The beautiful dead

Belinda Bauer, 1962-

Book - 2017

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Subjects
Genres
Suspense fiction
Published
New York : Atlantic Monthly Press 2017.
Language
English
Main Author
Belinda Bauer, 1962- (author)
Edition
First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition
Physical Description
341 pages ; 24 cm
ISBN
9780802125330
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Award-winning novelist Bauer winner of the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger in the Library Award for outstanding body of work returns with the Bridget Jones-flavored tale of Eve Singer, a journalist struggling to nail a tough job while a younger, more glamorous wannabe nips at her heels. Adding to Singer's load is the care of her dad, who lives with her and suffers from dementia. Things don't look good, but Eve's luck turns, in a macabre way, when a serial killer decides that she should be his media contact. Singer and the police butt heads while pursuing an increasingly unhinged man who seems to relish the spotlight and who doesn't hesitate to draw the journalist into his exhibitionist antics. Readers who like police procedurals with a snarky, jaded onlooker on the side will enjoy this thriller, which is something between Tana French and Karin Slaughter and will work for readers who stay up late reading either of those authors.--Verma, Henrietta Copyright 2016 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This is one exclusive that Eve Singer, an attractive iWitness News crime reporter, doesn't want, in this taut thriller from British author Bauer (The Shut Eye). While covering the stabbing of a young woman just feet from throngs of London Christmas shoppers, Eve catches the eye of the murderer, who decides she would be the perfect amanuensis to aid his grandiose series of gruesome "exhibitions." Bauer puts the sympathetic, conflicted Eve and the heart-tuggingly demented father for whom she is caring in escalating jeopardy, along with several memorable minor players, including Det. Sgt. Emily Aguda, whose small size leads people to underestimate her formidable skills (she's a black belt in kickboxing and Judo). Though less of the killer, who's pretty much a stock type, would have been more, readers will root for Bauer's spunky heroine on this suspenseful slay ride through a snow-globe London. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company (U.K.). (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Reporting a gruesome murder places television reporter Eve Singer directly in the crosshairs of a serial killer. As the executioner continues to construct his highly stylized murders, Eve must handle not only her demanding, competitive job but also the endless demands of her demented father. In the midst of this, she becomes a pawn in the games of an obsessed, psychotic serial sadist who thrives on Eve's reports about him. The fast-paced action only lets up as Eve gets distracted by her declining parent and is forced to play catch-up on all fronts until the final minutes. Andrew Wincott's wonderful baritone doesn't quite compensate for an excessively slow delivery that contrasts poorly with the speed of the plot. VERDICT A well-thought-out thriller that will appeal to fans of Sharon Bolton, Karin Slaughter, and Mo Hayder. ["A taut, psychological thriller": LJ 1/17 review of the Atlantic Monthly hc.]-Janet Martin, -formerly with Southern Pines P.L., NC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A serial killer menaces London in general, and a TV journalist in particular, in Bauers latest gorefest.The mayhem begins with the stabbing of a woman who made the mistake of working on a Saturday when her office building was desertedexcept for a verse-spouting serial killer. First to arrive on the scene of the murder is Eve Singer, who works for one of Londons TV news networks specializing in if it bleeds it leads reporting. Lately, Eves career has been flaggingshes pushing 30 and a brunette, and her boss keeps threatening to replace her with a younger blonde. At home, Eves problems are also escalating: she's the sole caretaker for her once stalwart father, Duncan, whose dementia has gotten out of control. Other voices take up the narrative, including the killers, several of his victims, police officers, and Eves neighbors. The killer, apparently of aristocratic stock, inhabits a crumbling mansion, supporting himself and his grisly pursuits by selling off family art treasures. He cared for his own elderly parent until her death, and somehow no one wondered what happened to her body. (As in Psycho, mummified Mom hasnt left home.) His homicidal compulsion appears to spring from overhearing doctors say, after a heart transplant in childhood, that he was living on borrowed time. Every murder, according to his twisted logic, is another extension of the loan. At first he welcomes the publicity afforded by Eves lurid reports on his handiwork, but as she agrees to cooperate with a police blackout, risking her job, he turns on her. (And, since he followed her home one night, he knows where she lives.) As the murderseach staged as an exhibitionmount up, the killers cat-and-mouse game with the police and Eve grows breathlessly suspenseful even as we suspect we are being lured into the clutches of yet another thriller with a contrived and predictable ending. Bauers way with character and repartee helps to keep our interest in what would otherwise be pretty standard fare. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.