No Winton or Flanagan, no entry from Asia, no entry from Africa and then boasting "hey, we are so edgy, we are now including crime fiction! Every single day, Steven, after school, continues his digging, while his classmates go for football matches. 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. Right from when she was a trainee, her copy was going straight to the news desk of every national paper. It's not that I am against including genre fiction, on the contrary, but this book does not have anything to say, it's just a solid mystery, a beach read.

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. It soon becomes clear that Mike, who is busily furnishing a house for himself and Verity to live in, refuses to believe that she has moved on, even interpreting an invitation to her wedding as a challenging new twist in their old game.

I think it is an unusual book to be longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, as I understand it, but I like it! 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 as their dad has left them, and - quite sudden - of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother. As they wait for her on the shoulder of the road in their stifling, broken-down car, the three children bicker, whine and play I-Spy. Many other of her crime novels won awards and Belinda Bauer is shortlisted again with the new The facts of life and death novel .

She grew up in England and South Africa, [1] but later moved to Wales, where she worked as a court reporter in Cardiff; the country is often used as a setting in her work. Instead the story focused on the devastating effects of such a crime, and how much it completely destroyed more than one family. Snap by Belinda Bauer is a captivating, emotional and gripping read about tragic loss, grief, snap decisions and their devastating, longterm impact. In a sea of novels claiming to provide "a twist so shocking you won't see it coming", she quietly places a superior story that doesn't rely on gimmicks or tag lines in front of us and patiently waits with neatly folded hands until we're through reading.Jack ends up catering and becoming a Carer of his young siblings the only way he learns how to since his dad couldn’t hack things and went. My first Belinda Bauer kept me guessing and provided SNAPS - CRACKLES - and a - POP of a fine ending! In trying to find her, Tom risks not only giving away his location to the gangs he’s hiding from, but also becoming a target for her ruthless pursuers.

While the tone is heavy some quirky characters, including Donald the turtle, help to the lighten things up. As you can imagine, Jack become parentified and takes his younger siblings under his wing to raise them.

Sure, you could argue that the book portrays a family falling apart in the aftermath of a crime (sort of), and the kids are very well portrayed, but this book is the opposite of challenging and does not point to anything beyond its face value. I’d be interested to hear from the other judges individually as to why they thought this book worthy of inclusion. A week after her birthday she had bundled it up with all her others and put them in a drawer in the spare room. Are the judges of our most prestigious literary award so scared of being tarnished with the elitist brush that they’re making a play for Richard and Judy territory?