My last book of 2020 was the exceptional The Facts of Life and Death by Belinda Bauer which I read pretty much in one sitting yesterday. This is a rather gruesome and dark story as told by a 10 year old child. Ruby Trick lives with her parents in a shabby cottage on the coast of Devon. Ruby loves her father who always has time for her, encourages her fantasies, and often includes her in his activities.
Although Daddy is out of work and not doing much about it, and Mommy is working and worrying about money, Ruby is clear in her mind which one is more fun and who she wants to spend time with. Part of the fun is that her father is a member of a local gunslingers club and often dresses up like a cowboy.

When young women in the area are accosted and eventually abducted and murdered by a man, Ruby’s father and his fellow club members decide to hunt this killer down, and Ruby is thrilled when her father lets her join him in the hunt. Ruby soon finds out that being part of the “posse” out looking for a serial killer isn’t as much fun as she thought and on the nights she and her father are on patrol, she often ends up falling asleep in the car.

The Facts of Life and Death is an original thriller and the author is particularly skilled at writing from a child’s point of view. Ruby gives us the facts as she sees them, but we are able to interpret them on our own and come up with a different point of view. Although there were twists in the plot, very few of them were a surprise but the author’s strong writing and evocative setting elevated this book to a five star level. ( )

A really good book great characters and an excellent plot ( )

Ruby Trick lives in a decaying cottage in a tiny village on the coast of north Devonshire. Her parents are struggling, both financially since her father's employer shut its doors and in their marriage. Ten year-old Ruby, who is both plump and red-haired in addition to being poor, is friendless at school, but she dreams of owning a pony and loves her father deeply, and shares his love of American cowboys with him. When the bodies of young women start turning up, Ruby and her father go on patrol, looking for the killer, but mostly ferrying young women safely home late at night.

DC Calvin Bridge only became a detective because he was tired of keeping his uniform clean. A man content to drift through life, he's ended up engaged to be married without really understanding how that happened. And now he's partnered with DCI Kirsty King, an ambitious officer who is going places. He finds it all exhausting, especially how King insist he not daydream his way through the day and actively help the investigation.

Belinda Bauer is often compared to Ruth Rendell in the blurbs to her novels, which is shorthand for how her characters are often drawn from the people we are likely to overlook. But Bauer's writing goes more deeply into character, while keeping the tension in her stories high. She doesn't travel the predicted path, but her unexpected endings are well plotted. This isn't her best novel (that would be Backlands), but it is a well-written and solidly plotted crime novel that was a great deal of fun to read. ( )

A thoroughly good read! Told through the eyes of Ruby is done with authenticity. The evocation of the community in which Ruby lives is superb. Very atmospheric. There's palpable tension as the story unfolds and the killer is revealed ... With even more tension after that! Well written at a great pace. If you like reading crime fiction, give this one a go. I'll be reading more of this author. ( )

I did enjoy this. It had brilliant dark humour in some of the dialogue (Calvin not enjoying being with his girlfriend) , great prose (the sea and it's war with the shingles is excellent) and Ruby as a character is well written. Who the killer is doesn't come as a great surprise though and once this is known, it doesn't take long for the story to complete. This felt more like a Sarah Rayne. I like her books but I was reading a Belinda Bauer. Calvin was the best character of the book, you could see potential in him, maybe another story with him would be very nice. ( )