk to the phone and find their mum. They do find the phone, hanging loose. Their mother is gone. These are moments that will haunt all three children and, when the police finally come across them and take them back to their father, it destroys his life, too. It’s up to Jack to support them all. Whatever he does, it can’t be enough.

Catherine While is so close to giving birth. Her husband’s away a great deal. Then one night she hears someone in the house and she’s determined to be brave and chase them off. But when she returns to her bed, she finds a knife and a note – ‘I could have killed you’ it says. And that is just the first time in which she is frightened almost to death.

Detective Chief Inspector John Marvel is in disgrace. His methods of policing are dubious to say the least and so he has been sent from London, where he solved murders, to the Devon and Cornwall border where he can chase burglars instead. And so when the chance comes to reopen the case of Eileen Bright, he grabs at it. At last he can redeem himself! If he behaves, of course, which he won’t.

Snap is an absolutely fantastic crime thriller by an author that I’m growing to love more and more with every book. This one is undoubtedly my favourite of those I’ve read and that isn’t surprising – it excels in so many ways. Firstly, the story is superb. It’s clever, goes off in completely unexpected directions and is largely driven along by the most brilliant and memorable characters. Much of the novel takes place in 2001, three years after the disappearance of Eileen Bright, a time before social media, or mobile phones, controlled our lives. DCI Marvel is certainly an old-fashioned detective. He knows how to say the wrong thing and he can’t stop himself. I love, though, how he realises that he shouldn’t do it. That his ill-thought through words make his palms sweat when he thinks on them. There is so much about John Marvel to dislike but it’s so difficult not to like him.

Marvel does make mistakes, big mistakes, and so too does Detective Sergeant Reynolds who is the very opposite of his new boss. His pedantry and his fastidiousness are irritating to Marvel and to us but once again – I found myself falling for him. He is, it’s fair to say, a bit of an idiot, but you can’t help thinking that he’ll improve with time. A lot of time.

But the main bittersweet joy of Snap is Belinda Bauer’s non-sentimental depiction of these three deeply troubled children. Jack is such a wonderful creation but Merry is heartbreakingly loveable, as she clings to her tortoise for comfort and does her best to mow the lawn. Poor Joy is a lost soul indeed. My heart went out to these three while also smiling at their escapades. It’s hard to see how things can turn out well but their strength of character shines through. There are lots of cameo appearances through this novel. Glimpses of characters who are full of personality.

Snap is a novel with so much warmth and compassion. There is humour and wit and also a great sense of pace and tension. The second half in particular is unputdownable as Marvel gets more deeply involved in the case. But what a corking story, told brilliantly well. Belinda Bauer is now one of those authors whose books will go straight to the top of my reading mountain. Snap is definitely one of my top reads of 2018 so far.

Other reviews
The Beautiful Dead

Overall, a fast paced read that I really enjoyed. I will say that the beginning of this story was very confusing because it felt like three totally different story lines but they quickly come together and flow flawlessly. The very young main character, Jack, is well developed and very likable. The story begins with Jack, age 11, and his two younger sisters sitting at the side of a road in a broke down vehicle when their pregnant mother goes to call for help. She never returns. I won't go into any more details because I don't want to spoil any of this great story. I highly recommend this read if you're into crime/mystery novels. I will be looking for more of Belinda Bauer's work as she has a wonderful writing style.

**Special thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Digital for allowing me an advance read copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Jack , Joy and Merry were in the car waiting for their mom when she was kidnapped and murdered. Unable to cope up with the grief of losing his wife their father walks out on them leaving Jack in charge of his younger sisters. Three years later Catherine, a young pregnant woman, finds a knife on her pillow along with a sinister note. Soon the threats increase but she is reluctant to involve the cops. Meanwhile the local cops are on trail of a thief “ Goldilocks “ who sleeps in the houses he robs and then destroys. All these stories connect together beautifully to create a nonstop exciting thriller

A slow start but the excitement builds up fast enough in this character driven mystery. Belinda Bauer does a great job pulling you in and breathing life in the characters. A brilliant cleverly crafted suspense thriller which is a must read for all psychological mystery lovers.

I would like to thank Grove Atlantic & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.