An epic tale of murder and betrayal, bloodshed and romance. Gripping from the first page, the reader is swept up in this colourful and convincing portrayal of an Emperor and his realm, under seige. Well-researched and cinematic in its imagery, this is a faced-paced and exciting debut

Harper's...portrayal of the Byzantine city and the intrigues that threaten its destruction is vivid and convincing

It’s a world which Harper brings exuberantly to life, clearly revelling in its teeming, tumultuous extravagance

Ruth Rendell has quite simply transformed the genre of crime writing. She displays her peerless skill in blending the mundane, commonplace aspects of life with the potent murky impulses of desire and greed, obsession and fear

Ruth Rendell is not only the finest crime novelist there is, but one of the finest novelists writing in the English language

The mistress of mystery

Goddard is a master of the sly double and triple cross

An impressive first novel

Arresting first novel by Adam Ross, an author of prodigious talent'...This is a brilliant, powerful, memorable novel

Ross' debut novel combines thriller and satire as he explores loneliness and marital difficulties in contemporary America

A sharp and satirical thriller...this well-crafted debut novel is gripping from the start

A riveting first novel... its greatest delight is the sheer brilliance of the writing, polished like marble so it moves without friction but wholly vivid and alive

Mr. Peanut is as ingenious as it is riveting

Mr. Peanut crackles with life. Ross's long set pieces... reveal his talent for conjuring characters and imagining scenes that, like good short stories, could stand nobly by themselves

Adam Ross has crafted a diabolically intricate novel, one that presents all the pleasures and challenges of a well-wrought Sudoku puzzle. There's a whiff of alchemy to the book; you can't quite believe that its many pieces fit together so snugly. Yet they do. Once you've finished, you run your eye back and forth and up and down, and every way you look it adds up. Mr. Peanut is smart, funny,
gripping and - in its ultimate unravelling - sneakily sad

Superbly suspenseful storytelling, weaves missing children, romantic trauma and professional misconduct into a riveting read

Consider yourself in the hands of a most assured master - with a canny sense of humour