Belinda Bauer_51

Some books arrive in the street library at the end of a long journey, not looking their best. Add a trashy cover—gloomy moor, skull—and I get the wrong impression. But 'Blacklands' was Belinda Bauer's first novel, and she didn't set out to write crime at all. It's lean and clever and moving; a psychological tug of war between 12 year old Sam and the imprisoned paedophile serial killer suspected of murdering his uncle. Bauer has since written another 8 books and been longlisted for the Man Booker prize (for 'Snap'). So, not trash at all.