Exit by Belinda Bauer #bookreview #exit @BlacKSwanhouse @TransworldBooks

 

Exit by Belinda Bauer

Published by Black Swan (Transworld)

Publication Date: 5th August 2021

Genre: Crime, Humour

Book Description:

Meet Felix Pink. The most unlikely murderer you'll ever have the good fortune to spend time with.

When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he's there to perform an act of charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath . . .

But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police - after making the biggest mistake of his life.

Now his world is turned upside down as he must find out if he's really to blame, or if something much more sinister is at play. All while staying one shaky step ahead of the law.

My Thoughts:

Belinda Bauer's books have been on my radar for a while but Exit is the first one I have actually delved into and read. I never expected to be drawn into Felix's world quite so quickly, having picked up the book on Saturday afternoon I had it finished by Monday evening and would have been much sooner if I hadn't got to go to work. I was a bit sceptical when I read the blurb with the plot being based around the subject of euthansia which is always going to be contentious and a bit taboo. The author has turned the subject on its head and made it into an entertaining and often humorous tale.

Felix really is the last person you would expect to be the main suspect in a murder enquiry. At the end of the day he is best described as...beige. Just like the coat his wife bought him and he chose to wear on that fateful day. Everyone knows a Felix (or should that be John?) but there can't be many that find that person in the position Felix ends up in when he visits Black Lane to assist a stranger in their decision to depart this mortal coil, accompanied by new Exiteer Amanda. The description of the process of being an Exiteer certainly had me considering whether it was ethical and all the other arguments for and against euthanasia. Then as I mulled this over the story had its first jaw dropping moment and for Felix and Amanda the stakes raised considerably higher. How would Felix deal with this situation? How on earth do you put something like this right? You can't...can you?

The more the police investigation progresses and the net closes in, the more comical the scenes become. It seems so wrong to have humour mixed in with a murder case but I cannot recommend this book enough as it had me chuckling away at various different characters and the fixes they got themselves into. The harder they tried to sort things out the worse they became. But as with all good crime stories there has to be at least one vital twist and I can guarantee that this book does not disappoint.

Just the right book at the right time for me, I would definitely encourage you to grab yourself a copy.

About the Author:

Belinda Bauer grew up in England and South Africa and now lives in Wales. She worked as a journalist and a screenwriter before finally writing a book to appease her nagging mother.

For her debut, Blacklands, Belinda was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year. She went on to win the CWA Dagger in the Library for her body of work. Her fourth novel, Rubbernecker, was voted Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Her eighth novel, Snap, was a Sunday Times bestseller. It was longlisted for the Man Booker prize and voted Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the Specsavers National Book Awards.

Her books have been translated into twenty-five languages.