Eve SInger is a crime reporter who is worried that she is aging out of the business, She is upset that there is another younger version of her always waiting to fill her spot, and angry that this never sems to happen to the male reporters, like her nemesis, Guy. There is a spat of murders that everyone is trying to get the edge on and through a random encounter, Eve finds herself the recipient of intel regarding the crime that no one else has. Eve quickly realizes that the killer is corresponding with her and as she tries to figure out what he wants, she finds herself and those she loves in danger. Can she help unveil a killer before more deaths occur.

This was a good road trip listen. It had enough depth to keep you listening and trying to figure out then ending as you went. The characters were well written and the narrator did a great job. I would definitely be interested in more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the audihouse, narraor and the author for the opportunity to listen to a complimentary copy of this audiobook in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Beautiful Dead is one of the weaker books from Belinda Bauer, but it’s still a fast-paced and readable thriller. It has plenty of action and vivid, often gory detail that keeps the momentum going. However, it’s spoiled by clichéd characters and unrealistic plot lines, some of which stretch credibility to the extent that makes it harder to stay fully engaged. That said, the narration was clear and well-delivered, enhancing the overall listening experience.

Belinda Bauer writes a beautifully dark tale and this is no exception. A serial killer who believes he needs to kill so that he may continue to live and believes he is creating great works of art through each death. His obsession with a journalist puts her family and friends’ lives at risk. This is one to devour in as fast as time as possible. A thoroughly disturbing book

My first book by this author, and it was an entertaining enough read, although it lacked any real twists that you wouldn't see coming.

It starts chillingly, with a murder almost in public, a woman who so almost gets away from the killer, only to be caught in the best slasher victim way at the last moment, helplessly screaming at the oblivious people who walk on by, too caught up in their own lives and their Christmas plans to notice the woman being gutted on the other side of the glass.

The fact that this takes place in December, running up to Christmas should have created more of a contrast between the horrific murders and the festive vibes. Apart from Eve constantly thinking she needed to get presents and some struggles with the Christmas tree, there wasn't really much of that, which felt like a wasted opportunity for the setting. (apart from the end, but I'll touch on that in a mo)

The chapters told in the PoV of the victims were some of the most powerful. The writer has a brilliant talent for making you care about a character, to quickly flesh them out, give them motivations, hopes, dreams. To make you root for them, even as you know they are about to be brutally murdered.

The scenes of Eve and her father were powerful, and painful, and although there were some things about the portrayal of dementia that doesn't stand up to current thinking.

Some of the other characters however, were less fleshed out. Her boss in particular was very flat, the abrasive, almost abusive boss always screaming or smoking, swearing, willing to do whatever it takes for the story.

The whole thing reads a little like a warning of the dangers of social media, of being 'on' twenty four seven.

I was surprised by how.... positively it ended. I kept expecting some twist and it never happened, instead there was a Christmas moment that was out of place of the rest of the story.

There were also a couple of scenes were I was way ahead of the characters and impatiently waiting to catch up. Nothing happened that took me by surprise, and I am not an experienced thriller reader by any means - I've read a handful, but it isn't my main genre.

The narrator was fantastic. He had a silky, honey voice that works so well with the text and captures the desire of the killer to create beautiful 'art'.

I really enjoyed The Beautiful Dead audiobook by Belinda Bauer. If you’ve read or listened to her earlier books like Blacklands or Rubbernecker, you’ll know she’s great at mixing suspense with strong characters. This one follows crime reporter Eve Singer as she digs into some seriously creepy murders. Bauer’s writing is sharp and atmospheric, and Andrew Wincott does a good job narrating—he really brings the story and characters to life. It’s tense, clever, and totally gripping. Definitely a great listen if you’re into psychological thrillers!

Eve reports on death but accidentally meets a killer who then decides she should report on all his murders. Very tense novel with a very creepy killer. What is his ultimate aim and can he be stopped?

Very well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Excellent characters in this well paced, twisty crime novel. Eve must stay strong and alert if she is not to be a victim.

I got off to a pretty rocky start with this one. A real slow burn in the beginning and to be honest I wasn’t sure that I’d stick with it, then suddenly.and I can’t really pinpoint where I was hooked.

Eve is a true crime reporter, her career is falling through the cracks a bit, there are younger reporters snapping at her heels, and male reporters eager to knock her off her perch. Between the struggle of chasing the next story and caring for her father, life is rough. Suddenly though it seems there’s a new serial killer on the loose, one who seems to have Eve in mind to tell his story, when she becomes part of his story the book really takes off.

Gruesome, smart and binge worthy, if you can stick with this, you’ll reap the rewards.

Andrew Wincott narrates brilliantly!

My gratitude to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

I listened to the audiobook version of this book.

It’s a good murder story with some pretty gruesome murders.
The narrator has a pleasant voice and kept my attention going throughout .
As the story unfolded I just wanted to keep listening to find out how it would end!
This was my first Belinda Bauer book, but it won’t be the last!
Thank you to NetGalley, Belinda Bauer and Bolinda Audio for my advance audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Belinda is one of my favourite authors and I was intrigued to listen to this book, published some years ago, to see how her writing has changed. The answer is that she has always been a brilliant author, with twists and turns, to the point that I could barely breath near the end of this. Great narration as well.

An interesting read / listen from Belinda Bauer whose books I always enjoy ( this review is for the audiobook).

This quickly caught my attention. It differed from the usual crime drama in that the actual crimes were almost a back story albeit quite gruesome in their description.

A large proportion of this book is how the lead, a crime TV journalist ( who appears to think she is past it at 29!!!) has responsibility for caring for her father who has early onset dementia. This is very well portrayed from both parties viewpoint. The flashes of insight that he has from time to time are heartbreaking in their accuracy.

I was enthralled on the whole by this book although it did feel a little drawn out during the final 25%.

I'd definitely reccomend this to those wanting a different take on the more usual police v bad guys storyline.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARAC which was very much appreciated.

TV crime reporter Eve Singer's career is flagging, but that starts to change when she covers a spate of bizarre murders – each one committed in public and advertised like an art exhibition. When the killer contacts Eve about her coverage of his crimes, she is suddenly on the inside of the biggest murder investigation of the decade. But as the killer becomes increasingly obsessed with her, Eve realises there's a thin line between inside information and becoming an accomplice to murder – possibly her own.

This is another great story by Belinda Bauer. It's the audiobook version, and the narration by Andrew Wincott is superb. How he changes the voices for each character is wonderful. Having said that, the plot and characters are so well written that I found myself searching for that spare five minutes in the day, that I could grab some extra words. Great story, brilliantly narrated.

Eve is a reporter for a crime tv show. It doesn’t help that she is squeamish, but she’s a good reporter, professional in front of the camera. Her colleague and cameraman Jo and her work well together.
We’re inside the head of a serial killer on occasions, in Eve’s head on others and in the killer’s victims on others.
The killer seems to be always one step ahead and is stalking Eve - she knows this.
Great listening, great suspense. I thought it was really good.

For me unfortunately was almost a DFN.

I listened to the audiobook and I certainly feel that this was half of the problem. I found the narration really dull and lacking any kind of enthusiasm and therefore this transferred to the characters on the book.

The story itself wasn’t too bad and the way the main character had to deal with a father suffering with dementia was portrayed very well. However I really struggled to feel the suspense that was needed in the search for a murder.

I didn’t feel a connection for any of the characters and the dynamics between them just missed the spot in my opinion.

**Listened to the audiobook**

The reviews and the premise of this book were fab and I was super excited to read.
The narration was great, and really helped to immerse my into the characters and the world that Bauer had created.
It was super gripping right from the off! I was in!
However, the more the book went on, the less interested I became. I felt the pacing really slowed as it went on. Like another review I have read, I think this book would have benefitted from a 50-100 pages cut, also some more humour!
Overall I enjoyed this book, but didn't find it particularly original or one that will stay with me.

A solid 4 star read for me, very enjoyable and the narration was brilliant; Andrew Wincott's serial killer's voice was so perfectly creepy!

Having only listened to Exit by this author a while back, I'll definitely check out more books by her. I really like her storytelling and pace.

Thanks very much to Bolinda Audio, via NetGalley for the audiobook, I really enjoyed it.

I was excited to listen to the audiobook version of The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer.

The story is set in the weeks leading up to Christmas and centres on a TV crime reporter, Eve Singer, who is clinging on to her job aware her career is dependent on scooping crime exclusives. She’s under a great deal of pressure to secure said scoops and is under pressure at home where she is responsible for care and wellbeing of her father who has dementia. She cuts quite the lonely figure, as she’s married to her job and has caring commitments to her father - she doesn’t have time for a social life, let alone romantic entanglements.

Eve is reporting on a murder, and the murderer makes contact with her, putting Eve front and centre of the case. Eve finds herself in quite a precarious position - her safety is now an issue whilst she instinctively wants to report and get the scoops to the story.

The story moves along at a good pace with twist and turns and a great range of supporting characters including rival journalists, her unscrupulous Editor, her trusty cameraman Joe, her doddery neighbour Mr Elias, her dementia stricken father Duncan. There is also great humour sprinkled through the book - some laugh out loud situations and amusing observations.

It is expertly narrated by Andrew Wincott who brought the book to life with different accents and voices for the all the characters.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bolinda Audio, for making this e-audio-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

One of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to this year! The narrator’s performance was outstanding and perfectly captured the tone and emotion of the story. I particularly enjoyed the musings of the protagonist experience over her father. Can't recommend enough!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to listen to this book.

This started of very slow for me and I had to stop listening and restart again but then something clicked and it went to some amazing places and I really got into it. Then I couldn't stop and binge listened to the end. The way the relationship with the father was described was so heartful and didn't take away from the crime drama but added to it.

This was my first book by this author and narrator and I will read/listen to more.

I listened to the audio version of this book, narrated by Andrew Wincott, who does a stellar job at bringing this story to life. At first, I wasn't too sure about the narration, but I swiftly found myself engrossed in the story and the various character voices.

For me, this was a bit slow to start, and I worried I wouldn't be able to get into it. But as soon as the main storyline got started, I became invested in knowing more and found myself gripped.

I thought the relationship between Eve and her dad was done brilliantly, and it really did shine a light on the true tragedy of dementia.

I loved Agouta (sorry if my spelling is off - audio!) and found her character to be both charming and funny even amidst all the chaos.

I didn’t enjoy listening to this one and it’s completely my own fault. I don’t enjoy audiobooks narrated by Andrew Wincott and it isn’t because he is a poor narrator but rather I am an avid Archers fan and can’t only hear Adam (who he plays) when I listen to him. I should have checked the name of the narrator before I requested it.