Tom Bale is one of the best British thriller writers around

This fast-paced British thriller will have you on the edge of your seat as it reaches its dramatic conclusion.

Races along to a gripping finish

Tom Bale’s awareness of the old creative writing mantra “character is destiny” pays off addictively in The Catch...solid, purposeful and well written

Bale manages to keep the momentum going by switching between the lives of the various characters while keeping his eye on the overall theme

The original Tom Bale is working his way to the top of the Brit thriller writer pile

A good, well-executed, distinctly British thriller, that is certainly worth checking out, and having already purchased a copy of ‘Skin and Bones’ on the strength of this one, I’m glad to have discovered a new author

It’s a bloody and at times rather squalid tale as well as a gripping and unusual one. Bale specialises in villains who have believable motives for their actions but are none the less appalling for all that

On page one I was gripped by Bale’s faultless narrative, by the final page I was left in a state of awe at his storytelling skills... The prose is masterful... All in all I have to say that The Catch is an everyman novel with an acute difference, instead of offering forward a potential hero, you are offered characters trying to get away with murder. I loved its intense pace, top notch characterisation and moralistic questioning

A clever tale of unintended consequences... Tom Bale manages to balance the seemingly ordinariness of his characters with their facility for lying and self-deception in such a way that you still can’t help but hope that they survive the nastiness that is heading their way like a runaway train

a tremendous read…well put together and an excellent example of the good writers craft. I can’t say much more because I wouldn’t want to spoil for you when you rush out to buy a copy 4/5

This book captures you from the start… then twists and turns in every chapter, taking you on an intriguing roller coaster ride until the end… Great stuff!

There are some lovely characters, a swift plot, not too many red herrings and lots of action. I think it is well worth investing in.

A novel that knows how to thrill, even as it treats its thriller aspect as something strange and inscrutable. So that’s another intriguing book from an author whose work should not remain a secret.

[A] very human novel in which nearly everything is expertly understated ... The characters and storyline are completely absorbing and all of the drama is handled brilliantly making the novel seem almost like a true life account ... Jawbone Lake is a very deep and poignant tale that had me hooked from the start ... It is an emotional read with exceptionally well crafted characters and a lot of heart; I thoroughly enjoyed it.’

William Heming is cut from the same cloth as Barbara Covett in Zoë Heller’s Notes On A Scandal, another unreliable narrator with whom we really should not be siding, but who proves so engaging that we can’t help but go along for the ride... in this gripping, thrilling novel.

There is a delicious feeling of complicity in his misdemeanours: Heming gets inside your head as easily as he gets into his neighbours' houses... a superbly plotted and genuinely creepy novel. It deserves to be a bestseller.

A creepy and unexpected tale that will remain with the reader long after the book is finished.

Compelling, unsettling and macabre social satire.

A gripping psychological thriller that pegs out the creep-o-meter with its chilling, original plot ... Readers won’t soon forget this first-rate, white-knuckle suspense novel.

Channeling the socially detached and unnerving personality of Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert, Phil Hogan creates a character that will inspire intrigue as well as ire ... This perfect­ly paced psychological suspense story is a roller-coaster ride through paranoia and manipulation.

Our mystery and thriller preview is filled with unhinged killers, criminal masterminds, and relentless stalkers, but no one gives us the heebee jeebees like William Heming ... this tale will have you wanting to change your locks by the time you’ve turned the final page.

It is in Hogan’s handling of Heming’s slowly pointed self-revelation through his own voice that the brilliance of the novel is achieved … Hogan manages to create a voice both unreliable, amoral and almost charming ... A Pleasure and a Calling is an enthralling psychological thriller ... William Heming, a man no one takes notice of, is a man readers will remember

The word ‘creepy’ (attached to descriptive adverbs like ‘insanely’ and ‘diabolically’ or even ‘deliciously’) immediately comes to mind.

The first-person portrayal of a truly cold-blooded protagonist is a hard thing to pull off, especially one whose outward appearance is so benign but Phil Hogan has created an antihero horrifically ruthless and disquieting.

Hogan's fourth novel visits some dark places, and its enigmatic narrator and Middle England setting are brilliantly realised. This is a compelling read that leaves a prickle on the neck and doubts in the mind.

Strongly reminiscent of the disturbing thrillers of Patricia Highsmith, notably in the ways in which the truly malign can lurk beneath the most ordinary of people and circumstances.

The first-person portrayal of a truly cold-blooded protagonist is a hard thing to pull off but Phil Hogan has created an antihero horrifically ruthless and disquieting.

Raw and real start to a new series

What could be standard police procedural stands out for its excellent character work and the timely way it deals with hot-button political topics dominating the headlines

The plot is tight, the anger righteous but not worthy, and the action thrilling. Happily she has a new novel out next year

Gripping…Excellent book.

A fine, literary thriller; cold, at times almost nauseatingly disturbing

A fascinating, subtle, really original modern Gothic thriller