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When I saw that Val McDermid had been quoted as saying it was "the best crime novel I've read in a very long time" i just knew I was going to be in for a cracker of a thriller and couldn't wait to get going on it. Having also read and enjoyed "The Beautiful Dead" by Belinda Bauer this book "Snap" was always going to be a winner, I wasn't disappointed - I loved every captivating minute.
1998 - Pregnant Eileen Bright leaves her three children in stifling heat - Jack, Joy and baby Merry - in a broken down car to phone for help, only she doesn't come back. She never comes back. Three years later Jack, now fifteen, is looking after his sisters since his Dad - unable to cope with the tragic event - leaves them home alone. Using crime to pay for their survival, Jack stumbles across his mother's killer and is determined to bring him/her to justice. Meanwhile across town Catherine While discovers a knife beside her bed with a note saying 'I could have killed you'. With a mysterious burglar dubbed 'Goldilocks' evading capture, can the police catch him and also solve the death of Eileen with the help of troubled Jack.
The characters are simply amazing, unique, some likeable, some flawed but all so vivid in their descriptions they could be standing right in front of you and although I don't like to imagine the police involved in the story as being your average and typical criminal investigators, they did make for interesting reading and made the story so much more intriguing. I really took to Jack and especially Merry, I so wanted to dive into the novel to comfort and look after them myself.
It appears to the reader from the start that there are three very different stories being told that are completely unrelated - the murder of a pregnant mother, a sinister Intruder frightening a young woman at night and a sneaky burglar sleeping in kids beds - but before long they very cleverly start to weave together and escalate in a nail biting conclusion that will have you gripped to the pages until the exciting end.
There's a very serious storyline running through the book of survival and family loyalty, realistic, emotional but dark and dangerous with a hint of humour that has fast become a trademark of Belinda Bauer's work. I truly loved it and couldn't stop reading, I was just so enthralled.
"Snap" is an impressive and compelling psychological thriller that some would say is slow burning but I found every page to be pace perfect and entertaining and I enjoyed the build up throughout the story until the truth was finally revealed.
Belinda Bauer is an incredibly intelligent, creative and talented writer and is exceedingly well versed in producing fabulous thrillers that crime fiction readers young and old devour. Would I recommend? You bet! A must read for this summer!

5 stars