The Beautiful Dead - by Belinda Bauer

Book Synopsis

"Belinda Bauer is a marvel. Her novels are almost indecently gripping and enjoyable."--Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders and Woman with a Secret

Belinda Bauer is an award-winning British crime writer of the highest caliber, whose smart, stylish novels have captivated readers and reviewers on both sides of the Atlantic and earned her a reputation as "the true heir to the great Ruth Rendell" (Mail on Sunday (UK)). Her latest, The Beautiful Dead, is a riveting narrative centered on a down-on-her-luck journalist and a serial killer desperate for the spotlight.

TV crime reporter Eve Singer's career is flagging, but that starts to change when she covers a spate of bizarre murders--each one committed in public and advertised like an art exhibition. When the killer contacts Eve about her coverage of his crimes, she is suddenly on the inside of the biggest murder investigation of the decade. But as the killer becomes increasingly obsessed with her, Eve realizes there's a thin line between inside information and becoming an accomplice to murder--possibly her own.

A seamlessly-plotted thriller that will keep readers breathless until the very end, The Beautiful Dead cements Belinda Bauer's reputation as a master of heart-stopping suspense.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Beautiful Dead:

"If any writer is worthy of comparison with the master [Thomas Harris], it's the formidably talented Brit Belinda Bauer . . . She has shown a plucky willingness to take the crime novel into completely unexpected territory, and a sure-fire grasp of how to unsettle the reader."--Barry Forshaw, Financial Times (UK)

"Bauer adds a lot of nice touches to make Eve an intriguing character . . . A consistently entertaining read."--Chris Chan, Strand Magazine

"Bauer's novel unfolds like an episode of Criminal Minds, with rapid-fire plotting . . . Her likable heroine and oddly enjoyable humorous tone . . . keep you turning the pages."--Ruth Kinane, Entertainment Weekly (Online)

"Excellent tension."--The Times (UK)

"With truly macabre moments, great characters and suffused with dark humor . . . this wintery chiller is a fantastic take on the serial killer thriller."--Sunday Mirror (UK)

"Incredible. Just incredible. Belinda Bauer is a genius."--Claire Mackintosh, author of I Let You Go

"This is one exclusive that Eve Singer, an attractive iWitness News crime reporter, doesn't want, in this taut thriller from British author Bauer . . . Readers will root for Bauer's spunky heroine on this suspenseful slay ride through a snow-globe London."--Publishers Weekly

"The Beautiful Dead will keep you up all night."--Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door

"Bauer paints her murderous tales with all the deftness of an old master . . . Bauer's victims are so beautifully illuminated by her unique form of literary chiaroscuro that you sense their fears oozing off the page . . . This increasingly taut thriller is page-clawing material that could make an edge-of-the-seat television drama or big-screen blockbuster, with its gripping climax coming as a surprise and a departure from her previous denouements."--Stuart Winter, Daily Express (UK) (5/5 Stars)

"Belinda Bauer is probably Britain's most original crime writer . . . A novel as stylish as it is fast-paced . . . Almost unbearable tension . . . Rich in humanity and horror."--Crime Scene (UK)

"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."--Henrietta Thornton-Verma, Booklist

"Over half a dozen novels, Belinda Bauer has staked a claim to the gruesome, spectacular and bizarre . . . Trademark ingenuity."--Sunday Times (UK)

"A taut, psychological thriller . . . This intense, compelling novel from British author Bauer is filled with dark humor and is sure to satisfy fans of Tami Hoag and Karin Slaughter."--Nanci Milone Hill, Library Journal

About the Author

Belinda Bauer is the author of seven award-winning novels that have been translated into twenty-one languages. The Beautiful Dead is her fifth novel to be published in North America. She won the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger Award for Crime Novel of the Year for Blacklands, the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for Rubbernecker, and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award for outstanding body of work. She lives in Wales.