Surprise, of course, is the most potent aspect of suspense. And Belinda Bauer knows exactly how to manipulate that element, right until the very end. What's more, she's shown, not just how to keep surprise bubbling explosively away, but to do it with extraordinary dexterity, maturity and feeling

Bauer takes astonishing risks but - like a brilliant ski-jumper - arcs down to the perfect landing

Compelling... Bauer blends a psychological crime story with a darkly humorous narrative... I can't wait for the next one!

Belinda Bauer's third book represents a remarkable achievement: almost a return to the good old Victorian triple-decker novel of suspense, but created with a deftness that allows each book to stand alone.

She's a thriller queen... The woman most likely to lead the fightback against the Scandinavian crime-wave

The most disturbing new talent around

Bauer is not occupied by writing a "crime story" - although there is a crime at the heart of it - she is more interested in writing a novel

Finders Keepers has an enjoyably creepy premise... But it's the book's humour that really shines. Bauer reveals her Gold Dagger-winning writing credentials in her neat skewering of everyday pomposities and her wry asides

Belinda Bauer hit the big time with the excellent Blacklands and continues to explore her theme of West Country cruelty and corruption, balancing the procedural and psychological aspects of crime. Once again she nails the petty grievances, prejudices and loyalties of village life, and shows how some law enforcers operate at the outer edge of competence

Bauer has established a reputation for plunging her characters into unimaginable gore. Her third novel easily matches her previous efforts, exposing village bobby Jonas Holly...to events unprecedented in British crime fiction. The British countryside has never appeared so alien or so macabre

One of the leading names in crime fiction