Author:James Patterson
'Smart characters, shocking twists' Lisa Gardner
'A compelling read with great set pieces and, most of all, that charismatic cast of characters' Sun
'I couldn't turn the pages quick enough' Heidi Perks
'Terrific, high-octane, really pacy' Jo Spain
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The SUNDAY TIMES bestseller
22 seconds... until Lindsay Boxer loses her badge - or her life.
SFPD Sergeant Boxer has guns on her mind.
There's buzz of a last-ditch shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of new restrictive gun laws. Before Lindsay can act, her top informant tips her to a case that hits disturbingly close to home.
Former cops. Professional hits. All with the same warning scrawled on their bodies.
You talk, you die.
Now it's Lindsay's turn to choose.
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READERS ARE LOVING 22 SECONDS
'Another surefire winner'
'Superb read . . . page turning and gripping . . . James Patterson strikes again'
'One of James Patterson's best ever instalments'
No one gets this big without natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades.
—— LEE CHILD, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher seriesPatterson boils a scene down to a single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.
—— MICHAEL CONNELLYJames Patterson is the boss. End of.
—— IAN RANKIN, bestselling author of the Inspector Rebus seriesAs twisty as hell with a plot that accelerates at 120mph. Highlighting the danger of not knowing who you are really talking to behind a screen on social media . . . simply brilliant!
—— Nikki Smith, author of LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DODark, gritty...A really great thriller and really original concept.
—— Holly Craig, author of THE SHALLOWSIntriguing and creepy in all the right ways with great characters. Loved it!
—— Leona Deakin, author of GONEAs dark and twisty as a country road after midnight.
—— Trevor Wood, author of THE MAN ON THE STREETThis action-packed thriller offers a chilling glimpse into the dark world of internet chat rooms. Tense, twisty and terrifying!
—— Allie Reynolds, author SHIVERAll The Wicked Games is a masterclass in suspense - the twisting plot and shocking reveals had me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last.
—— Lisa Hall, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WOODSTwisty, dark and dripping with gut-lurching suspense, All The Wicked Games will grab your attention and refuse to let go until the very last page.
—— Becca Day, author of THE GIRL BEYOND THE GATESTense, sinister and suspenseful.
—— Karen Hamilton, author of THE PERFECT GIRLFRIENDThrillingly intense, we devoured this in one sitting
—— HeatRobert Harris who pulls out a surprise with each new novel, has turned to this political scandal which “came to obsess France and ultimately the entire world”… None of the characters is entirely fictional, promises the author’s note. Therein lies the only difficulty with this taut thriller, as the reader wonders how much is history and how much is Harris.
—— Daily ExpressThe story charges along at full throttle, in a vibrant account adorned with masterly detail
—— MetroImmaculately researched but delivered with such a deft touch that it never feels like a history lesson…superlative.
—— Mail on SundayHarris lightly fictionalizes the historical narrative of the anti-semetic persecution of Alfred Dreyfus - brilliantly retold.
—— Times Saturday ReviewGripping from beginning to end
—— Sunday Times'informative, accomplished and highly enjoyable.
—— Evening StandardAn Officer and a Spy is written in elegant prose reminiscent of the 19th-century historical novel, but its form is a hybrid of the contemporary thriller, the spy novel and the courtroom drama. It is persuasive and engaging on all of these levels, while providing a unique and fresh reading of the Dreyfus Affair. It’s also timely, serving as a warning against religious bigotry and groupthink.
—— Irish TimesPeople who have read my fiction reviews in this paper will be familiar with my assertion that the glory of imaginative literature rests in its ability to make the reader think and feel at the same time. This marvellous novel does just that. It may well be the best book Robert Harris has yet written - and that’s saying something.
—— ScotsmanHarris’s gift for breathing life into historical characters is on full display in this brilliant fictionalisation of L’affair Dreyfus.
—— IndependentIt is tantalising to speculate on what liberties an author has taken when fictionalising a true story but the facts of the Dreyfus Affair are so incredible that Harris has no need to embellish. He fashions an enthralling frame and lets the astonishing tale unfold.
—— Independent on SundayThe choice of narrator is sure-footed. Georges Picquart makes a fascinatingly ambiguous figure around whom to anchor this tale of moral absolutes.
—— Literary ReviewA compelling narrative.
—— Jewish ChronicleRobert Harris is the master of the political thriller and his latest finds him in fine form.
—— Press AssociationBoth gripping thriller and Buchanesque adventure: its revelations impeccably paced and its original material used to poignant effect… An Officer and a Spy is carried throughout by the peerless characterisation of Picquart… But most of all it is the honest, implacable soldier’s dawning realisation that the institutions in which he has placed his faith are appallingly corrupt that has the most tenacious hold on the reader. It still has power to shock – and it leaves us in no doubt as to an old story’s continuing resonance.
—— Christobel Kent , GuardianAn event that obsessed France and the world is retold here, in forensic detail, with great clarity and humanity.
—— Country LifeI have just had a preview copy of Robert Harris’s new novel An Officer and a Spy, a thriller based on the Dreyfus case. Like John le Carré, Harris is interested in rogue intelligence, corrupted by politics. Unlike le Carré he does not lay it on too thick. The story of Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer convicted in France for spying for the Germans then exonerated, is one of history’s great political dramas. Harris backs the power of argument and reason. Politicians reportedly took Charles Moore’s Thatcher biography with them on holiday. Harris’s thriller would be perfect for the trip home.’
—— Sarah Sands, Editor , Evening StandardMock-gothic variant on Frankenstein relates what happens when a computer programme goes rogue and ravages the money market. Suspense and satire combine in a book that is as up to the minute as a news flash.
—— Sunday TimesIf you didn’t catch it in hardback, grab it now in austerity-Britain paperback. Harris’s latest bestseller is a gripping, funny and timely tale of money – losing it or, more terrifyingly here, making too much of it… A high-speed plot, deft characterisation… and Harris even manages to explain what a hedge fund is.
—— The LadyPopulist fiction at its best.
—— SpectatorI would recommend The Fear Index. The writing is as elegant as ever.
—— Lionel Barber , Financial TimesHarris writes with a deceptively languid elegance, so that the novel straddles not only the crime and sci-fi genres but also that of literary fiction. A satisfying read on a number of levels, it is strongest as a character study of a man who discovers, pace Hemingway, the true meaning of the phrase "grace under pressure".
—— Irish TimesThe Fear Index is a frightening book, of course, as, with its title, it intends. Harris has an excellent sense of pace, and understands as much about fear in literature as Hoffman does in markets.
—— TelegraphLike Frankenstein, his novel is a tale of the catastrophic consequences of galvanising inanimate matter into uncontrollable life . . . The Fear Index is both cutting edge and keenly conscious of its literary predecessors. Reworking classic texts is a large-scale literary industry these days. Harris's tongue-in-cheek flesh-creeper (whose most chilling moments are its reminders of our present financial woes) is a virtuoso specimen of it.
—— Sunday TimesHarris is a master of pace and entertainment, and The Fear Index is a thoroughly enjoyable book . . . Read the book. If I die tomorrow, blame the computer.
—— ObserverA nail-biting listen - the financial world has never seemed so thrilling - beautifully read by Phillip Franks
—— Kati Nicholl , Daily ExpressThere is a cool edge to Franks' voice as he tracks Alex's surging paranoia to a blockbuster climax
—— Daily TelegraphHow would society respond to the inexplicable? This is the question the author tries, with intelligence, elegance and humour, to answer. Hervé le Tellier has written a frank and gripping novel with complex, moving characters. You won't be able to put it down!
—— Claire Bitaudeau , Librairie MillepagesEffervescent playfulness . . . Hilariously deadpan
—— GuardianThe novel is a tour de force which both dives into the personal lives of several characters and at the same time gives a group perspective on an international event which verges on science fiction. The taut rhythm of the investigation keeps the reader on tenterhooks
—— Toute La CultureThe situations are mad, but the questions they raise, far less so. Such is the profundity of this astonishing book: it makes light of itself, lending an air of fantasy to the fates of its characters, while Hervé le Tellier holds a mirror up before us
—— Le FigaroA master of one-touch characterisation. Le Tellier's genius is in making the unimaginable feel authentic
—— MetroLe Tellier, throughout this flight, deposits on the tarmac his stunned reader, ready to applaud
—— L'OpinionLe Tellier is a masterful writer and his staggering story verges on thriller and science fiction
—— Version FeminaSomewhere between fable and science fiction, it's a fascinating novel
—— La Depeche du MidiThe novel weaves a surprising story out of several narrative threads which give Hervé le Tellier the opportunity to touch on as many literary genres as he does themes, in a biting and often funny critique of the start of the 21st century
—— En Attendant NadeauExcellent...at once zeitgeisty, intelligent, and entertaining
—— Charlie HebdoFantastic...The Anomaly wears its name well: it's rare in France that a work combines the best of American TV series with an impeccable mastery of the French psychological novel
—— Elle FranceDizzying, compelling
—— RTE GuideMind-bending. Herve Le Tellier's emotional and intellectual rollercoaster is well worth the ride
—— The Times Literary SupplementA delightfully confounding thriller . . . Le Tellier's prose is beautifully efficient and capable of quiet devastation
—— London Review of Books