The Facts of Life and Death

By: Belinda Bauer

Narrated by: Colleen Prendergast

'Call your mother.'
'What do I say?'
'Say goodbye.'

This is how it begins.

Lone women terrorised and their helpless families forced to watch - in a sick game where only one player knows the rules. And when those rules change, the new game is Murder.

Living with her parents in the dank beach community of Limeburn, ten-year-old Ruby Trick has her own fears. Bullies on the school bus, the forest crowding her house into the sea, and the threat of divorce.

Helping her Daddy to catch the killer might be the key to keeping him close.

As long as the killer doesn't catch her first...

Critic reviews

Bauer at her best . . . the true heir to the great Ruth Rendell

A new Belinda Bauer always goes straight to the top of my to-be-read pile. She's the most interesting crime writer in England today

Belinda Bauer's thrillers are always compelling, always original, always brilliant. I will rush to read anything she writes

Belinda Bauer is one of the best British crime writers out there right now

She writes so beautifully, plots so cleverly and exhibits a razor-sharp understanding of people and places

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

Lingers in the mind like an unwelcome guest, albeit one with a dark sense of humour . . . powerful, compelling reading

Our most inventive crime writer.

One of the most startling plots in contemporary crime fiction

Breathtaking. I read this and wished I’d written it