Firstly thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.
I really enjoyed this fast paced crime novel. There were twists and turns aplenty and, although the story gets started really quickly, you get to know the characters pretty well, enough to empathise where necessary.
It was a different twist on a crime/murder story and I enjoyed every page!
Only negative I have is the rather sudden ending!

I liked this book. Jack is 14. 3 years ago his mother was murdered. The perpetrator has never been found. Then his father disappeared from home. Jack looks after his 2 younger sisters. They manage to hide the fact that that they are living alone. Jack earns money by burgling. During the course of one such burglary he discovers a knife which he has reason to believe was used to stab his mum. How can he get the police involved when he himself is a criminal? I recommend this as a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

The book opens in 1998, with a broken-down car containing three children sitting on the hard shoulder while their pregnant mother goes for help, but she never returns……
In 2001, a pregnant woman is alone in her house, and frightened by an intruder.

What follows is a roller coaster of emotions, and danger, as Jack, the eldest child, tries to hold the family together, and to discover the killer of his mother, and Catherine finds out the truth about her break-in.

Belinda Bauer is excellent at portraying troubled adolescents, and Jack, and his friend Smooth Louis are well drawn, sympathetic characters, as are his two younger sisters.
Add to this, the flawed policemen, and their investigation, and various nosy, and sympathetic neighbours, and a terrific cast are brought together.

The story develops a breakneck pace, with several jaw-dropping moments, and comes to a very satisfying conclusion, that left me wanting to know more about all the characters.

I’d love to see another story about Marvel, and his team.
On examination, there are a few plot holes, but that doesn’t stop me giving it 5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this book.

I discovered Belinda Bauer a couple of years ago when I read her novel The Beautiful Dead. I loved the twisty plot, the captivating writing, and the way she creates and develops her characters. So when, a few months ago, I found out that she had a new novel coming out I was really excited and I couldn’t wait to read it, and I’d like to thank Transworld Books and Becky Short (who, by the way, was the one to sent me a copy of The Beautiful Dead two years ago) for providing me with a copy of the book.

The story is told from three different points of view. The first is Jack Bright, a young boy who, after the death of his mother, had to grow up quickly and put himself in charge of his family. His father couldn’t cope with his wife’s lost, so, at fourteen, Jack has to take care of his two younger sisters, Joy, who spends her time piling up newspapers around the house, and Merry, the five-year-old who loves to read about vampires and scary clowns. Belinda Bauer really gets you into the head of this character, how he is overwhelmed by the fact that he has to take care and provide for his sisters, but, at the same time, he doesn’t want anybody to find out that they are left alone to not end up in foster care and be separated.

The other point of view is Catherine While, a happily married and seven-month pregnant woman who, one night, wakes up to find an intruder in her house. Her husband is away for work and she manages to scare the intruder away, but he left a message for her, a message that terrifies her so much that she doesn’t call the police or tell her husband.

You don’t have to wait long to find out the connection between Jack and Catherine and, while their paths cross multiple times, the police, in the meantime, is investigating a series of burglaries hitting the area around Taunton. The police’s investigation is narrated through the eyes of DCI John Marvel, an arrogant detective transferred from London who is looking for a big case that will make him look good to the eyes of his boss, and DS Reynolds, a know-it-all sergeant who always sticks to the rules. Although I didn’t really like these two characters, their exchanges created a few hilarious moments to the narration that made me laugh.

SNAP is dark and haunting, but also emotional, original, and gripping. I was completely absorbed into the characters’ lives and their tragic and moving stories. Once again, Belinda Bauer wrote a terrific must-read!

SNAP - Belinda Bauer

Three young children sit anxiously waiting in a broken down car on the side of the M5 motorway. Their pregnant Mother has gone to telephone for assistance leaving the eldest, Jack aged 11, in charge. She is never seen again. She was brutally murdered. Unable to cope their father walks out one day leaving them to fend for themselves.
To support them Jack turn to breaking and entering empty houses and stealing any money he can find,some food and small saleable items. He also takes to sleeping in the child's bedroom. This earns him the nickname of the Goldilocks Burglar but the police have no idea who he is.
Three years later discovers a knife that he believes killed his Mother. He attempts to involve the police but fails and he decides to get himself caught. This sets in motion an unconventional police investigation with DCI Marvel recently sidelined to Somerset from the Met.
SNAP is a very satisfying read with plenty of action, twists and turns especially in the latter part of the book.
Belinda Bauer has produced another original thriller of a book. Thoroughly recommended.

My Review:  This is not just a crime novel, this is a really emotional and thought provoking story about grief, survival, loss, abandonment and responsibilities.  Jack was 11 years old when he was left in charge of his 2 younger sisters in their car on the motorway whilst his heavily pregnant mother went in search of a telephone to call for help.  She never returned.  

Three years later Jack is now in charge of his young family and turns to crime to feed, clothe and provide for his little sisters.  He has become infamous as a serial burglar nicknamed "Goldilocks".  DCI Marvel is new to the area and is determined to catch the culprit and solve this case which has been hanging over the police force for over a year.  

Without going into too much detail and spoiling the story, Jack is a character you can't help but feel strongly about.  His sense of duty and responsibilities over caring for his little sisters, his re-occurring nightmares about his mother's murder, his sense of right and wrong (only stealing healthy food from his victims houses) and his determination to catch his mother's killer is breathtaking and heartbreaking in equal measures.  I absolutely loved this book and thoroughly recommend it.

Very clever plot, having read previous books from Belinda Bauer it didn't really surprise me how intricate it was, excellent book, keeps you on your toes till the end

Brilliant. This story is really well put together. It is a quick enjoyable read that is full of surprises and kept me guessing up to the end. When Jacks mum disappears it is up to him to keep the family together and to bring his mums murderer to justice. The characters are believable and the writing is very clever. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I have a mixed history with Belinda Bauer’s books; some I have loved others not quite so much, though her writing is always superb. But I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Snap.
Snap has everything you look for in a novel; engaging and interesting characters that are really well drawn and whose development you can follow through the book. A brilliant storyline, extremely well executed and which rises far above the norm of psychological thrillers to be captivating and utterly immersive.
What makes this book work is the attention to characters that Bauer pays. There is Jack Bright, the young scallywag, to all intents and purposes orphaned and in charge of Joy and Merry, his two sisters. He has to keep them nourished and clean and educated, though his method of doing so isn’t quite as orthodox as social services might have liked, had they been aware of the children at all.
But the other star of this book is undoubtedly DCI John Marvel. Marvel has arrived in Taunton after years of dealing with murder cases in the Met, but he has fallen out of favour – he’s not the most subtle of policemen and his methods have ruffled a few people the wrong way. Now he is exiled to Somerset and is horrified when the first case he is called out on turns out to be a house burglary, something he considers to be way beneath his rank.
Now Marvel isn’t one for making friends. He’s irascible, dishevelled and an old fashioned copper who likes to make his mark. So when he meets smooth, well groomed, officious DS Reynolds, it’s clear that this isn’t a match made in heaven. That first impression isn’t helped by Marvel’s caustic remarks about Reynolds policing abilities and his obvious disdain for everything about Reynolds from his strict adherence to the rules to his shiny shoes.
Yet it is the exchanges between these two that make for some fabulous contrasts between policing methods and approaches and their exchanges are sometimes pure gold. You need this degree of levity later in the book, when what turns out to be a series of burglaries morphs into quite another case, one which is much darker, more violent and emotionally very fraught.
It is Bauer’s genius that cleverly starts off in one direction and then lets the narrative lead us slowly and carefully into something quite different and remarkable. She takes the seeds she has sown in the beginning and creates a tremendous flowering of a story into one of the most compelling stories I have read for a while.
How a series of burglaries dubbed the ‘Goldilocks cases’ leads to a cold case investigation is cleverly and rather beautifully done, and the sense of repressed violence and menace that emerges is chilling and tense.
Jack Bright is one of those characters that linger long in the mind. Street smart, emotionally vulnerable and absolutely determined, he makes a deal with the devil to ensure he can capture the attention of the police and ensure that he gets what he has always needed.
Redolent with violence and darkness, yet emotionally engaging and sometimes really very funny – there are some cracking moments with D.S. Reynolds’ mother – this is a book I loved for everything that it has to offer.
Brilliantly plotted, wholly immersive, and a cracking read, it sucks you in until you are completely invested in it. One for the must read category.

I love the way Belinda Bauer‘s mind works and SNAP is a prime example. She always manages to find a new angle or new idea or a twist to take something in an unexpected direction. I wasn’t sure what to expect from SNAP but what I got was a fast-paced, sometimes amusing, always gripping, original and off-the-wall mystery thriller.

The story has two narratives and both have absolutely cracking openings. To begin with you’re not sure how the two threads are going to draw together but when they do it is with a jaw-dropping WHAM! The rest of the plot is brilliantly unpredictable and you really don’t know how the story is going to progress or conclude.

SNAP is a fantastic and compelling tale with incredible characters and vivid descriptions. Each and every one of the scenes and characters was clearly visible to me in my mind. It is a unique book that will break your heart but will also make you laugh and wonder at the feats people can manage to achieve when they really need to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC of SNAP.

I read this book quickly because I enjoyed it so much. The plot is quite different from other crime thrillers and so is the hero, 14 year old Jack Bright, whose mother was murdered after she had left him and his sisters to get help when their car broke down. At times the story is sad but there are some very effective, lighter moments with the often amusing dialogue between the police officers, Marvel and Reynolds, which for me was one of the highlights of Snap. This was an exciting read and I will be looking out for other novels by Belinda Bauer.

Snap is such a different crime thriller .Pregnant Eileen leaves her three children in the car when it breaks down on a motorway and goes to get help leaving her young son Jack in charge .She never returns and from then on the story cracks along at a fair pace sometimes sad, sometimes funny and sometimes crazy but always enjoyable and very hard to put down .I really enjoyed the characters and I loved the ending .This is my first book by Belinda Bauer but it won't be my last .! Many thanks to the Publishers ,the Author and Netgalley for my review copy .in return for an honest review

Thanks once again to be given a advance copy to read. From the very first it was a page turner, the twist and turns of the book. The bit I like most is following Jack through his journey, with his sister's and father. I can't find words to explain how much I loved reading this book but it only took me a day to read it, that was one very late night and early morning even when I wasn't reading I was thinking about what was going on in the book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

this book starts off in the most dramatic way...one in which you can so easily see happening, a car breaks down and mom goes back to use the phone on the motorway and never comes back, leaving behind her three children in the back of the car, help eventually arrives.....
so what happens to mom and her unborn baby and then also her family that are left behind and the sad story unfolds

this book grips you in a way that you want to find out what happens to them...loved how the ending was written, such a twist ...didnt see some of it coming

will be keeping an eye out for more from this author

Sometimes a book comes along and you finish it and say "I absolutely loved that book". This is one of those books!
I love the writing style, the characters were well drawn, interesting and memorable. The plot was unique and very cleverly written. I was so engrossed I read it in one day and I am confident that this will go straight into my top ten reads of 2018.
Highly recommended!

Very good crime novel, although a little complicated to start with and I had to persevere. However, it was worth kit in the end.

I defy anyone not to fall in love with Jack and his 2 siblings as they struggle to create a life amidst the wreckage of their mother seemingly deserting them whilst seeking help after her car breaks down on a motorway. Bauer's brilliant writing mixes humour, tragedy and resilience in a splendid and enthralling novel. Twists and turns abound but Jack, 8 years old at the outset of this story, never gives up on searching for the truth. The plot flow is beautifully controlled and, I suspect, every reader will find themselves fully supporting Jack's unorthodox behaviour as he works unceasingly to keep the family together. A five star read! Brilliant!

I really enjoy Belinda Bauer's writing and the book started off I her typical style as three children were left in a broken down car at the road side whilst their mother went for help - and didn't return.
The storyline moved forward three years to a pregnant women who was really unnerved by her house being broken into.
I thought this was the best part of the book but for me, the last third became somewhat unbelievable.
Having said that I did race through the book to find out what had happened and intend to look out for more of her books,
I had already read Blacklands and Runnernecker which was the reason I requested this one.

This is an interesting story that pulls at the heart strings. For all that he does wrong Jack is a loveable character. Belinda Bauer has written a book with twists and turns but a lot are predictable. This predictability however does not alter the fact that I read it in one sitting as I wanted to find out how things were resolved. I would recommend this as a good detective type book but it does not classify as a thriller.

Val McDermid’s endorsement encouraged me to try a novel by an unfamiliar author to me & I’m glad I did.

Initially there were a couple of storylines which, following a series of coincidences, all come together.

The characters of the two main police officers were rather stereotypical however I did like grumpy Marvel & would like to read more involving him. Looking forward to my next Belinda Bauer book.