Belinda Bauer's fine crime thrillers have been gaining her fans and critical acclaim since the publication of Blacklands in 2010, a gripping and disturbing novel set on the Yorkshire moors which focused on a serial killer. Hints of the moors murders gave the book a particularly chilling edge and the plot was tightly wound. It was a Richard and Judy pick and deservedly won the CWA Gold Dagger for the best crime novel of 2010.
For her latest novel Bauer has moved away from the Yorkshire setting of Blacklands and its followups, Dark Side and Finders Keepers. Rubbernecker follows the story of young Patrick Fort, an Aspergic anatomy student who stumbles across a murder during a dissection. Patrick feels compelled to trace both the anonymous victim and the murderer, despite facing hostility from the authorities.
In two parallel narratives Bauer also traces the story of the murder victim, who for the most part of his story is on life support in a ward for coma victims, and the story of a nurse on the same ward who manages to seduce a rich visitor to the ward away from his barely conscious wife. I have to say that I enjoyed Patrick's narrative slightly more than these parallel stories; however, I appreciated the unusual setting of the coma ward, which Bauer used well to explore the difficulties and potentially murky ethics of caring for patients who have very little prospect of recovery.
Patrick is an engaging protagonist, possibly despite his Aspergic personality. There is a hint of The Curious Incident Of the Dog In The Night Time in Bauer's choice of an Aspergic young man as the detective in a crime mystery. However, Patrick is given depth by the inclusion of his childhood as his motivation. As a young boy, Patrick saw his father killed in a road accident, and has since been obsessed by death. Patrick's naivety and lack of comprehension of the emotional reality of death create a real sympathy for this vulnerable protagonist.
Like Bauer's previous novels, Rubbernecker has a cracking plot with a gripping chase scene. There's also some well judged comedy to lighten the mood of the book thanks to Patrick's student housemates. I found myself turning the pages at ever increasing speed as I got towards the novel's denouement. Another fine and unusual crime novel from Bauer: highly recommended.
Transworld kindly provided me with a review copy of this novel via net galley.
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