The pages turn themselves, right up to the final startling twist

Carin Gerhardsen writes so vividly, like she is painting with words, gripping your heart and soul in an ever-tightening tourniquet

The books are fast-paced and addictive: finely tuned pieces that virtually demand to be read in one sitting

There are many other good detective writers...there is Gladys Mitchell with her fascinating Mrs Bradley, ugly as a toad and armed with the latest up-to-date theories of psychology

A smart techno thriller set in a dark world of greed, corruption and sex

I haven't read such a captivating, relentlessly suspenseful thriller as The Andalucian Friend in ages

A gripping thriller

Will be devoured by those who like their books like blockbuster movies – packed full of car-chases and underground drug dens

Brilliant and erudite thriller... Pearl is a young Dante expert...this is his first book and he knows how to sustain a narrative. Perfect for reading before the flickering fire

Working on a vast canvas, Mr. Pearl keeps this mystery sparkling with erudition...with this captivating brain teaser as his debut novel, seems also to have put his life's work on the line in melding scholarship with mystery. He does justice to both

Audacious and captivating.

Pearl's scholarly background is evident in the erudite detail he weaves into his fictional narrative, adding texture and complexity

A brilliant literary novel which manages to be academic without being dull, combining as it does scholarly density with page-turning suspense

Matthew Pearl is the new shining star of literary fiction - a heady, inventive, and immensely gifted author. With intricate plots, classical themes, and erudite characters...what's not to love?

Startlingly inventive

Striking early scenes show why Henderson has his illustrious admirers.

A worthy contender for the title of a great American novel. With its magisterial scope and emotionally rich storytelling, this literary tour-de-force captivated and, at few points, grounded me to dust with its sheer brilliance. It is one of the books that will always keep bouncing around my head and one around which many readers will redefine their life. I can't recommend it enough.

A triumphant thriller worthy of Bond’s creator Ian Fleming.

I found myself wondering if Boyd had outdone Fleming.

[Boyd is] an ideal writer of James Bond novels, and this one, his first, is very good

Perfectly judged homage

A brand new James Bond adventure combining all the glamour and excitement of Fleming’s original novels with the masterful storytelling of William Boyd

A very good piece of literary ventriloquism, with a great baddie

Fleming’s James Bond lives again in this perfectly judged homage