How doping killed cycling's 'golden boy'. A shocking, clear-sighted and sympathetic account of a talent destroyed by drugs.

'With his talent, Frank is the Johan Cruyff of cycling. He could win anything.'

A stunning biography of this troubled individual. 320 pages of brilliance.

Superb. A riveting, warts-an-all dive into a complex, deeply flawed rider and man during professional cycling's lowest ebb.

The fact that we know the tragically opaque ending of this story from the start is what lends such a devastating quality to McGrath's careful biography. Soberly told and with a clear affection for its wayward subject, McGrath's account explores the narcotically corrupting power of sport itself.

My favourite cycling book of the year... McGrath has penned arguably the most insightful cycling biography to date. It leaves you both questioning how the sport was so dysfunctional while perversely pining for more stories from the doomed era.

Captures the charisma and chaos of Vandenbroucke's short life perfectly.

Frank Vandenbroucke had the world at his pedals in the late 1990s ... but off [the bike] the Belgian lived in a soap opera, a mess of addictions, marital problems and, finally, death. McGrath is a sensitive yet compelling guide through this turbulence.

'I sometimes wonder if he was too intelligent to be a rider. He was a genius.'

'In Belgium, we need heroes, examples. People who don't break, people who release us from our daily mediocrity. People who can fly, who do things that we cannot. VDB on the Saint-Nicolas.'

'Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke was one of the sport's greatest ever talents - a charismatic but hard-partying maverick who was nicknamed 'God' by his legions of fans. So how did he end up dead in a Senegal hotel room at the age of just 34? Andy McGrath tells his tragic story.'

9/10

A cautionary tale. Gripping yet harrowing.

'He was shy and introverted, not the extrovert. We could think that he was macho, but he wanted to be loved.'

'People always love comeback stories. Because they recognise that in life, it's all about falling down and standing up.'

'A riveting, warts-an-all dive into a complex, deeply flawed rider and man'

'McGrath covers the rise and fall of Frank Vandenbroucke with sensitivity and not sensationalism... from winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège to doping and addiction, suicide attempts, court appearances and his death, no stone is left unturned when delivering the truth about 'cycling's great wasted talent'

'Poignant, painful but utterly riveting...covered with careful sensitivity by McGrath, painted in all its grey complexity with an absence of judgment. A captivating read'
Irish Independent

A chillingly vivid thriller in a fantastic setting - you can almost feel the icy Alpine wind on your face as you turn the pages.

A tense page-turner.

One of the most eagerly awaited debuts of the year.

The nail-biting suspense and spooky atmosphere of Sarah Pearse's thrilling debut novel kept me reading until late in the night. I loved Sarah's masterful descriptions of the Alpine setting, the creepy history of the hotel, and the growing sense of danger as the hapless characters are cut off from the outside world by a massive storm . . . just as the realisation dawns that a deranged killer is on the loose.

Tense, claustrophobic and chilling in every sense of the word.

Dark and suspenseful - I had shivers running down my spine as I read this chilling thriller.

An addictive, creepy and twisting read. The perfect gothic story for a cold February night.

An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat.

[A] menacing, creepy debut [...] There are echoes of Hitchcock and du Maurier, but Pearse has her own distinctive, emotional voice - one to be admired.

Tense, chilling and full of surprises.

Locked-room mysteries a la Agatha Christie are proving to be very popular right now, and this one doesn't disappoint.

This atmospheric chiller has a few shocks up its sleeve.

A mix of whodunnit and psychological thriller with hints of horror, this fine debut [...] is smartly structured and often powerful.

Spooky, chilling and claustrophobic.

This impressive debut is a twist on the classic locked-room mystery in a wonderfully eerie Gothic setting. Its sharp prose builds suspense through a series of twists that will send an Alpine chill up your spine, building to an unpredictable finale. This clever, compelling thriller deserves to be a bestseller and marks out Sarah Pearse as one to watch.

Want a book that's going to leave you chilled to the bone? This is it!

Sarah Pearse's chilling debut is making waves. The Sanatorium certainly has an eerie, cinematic appeal [...] With whispers of The Shining in setting and The Girl on the Train in pace.

I absolutely loved The Sanatorium - it gave me all the wintry thrills and chills. It was just wonderful.

Genuinely scary and deliciously atmospheric, and one of the best books of 2021, this international bestseller is guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

What a page-turner! Like Agatha Christie crossed with Scandi noir, and doing with Swiss mountains what Jane Harper books do with the Australian outback. Loved it, and can't wait for the next Elin book!