📖 Pick a shelf ~ The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer

 

Bantam Press
2016

There’s no safety in numbers . . .

Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.

The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.

When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realizes that the killer has two obsessions.

One is public murder.

And the other one is her..

📖 My Review..

It's my mission to read the books which have been left undisturbed on my book shelf for several years, however, with so many current reads dropping through the door or landing on my e-reader, it's not always possible. 

Determined to rectify this I adopted the pick a shelf, seven books along theory and my eye spotted the distinctive cover of The Beautiful Dead and within minutes of reading the first few pages I was hooked on the story of journalist Eve Singer who, in her quest to be the best investigative TV reporter, comes into contact with a serial killer who is determined to continue his deadly killing spree, whilst at the same time, by fair means or foul, he draws Eve ever closer into his net. This imagined bond between the killer and Eve forms the basis of the story which is also nicely padded out with an insight into Eve's personal life, her struggle to look after an elderly father and her growing fondness for her cameraman, Joe, which all adds an extra dimension to what is an exciting and lively crime novel.

Belinda Bauer never disappoints. Her writing is always crisp and clean, she takes you into the mind of a serial killer and yet splashes the story with poignant humour, especially when describing Eve and her father's conversations. There's enough action to keep you turning the pages and I found that I wanted to read the story quickly so that I could keep up with what was happening on the page.

I'm sorry that The Beautiful Dead has languished on my shelf for so long, it didn't deserve to as its a great story and deserves to be read. so if you see it quietly reposing in a book shop do take it home and let its story come to life.

About the Author

Belinda Bauer grew up in England and South Africa and now lives in Wales.She worked as a journalist and a screenwriter before finally writing a book t appease her nagging mother. Her debut Badlands was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Crime Novel of the Year. She went on to win the CWA Dagger in the Library for her body of work in 2013.