I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam Press, and the author Belinda Bauer.
A enjoyable and gripping story. A strong, straightforward story arc, and not much effort required so would be perfect for a beach/holiday read.
There were a few plot holes and inconsistencies which bothered me a little, but otherwise not a bad book.

Three children walking along the road on a hot sweltering day and no one stops. Three children looking for their mother who had left them in the car after it had broken down. Three children whose mother is heavily pregnant and seemingly disappeared. That's how the storyline starts out and that's how the storyline immediately hooks you in.

Jack takes on the role of looking after his two younger sisters. Set in two timelines we have the younger Jack who tries hard to lead his sisters to safety and the older teenage Jack who is now looking after his sisters as best he can. Namely as a thief who breaks into properties, eats the food; sleeps in beds and then takes what he can. Bauer cleverly weaves through the timelines as we meet new characters in both. And the acerbic DCI Marvel makes a return and is as grumpy yet sharp witted as ever. That man does not miss much! As he has been forced into the area Marvel is tasked with solving the burglaries which have now become notorious.

I very much enjoyed Snap. It wasn't perfect but it became totally engrossing and very much in Bauer's style. Jack nearly broke my heart towards the end. I highly recommend this one and hope to come across the irascible Marvel again. He's quite a character!!

I confess to being a Belinda Bauer fan so was very pleased to read her latest book. I wasn’t disappointed. The characters are exquisitely drawn and the pacing of the story is just right. I really got caught up in the drama and finished it in nearly one sitting. A well deserved five stars

I have loved Belinda Bauer since Badlands and couldn't wait to read Snap and I was not disappointed.

Dark, though provoking and terrifying at times it was a fantastic read.

I NEVER want to breakdown in my car!!!

Wow what a read !
A fast paced crime novel set in Tiverton in Devon in 1998 , the story starts,with Jack and his two sisters sat in the car on the hard shoulder of the M5 waiting for their mother who has gone to ring for help as their car has broken down.
The story then switches to 2001 and to a young woman called Catherine who is heavily pregnant and alone in her house as her husband is away and she hears someone downstairs and decides to investigate.
The book tells the story of the aftermath of the day in 1998 for Jack and his family and also weaves in Catherine and her story. The book also brings in the police who are involved in trying to catch a prolific burglar nicknamed Goldilocks who is causing havoc in Tiverton.
Clever, unnerving and also very emotional and tender. I loved how Belinda really made you to get to know and really empathise with the characters and throughout you need to know the conclsuion of these stories.
A great read and I will definitely be recommending this and its a 5 out of 5 star for the book.
It is a worthy addition to the Man Booker Prize Longlist.

A great read - really enjoyed it. Very clever, lots of detail and lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing.
Great characters, that you really want to help and find out more about.
I will continue to look out for books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

A very well written book with a plot that keeps you guessing. The only question I have is the book cover and the statement - one quick decsion could be her last. Surely this is wrong as the focus of the story is mainly on Jack the son and Marvin the displaced , disgruntelled copper ?

After the initial introduction the plot moves at a rapid pace and keeps you intrigued and connected as the various streams come together to a satifying outocme - well almost but I'm not going to give the game away.

I will certainly be following Belinda's future books.

I loved this book! The story kept me spellbound throughout. A young mother who has broken down on the motorway disappears. Her 3 children, left in the car, try to find her but it is only much later that her body is found. The father, unable to cope, eventually leaves and young Jack turns to burglary to ensure he can provide for his two younger sisters. His dedication to his siblings and the pain and anger he feels after losing his parents is apparent and one day a burglary leads to a discovery that may solve his mothers murder case. I would strongly recommend this book.

A gripping but slightly far fetched book....a interesting plot and likeable characters in a strange way! Thanks for the read

I haven't read any of Belinda Bauer's earlier books and I very nearly didn't get round to reading this one. I'm glad I did. The tale of Jack Bright and his family emerges inexorably through the work of a nice but somewhat inept detective team with the inevitable disgraced senior detective. The star of this show is Jack and his attempts to keep his family going no matter what. A great story with a fresh approach and with a solid seam of good humour throughout.

Great thriller, particularly loved the well drawn characters. There was so much depth within them and their thoughts and interactions genuinely both made me laugh and cry.

A great crime read for anyone looking for a new read. A great standalone that I would love to plunge back into. Full of suspense and really great ending

This was a book that when I started it, I didn't enjoy it very much - it did take a while to get into but once I did, I absolutely loved it. A great story - serious subject but with so much humour - I can't recommend it enough. I haven't read anything else by this author but I will certainly be looking out for more. Excellent, and I loved most of the characters in it, especially Jack.

Snap by Belinda Bauer, my first book by this author and I will definitely be looking for more. Twists and turns enough to keep your attention right to the end. Jack is eleven, the car broke down and his Mother left him in charge of his two sisters while she went for help.... she didn't come back! Highly recommended.

There are few writers that make the process of reading a book so much fun.
Belinda Bauer is one such author who does not seem to put a word out of place and in the writing, she weaves into her novels she creates a reality that you enjoy and become absorbed within.
Since her impressive debut in Blacklands she has captured the voice of young children with an accomplished ease. Her characters seem ready formed on the page, in a turn of phrase, or an embarrassing situation. She writes about the darkest thoughts and actions yet however chilling these events leave you, the author’s natural humour and comic observations lift the piece.
Snap is a bleak novel told in its starkest form. But this is not how a Belinda Bauer chooses to write it. She unpicks her ideas and the chronological account and reassembles it in thrilling and compelling read.
So, Snap is all about a missing pregnant mother and a married woman terrified by a burglar who threatens her in a very personal way. There are many links with these two narratives and how they hold together and form part of the same unsolved crime is what makes Snap a standout novel.
Young Jack Bright is traumatised by his mother leaving them on a hard shoulder to get help after their car breaks down, only to never be seen again. To have faith in his Father, but who later abandons him and his two sisters, further torments Jack. Thereafter, Jack from the age of 11 becomes the parental figure who does his best to keep the family together and not became separated by social services. His methods and skill is a wonderful story for his ingenuity and resourcefulness but it is also a damming account of children in need and left to their own devices. That Jack is such a troubled young man is quite frightening but that the author creates in him a figure who demands our goodwill and gets us wanting him to thrive is astonishing as he is a thief and vandal.
Into the mix we have a returning character, John Marvel who is a delight and a comedy classic.
This book is so rich and wholesome you will feel you’ve sampled the finest food in the richest banquet. As I said the links are slowly found tying all this together not always in obvious ways but always with sense of delight as the picture become clearer.
When so many books are in your face with strained relationship and psychological behaviours it is great to have a straight forward idea of what happens if someone just snapped. The fallout is awful and this marvellous story never undermines the pain and the loss. It does try to say there will be those who get swept away and those who barely survive but in Jack we might find an antihero who finally gets justice for his Mum and peace of mind.
Bauer explores also those who could do more and why sometimes truths are buried and lost. We have a wonderful range of police officers who at times seem incompetent or failures but in the end their humanity wins through. Marvel is a riot; call me Ralph is a hoot and Bridge Fencing is a gem.
That Marvel’s reluctance to get involved in solving a 12-month hunt for a Breaking and Entering villain locally named Goldilocks is what finally leads him to a murder investigation is wonderfully written.
A book worth waiting for and a real joy to read.

There is no better writer in my mind than Belinda Bauer and there is therefore only one book to read just now.
Snap has everything the discerning crime thriller fan expects and loads more besides.

Really impressive thriller. DCI Marvel and the police team he joins are well drawn, hopefully that character may return in future novels. Revolving around an event where children are left in a broken down car on a motorway hard shoulder only for their mother who has gone to call for assistance to not return. Marvel is assigned to investigate burglaries but this escalates and Bauer keeps the momentum and character builds moving really well and provides a great read.

Absolutely AMAZING book. I loved it!
I cannot praise it high enough. The writing is fabulous and the characters are likeable.
It’s got grit, thrilling bits, black humour that made me laugh out loud (unheard of!).
I just loved this. And even better she’s written lots and I’ll be buying them all.
Don’t hesitate: buy this book immediately!

This was such a captivating story, it wasnt predictable and it kept me guessing. I loved the characters of Marvel and Reynolds and hope maybe we get to see them again.

I don't use the phrase "must read" very often, but this is a must read!
A beautifully-woven thriller that will keep you gripped.
Likeable characters (Jack especially) and a great plot.
Ideal read for the summer!

There are great characters in this book which are really well drawn. It started off with three seemingly unconnected stories, each intriguing in their own right. I had to concentrate at first, but once I got into the story, they three strands all came together in a twisty and clever way. Very enjoyable read.