About The Book

Belinda Bauer is a phenomenal voice in British crime fiction, whose work has garnered rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. Shortlisted for the 2015 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, The Facts of Life and Death is a creepy, edge-of-your-seat thriller about a serial killer who terrorizes vulnerable women, with their families forced to bear witness.

On the beaches and cliffs of North Devon, lone women have become victims in a terrifying game where only one player knows the rules. And when those rules change, the new game is murder. But a madman on the loose feels very far from the crumbling, seaside home of ten-year-old Ruby Trick. Instead she lives in constant fear of school bullies, the dark forest crowding her house into the sea, and the threat of her parents’ divorce. Helping her father to catch the killer seems like the only way to keep him close. As long as the killer doesn’t catch her first.

Praise

“Bauer at her best . . . the true heir to the great Ruth Rendell.” —Mail on Sunday (UK)

“The novel lingers in the mind like an unwelcome guest, albeit one with a dark sense of humor . . . Powerful, compelling reading.” —Spectator (UK)

“Belinda Bauer’s thrillers are always compelling, always original, always brilliant. I will rush to read anything she writes.” —Mark Billingham

“This gripping, unsettling tale blends a murder mystery with a blackly comic look at the gradual erosion of ‘normal’ family life. You won’t want to put it down.” —Bella (UK)