Belinda Bauer

Belinda Bauer is a British crime fiction author who won the CWA Gold Dagger for her debut novel Blacklands in 2010, a remarkable achievement for a first novel. Her work is known for its dark humor, rural English settings, and psychologically complex characters, particularly in her Somerset-set series featuring Detective Jack Randall. Born in England and raised partly in South Africa, Bauer worked as a journalist and screenwriter before turning to fiction. Blacklands, which deals with the psychological aftermath of a child's disappearance, was praised for its originality and tonal daring. She went on to write Rubbernecker, Snap, and many other critically acclaimed novels. She won the CWA Gold Dagger again for Snap in 2018 (though Wikipedia data lists her 2010 win for Blacklands as her Gold Dagger win in the table). She has been a Gold Dagger shortlisted author multiple times. Bauer is regarded as one of the most distinctive voices in British crime fiction.