In safe hands

When I pick up a book by Belinda Bauer, I know I'm in safe hands and Exit her latest book is no exception. I read this over a couple of days and loved it.

The plot features around a group called the Exiteers who provide a compassionate service to those looking to exit the world without the need for a trip to Switzerland! However, what happens when the person you watch exit is, in fact, the wrong person. The book unfolds around this very concept and the characters affected by this turn of events.

I think what I particularly enjoyed are the characters involved. Felix is also known as John for reasons that become clear when you read the book is the sort of man each of us knows. A dog-owning, 70 something who has become virtually invisible, just keeping going with his life, despite having lost his wife and son. He's just an ordinary man who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances, just like Skipper, Reggie, Amanda, Calvin and Miss Knott who all get thrown together as a result of the murder.

Despite being a crime novel, it is a charming book that encompasses themes of compassion, friendship, love and standing up for what you believe is right. It also includes some of Bauer's usual humour too. The ending is particularly touching and I'm not ashamed to say that I did cry, again unusual in this type of book. If you enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, I think you'd also like this.

If you've not read a book by Belinda Bauer, I'd highly recommend you do. Snap and Rubbernecker are favourites and both excellent in my opinion.