As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing

Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end

Compelling and eerily authentic . . . Read it and be grateful to be alive in our day and age.

A dark, original story wrapped in a wonderful gothic gloom . . . it's a tough act to pull off, but Andrew Hughes manages it with brio. I heard echoes of James Hogg and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Reminiscent of John Banville's The Book of Evidence . . . a bracing, lurid tale that is as engrossing as it is chilling.

A vivid piece of writing . . . brings to mind Andrew Miller’s Costa-winning novel, Pure.

Extraordinarily detailed world, impeccably researched . . . so superbly written that it soars as a masterly work of fiction . . . utterly compelling.

An intriguing debut (that) sets out Hughes as one to watch.

A skilfully planned, elegantly written debut . . . a riveting read.

Stupendous: a brilliant achievement for a first novel, completely compelling and with a perfectly damaged central character.

Told in the voice of its oddly detached protagonist, this is a memorable novel - a chilling story of a man gradually losing all sense of what makes life worth living.

This dark gem... The knowledgable Andrew Hughes carefully recreates a truly grim time, seemingly stripped of morals, and one where a brutal end lurks on each street.

With its polished prose, vivid period feel and debauched protagonist, this assured first novel will be relished by fans of literary crime and historical fiction alike.

The story is not for the faint of heart, but for those who love being thrilled, gripped by an unputdownable book, and who loves reading about the dark side of life, then this is the book for them. This chilling novel is amazing and I loved every page. Simply fabulous.

At once a close character study and a sweeping panorama of the era of 'dissectionists', who buy bodies for medical research and the 'resurectionists' who dig them up, this fascinating book is a stirring work of fiction and a perceptive chapter in Ireland's social history.

ghastly, riveting tale.

Highly unsettling

A tantalising mystery

Captures sinister atmosphere brilliantly