| |
|
|
Blacklands
Corgi Books
by Belinda Bauer
Usually dispatched within 24 hours
|
| Ready to Order |
85 New and Used from: £ 0.01
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £4.22
| |
|
| Product Details |
ISBN/ASIN: 0552158844
Release Date:
Sales Rank: 2061
Average Rating: 
Media: Paperback
Audience Rating:
Product Group: Book
|
| Product Description |
| Twelve-year-old Steven Lamb digs holes on Exmoor, hoping to find a body. Every day after school, while his classmates swap football stickers, Steven goes digging to lay to rest the ghost of the uncle he never knew, who disappeared aged eleven and is assumed to have fallen victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery. |
| Customer Reviews: Average Rating: 4.0/5 | | Blacklands: Rating: 5/5 |
| Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.A truely gripping book with plenty of research done.I would highly reccommend it and am looking forward to the next book. | | Dark and disturbing: Rating: 4/5 |
| This is quite a dark read and graphic at times so not for the faint hearted. I really enjoyed it and raced through the book. | | Hauntingly affecting: Rating: 4/5 |
| Brilliant. Hauntingly affecting. A bit graphic if you're a more sheltered type. Insightful observations of family relationships combined with nail biting suspense. | | ...not for me: Rating: 1/5 |
I'm bewildered at the rave reviews - and the book clubs recommendation for this book. To me this was an uncomfortable and unsettling read and had me wondering why someone would read this for entertainment - apart from a peadophile. I won't be rushing out to buy her next book and neither will the other members of our book club.
I give it one star because you can't give a half. | | A gripping and original début novel: Rating: 5/5 |
Blacklands is an excellent and highly unusual début novel. As others have said, the book transcends the simple crime/thriller genre as it is as much about being a child and growing up, as it is about the crime that the novel centres around.
It would be better to describe the book as the story of Steven Lamb, a very ordinary 12 year old boy living in a small Exmoor village, whose family is unravelling around him and his desire to make it whole again.
The problems stem from the disappearance of Steven's uncle Billy 18 years ago. Everyone believes that Billy was murdered by Arnold Avery, a serial killer, who murdered several young children in the area at that time. Unfortunately, the twin facts that no body was ever found and Avery's refusal to admit to the murder of Billy have left Steven's Gran (Billy's mother) unable accept the loss and move on with her life. Instead, she watches from the window, hoping for Billy's return, become embittered and spiteful to her remaining family. Steven's mum also doesn't have much time for him, preferring his baby brother.
From this fractured home life, Steven comes up with the idea that he must find Billy's body (believed to be buried on Exmoor) to make his family whole again. As the sheer scale of the task dawns upon him, Steven naively writes to Avery to ask for help in locating the body. From here the story becomes one of a dangerous game of cat and mouse between a depraved paedophile and a desperate young boy.
The book is such an excellent read that it's hard to pick stand-out elements, but for me, the character of Steven makes this novel the brilliant book that it is. The author perfectly captures him as a very ordinary child, dealing with everyday life as a 12 year old, growing up, being bullied, friendships, wanting to fit in, for whom contacting a serial killer is a logical step towards finding his uncle. As a reader, you can't help but associate with Steven and share his distress and desire for the reconciliation of his family and a return to a "normal" life.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and eagerly await the next novel from Belinda Bauer. | |
