Belinda Bauer is a renowned author of mystery and suspense novels, born in England in 1962. She spent several years of her childhood in Africa before eventually settling in Wales, where she has lived for a significant portion of her life. Bauer's experiences in Wales have been formative, attending the Welsh Academy and developing a deep affection for the city of Cardiff where she trained as a journalist and spent several years working in the industry.
Bauer's journey to becoming a successful author was not without its challenges. After returning to Britain from Africa, she underwent a stark change in circumstances, transitioning from a wealthy home in South Africa to a poverty-stricken house in the west country. However, these experiences did not deter her, and she instead used them as opportunities to forge a successful career. Her time as a journalist was particularly valuable, providing her with invaluable skills and experience that would later aid her in her writing career.
Before becoming an author, Bauer worked as a journalist and screenwriter. Her screenplay "The Locker Room" earned her the Carl Foreman/BAFTA Award for Young British Screenwriters, an accolade presented to her by the legendary Sidney Poitier. She also demonstrated her writing prowess in the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, where she was a runner-up for her story "Mysterious Ways" about a girl stranded on a deserted island with 30,000 Bibles.
Bauer's literary career took off with her debut novel, "Blacklands," which earned her 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 in 2013. Her fourth novel, "Rubbernecker," was voted 2014 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2018, her eighth novel, "Snap," was longlisted for the Man Booker prize. Her books have been translated into 21 languages, and she has also written the thriller "High Rollers" under the pen-name Jack Bowman.