Author:Lawrence Osborne
The best intentions can be deadly
During a white-hot summer on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra, two girls fall into one another’s lives to devastating effect.
When Samantha, a young, impressionable American, meets Naomi, a Brit with a taste for danger, their relationship quickly takes on a special intensity. Amid the sun, sea and high society of island life, their imaginations are sparked when one day they find a young Arab man, Faoud, washed up on shore, a casualty of the crisis raging across the Aegean. But when their seemingly simple plan to help the stranger goes wrong, all must face the horrific consequences they have set in motion.
Both impossible to put down and beautifully written: a great combo
—— Lionel Shriver , Observer Books of the YearAn astute, unsentimental critique of the contemporary world in crisis... Osborne handles surface and depth with immense skill, as only great writers can do. Beautiful Animals is his most accomplished book so far -- a big, clever, crazed beast of a novel
—— Deborah Levy , Financial TimesOften almost literally bristling with menace… his Hydra is rugged with physical immediacy. Silhouetted against it, emotions fluctuate, sexual frissons flicker back and forth, destinies tremble in the balance… It’s the brilliance with which Osborne conjures all this up that leaves you eager to see where his nomadic imagination will take him next
—— Peter Kemp , Sunday TimesOsborne is a startlingly good observer of privilege, noting the rites and rituals of the upper classes with unerring precision and an undercurrent of malice
—— New York Times Book ReviewOsborne is a startlingly good observer of privilege, noting the rites and rituals of the upper classes with unerring precision and an undercurrent of malice… The novel takes on the tone of an existential noir, evoking writers like Jean-Patrick Manchette and Georges Simenon... An heir to Graham Greene... he shares with Greene an interest in what might be called the moral thriller
—— Katie Kitamura , New York Times Book ReviewComplex and thrilling, Beautiful Animals confirms Osborne as one of Britain’s very best novelists
—— Anthony Gardner , Mail on SundayBeautiful Animals is terrifically well constructed, written with mean authority, brilliantly evocative about place … A masterpiece of disaffection
—— David Sexton , Evening StandardSpare, subtle… brilliantly achieved
—— Frances Wilson , Times Literary SupplementOsborne is interested in what his characters do when events are wrested out of their control, his narratives unfurling like a set of carefully lined-up dominoes… It’s exciting for sure, but cuts closer to the bone than Osborne’s previous novels and is all the more distressing and depressing for it
—— Lucy Scholes , IndependentSuperlatively gripping… Osborne plunges his characters far from the luminescent surface and into the darkest depths
—— Anita Sethi , iCracking Greek noir
—— GuardianA thriller that is full of dazzling sunshine
—— Robert Douglas-Fairhurst , The TimesOsborne crafts a rich, nourishing mood in his sun-drenched tale, while offering astute observations of privilege and obscene wealth ... a perfect read to devour in one go on a white-hot, breezeless day
—— Meadhbh McGrath , Irish IndependentA stylish, slow-burn novel… Atmospheric and well observed, with Osborne’s sinuous prose exerting its own fascination
—— TatlerA taut and provocative psychological thriller with a topical twist… His enthralling Greek tragedy is a deft examination of unchecked greed, twisted loyalties and the corrupted mind
—— Malcolm Forbes , Herald ScotlandLawrence Osborne is an enigmatic, unpindownable writer
—— Alex Preston , ObserverBeautiful Animals supplies two satisfying, but contradictory, feelings. On the one hand, you are immersed in the languid atmosphere of Hydra... But slipping through the charm with all the page-turning excitement of a beautifully written literary thriller is the nagging dread that something is about to go horribly wrong...
—— Emerald StreetOsborne is both a consummate stylist and an acute observer of moral ambivalence and this quietly simmering, intoxicatingly good book lingers uneasily in the air, like a hangover
—— MetroTense, fateful
—— Patricia Nicol , Sunday TimesA cold-eyed look at bourgeois ennui and the parasitic nature of privilege… compulsive reading
—— Molly McCloskey , GuardianAn absorbing psychological study of greed, loyalty and cultural conflict
—— Malcolm Forbes , NationalThe bastard child of Graham Greene and Patricia Highsmith
—— MetroA masterful and sophisticated psychological thriller that explores moral ambiguity from multiple perspectives
—— BBC.comTaut psychological thriller that’s as sinister as it is thrilling. A real unputdownable effort that examines morality and privilege
—— Love It!Smart, seductive… A sophisticated page-turner
—— Mackenzie Dawson , Angle NewsOsborne is a literary writer – and a brilliant one – and this sumptuously written superbly observed study of misplaced idealism and moral expediency reads a bit like a thriller penned by F Scott Fitzgerald
—— MetroMalevolent, gripping… A compelling read, acutely observed and beautifully written. For all the character defects of the principal protagonists, the reader wants to find out what happens to them. It matters. And there can be no higher praise than that
—— Richard Hopton , Country & Town HouseThis complex, thrilling novel focuses on Naomi Codrington, a young lawyer who befriends Samantha, a malleable American teenager, while summering with her father and stepmother on the Greek island of Hydra. When they find a Syrian refugee washed up on the shore, calamity comes rushes in.
—— The Mail on SundayThrilling, chilling and contains the following subtext: best stay at home
—— Strong WordsThe sequel to Beartown is finally here, and it does not disappoint.
—— Hello Giggles, USThis is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of an
innocence we all take for granted - and it will grip you from start to finish.
Just as the cult TV hit Friday Night Lights wasn't just about high-school
football, this sequel to Beartown is about more than small-town hockey.
Us Against You is a story of hopes, dreams, loyalty, friendship, and - after
someone is left for dead - the lengths people will go to for the love of the game.
We have a rare book for you. [Us Against You] is not only about hockeyand sports. It's about everything that makes a man a man.
—— Pravo, Czech RepublicBackman uses an abundance of thrilling hints about upcoming events,
and it works. You simply have to continue reading. The story is
wonderful, deeply touching and very thought-provoking, and hats off
again to the author's ability to portray people and trends in society. The
novel plays on your entire register of emotions, and you live and breathe
alongside the many different characters, all of which are precisely and empathetically depicted.
A beautiful and brutal drama.
—— Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark"Fredrik Backman is one of Sweden's best authors. He's mastered how
to depict a village and its citizens so that you both love and hate them.
/.../ Backman writes with emotion, and it goes straight to your heart. /.../
As always with Backman, there's still hope for humanity, because wherethere is violence and hatred, there is also forgiveness and love."
Us Against You is an excellent novel that's easy to read and skillfully
handles great themes. /.../ The world created by Backman lives andbreathes and the characters are both human and complex.
Backman keeps you hooked from the first to the last page. For allBeartown fans, Us Against You feels like coming home.
—— Hebban, NetherlandsFredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men, with a love and
understanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with theirfists. It's hard not to love it.
Backman knows how to construct a thrilling plot, and what he writes
engages. /.../ And when he hits his stride among the emotions, the
sentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heart.
The perfect book for the beach.
—— Daily MailThe most authentic, gripping presidential thriller ever.
—— EssenceThe perfect book for the beach: a big, fast-paced, twisty engrossing thriller packed with spectacular detail of what it is really like to be President of the United States.
—— Daily Mail IrelandFast-paced is too inadequate a description for this dark, suspense-filled tale.
—— GuardianBoth a first-rate thriller and fascinating insight into the goings on within the White House.
—— Trucker magazineA page-turner from start to finish
—— The People's FriendInsightful and gripping
—— Good Living (ASDA)A top-notch thriller.
—— Sun