Belinda Bauer’s website » News
Posted by Lucy on February 28, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Thinking of choosing Rubbernecker as your next reading group book? If so, we have some suggestions for topics of discussion in our handy reading group guide.
Here are some possible topics for discussion:
1. The title of the novel refers to the act of staring inquisitively, often at other people’s misfortune, and the story itself begins with Patrick rubbernecking at a car crash. How else does this idea surface throughout the book and why do you think Belinda chose it as the title?
2. Patrick has a difficult relationship with his mother, and she seems at times to begrudge him his very existence. Sandy has a tempestuous relationship with her stepmother, and Tracy has a very disturbing idea of what makes a family. How far do you think the book’s portrayal of family reflects reality?
3. Patrick often says or thinks things that we would never say ourselves. How important is this device to the progression of the novel? And how far do you think Patrick represents a part of all of us?
4. Tracy Evans is in no ways a conventional nurse; she is uncaring, shallow and money-obsessed. Did you find her to be an enjoyable character despite that? What role do you think she plays in the novel?
5. Death is Patrick’s overriding obsession – why people die, and where they go to afterwards. A cadaver, number 19, is a central ‘character’ in the book, and dissection plays a central part. What do you think the novel says about death, and is there any conclusion for Patrick?
7. Patrick’s mother isn’t always very nice to him. And he often says things that hurt her, albeit unintentionally. How much do you sympathise with each of them, and do you feel as though Belinda would like you to sympathise with one more than the other?
8. As the book progresses, Patrick and his group dissect a cadaver. What do you think this cadaver might represent, both to Patrick and to the author?
9. Rubbernecker is not a traditional crime novel – the detective is a young man with Asperger’s, and at first there doesn’t even appear to be a crime. How would you classify this book – and does a book like this need to be classified at all?
11. Tracy’s story ends very ambiguously. What do you think happens to her, and how do you feel about this?
12. There are multiple narratives in the book, apart from our main protagonist Patrick’s point of view – we hear from his mother Sarah, Tracy, Meg and Mr Galen, the coma patient. How important do you think it is to have these differing viewpoints?
13. Various books are mentioned throughout the novel: Ulysses, The Da Vinci Code, and a series of novels about a character called Rose that Tracy is addicted to. What do you make of the way the author refers to these books?
Leave A Comment »Posted by Lucy on January 28, 2013 at 5:09 pm
We are thrilled to announce that Belinda’s brand new novel Rubbernecker is the book choice on BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo’s Book club tonight!
Tune in at 6pm to hear Belinda talking about the novel that The Sunday Express said had ‘more twists and coils than a hangman’s noose’.
Visit the BBC Radio 2 website.
Belinda will also be taking part in a Q&A on the Radio 2 Facebook page from 6:30pm.
Posted by Lucy on January 25, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Join Belinda at Bleakhouse Library on Wednesday, 13th February to talk about her gripping new book, Rubbernecker.
Wednesday 13th February
Bleakhouse Library
7pm
Bleakhouse Road
Oldbury
B68 9DS
£3.00 full price or £1.50 concessionary.
Tickets available from Bleakhouse Library on 0121 422 2798, or email bleakhouse_library@sandwell.gov.uk by Monday 28 January 2013.
Leave A Comment »Posted by Belinda Bauer on June 11, 2012 at 1:33 pm
The fifteen authors longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award 2012 have now been whittled down to six, including Belinda Bauer!
Unlike most literary prizes, the Dagger in the Library is awarded not for an individual book but for the author’s body of work. Last year’s winner was Mo Hayder, and previous winners have included Colin Cotterill, Stuart MacBride and Craig Russell.
The other shortlisted authors are S.J. Bolton, Susan Hill, Peter May, Steve Mosby and Imogen Robertson and the winner will be announced at a ceremony on July 5th. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed…
Best of luck, Belinda!
For more information on this year’s Dagger in the Libary Award, see http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2012/library.html
Leave A Comment »Posted by Belinda Bauer on May 21, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Belinda Bauer has been long listed for not one, but two forthcoming awards – the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2012 AND the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger in the Library.
Belinda’s second novel, Darkside, has been included in the list of titles being considered for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2012, one of crime-writing’s most wanted accolades. It’s the second time that Belinda’s name has appeared in this list, having also been long listed last year for her award-winning debut, Blacklands. The names of six shortlisted titles will be revealed on July 5th after which YOU – crime-fiction fans! – will have the opportunity to vote for the eventual winner.
Belinda has also been long listed for the prestigious CWA Dagger in the Library. Unlike most other literary prizes, the Dagger in the Library is awarded not for an individual book but for the author’s body of work, with writers being nominated by library users and chosen by a panel of librarians. The shortlist will be revealed at Crimefest in Bristol on 25 May, and the winner at the CWA Daggers Awards Ceremony on 5 July.
So, well done, Belinda - and fingers crossed for the short lists!
Leave A Comment »Posted by Belinda Bauer on April 26, 2012 at 9:15 am
Belinda Bauer will be speaking at Cowbridge Book Festival’s annual Crime Night on Wednesday, 16 May. Belinda will be appearing with fellow crime writers, M.R. Hall and Martin O’Brien, in the atmospheric surroundings of Cowbridge United Free Church.
The event will begin at 7.30pm, to be followed by a book signing and refreshments. Tickets cost £8 and are available from the festival website. All proceeds from Cowbridge Book Festival will be donated to The Noah’s Ark Appeal and the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Fund.
7.30-9pm on Wednesday, 16 May at Cowbridge United Free Church, Westgate, Cowbridge CF71 7AE.
For further information and tickets see:
http://cowbridgebookfestival.co.uk/
Leave A Comment »Posted by Belinda Bauer on April 5, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Crime fans of Bristol!
Belinda Bauer will be visiting Emerson’s Green Library on Tuesday, 1 May. Do come along to hear her talk about her work, answer your questions and meet with as many of you as possible….
6.30pm on Tuesday, 1 May at Emerson’s Green Library, Emerson Way, Emerson’s Green, South Gloucestershire, BS16 7AP.
Tickets for this event cost £2.50 for library members and £5.00 for non-members and are available from all South Gloucestershire Libraries.
For further information see:
http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/exeres/deda13bf-33e9-43da-abf3-187043abf3a5
Leave A Comment »Posted by Belinda Bauer on December 21, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Icarus, a new short story by Belinda Bauer has been published in The Daily Mirror. Click here for a festive read!
Leave A Comment »Posted by Belinda Bauer on August 10, 2011 at 1:45 pm
For those of you yet to grab a copy, Stylist Magazine’s Summer Fiction Special includes Belinda Bauer’s never-before-seen short story - Everything Must Go.
Stylist: ‘Bauer is one of the leading names in crime fiction. This year, Darkside, a literary thriller about the hunt for a killer was a big hit. She wrote Everything Must Go after a trip to Ikea. “I don’t have children but it looks relentless,” she explains. “This story was inspired by a visit to Ikea with my sister and her daughter, and my neighbours, who have twins.”’
And the great news is that you can read it HERE!
Make sure you pick up a copy today and read this exclusive short story for yourselves!
Posted by Belinda Bauer on May 25, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Anyone going to Hay Festival this year? Belinda will be appearing on June 3rd at 2.30pm at the Elmley Foundation Theatre, w/ Phil Rickman & Elly Griffiths, chaired by Paul Blezzard.
‘Rickman’s Merrily Watkins series is one of the great treasures of contemporary crime fiction set in the Border Country. Bauer’s Exmoor thriller Blacklands won the CWA Gold Dagger. Griffiths’ forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway goes down the mean lanes of Norfolk. Chaired by Paul Blezard.’
For tickets: http://www.hayfestival.com/p-3669-phil-rickman-belinda-bauer-elly-griffiths.aspx
Leave A Comment »Recent News
Rubbernecker – Reading Group GuideBelinda Bauer on BBC Radio 2 with Simon Mayo
An evening with Belinda Bauer – Bleakhouse Library
Belinda Bauer shortlisted for CWA Dagger in the Library!
Belinda Bauer long listed for two prestigious awards!
An evening of Crime at Cowbridge Book Festival
Belinda Bauer appearing at Emerson’s Green Library, Bristol
Exclusive New Story by Belinda Bauer in The Daily Mirror!
Belinda’s brilliant short story in STYLIST MAGAZINE!
Belinda at Hay Festival 2011
