Snap by Belinda Bauer

Snap
By Belinda Bauer
Published by Transworld (23 August 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley

Publisher's description

SNAP DECISIONS CAN BE DANGEROUS . . . 

On a stifling summer's day, eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. Jack's in charge, she'd said. I won't be long.

But she doesn't come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed for ever.

Three 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, and - quite suddenly - of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother. . .

My verdict
Yet again, Belinda Bauer has written an original, highly unsettling read about love and loss.

Snap is more than just a police procedural/psychological thriller combination. While there's plenty of investigating going on, Snap is about the emotional impact of tragedy, with three abandoned children taking centre stage. Jack, the eldest, is trying to maintain some sense of normality, even though their world has fallen apart.

The book is well written. It's a slow burner at first, to set the scene and introduce the characters, but eventually moves along at a cracking place. I love the mixture of darkness and humour - sad, tragic and funny at the same time. The multi-layered plot is a little far fetched, with plenty of police incompetence and coincidences, but it's also compelling, highly entertaining and very twisty.

The children are portrayed realistically and their plight certainly pulled at the heartstrings - with Jack's alternative' parenting style and sense of duty towards his younger sisters creating some very funny moments. The police came across as caricatures, but I thought this fit in well with the nature of the book.

Snap is a fun highly memorable crime novel - not to be taken completely seriously!