'The narrative is so engrossing, so propelling, you're surprised to come upon the last page...a damn good story.'

'A walloping knockout of a finisher that would seem like a cheap trick if it weren't so thrilling. The author plays a smooth game, not showing her hand until the absolute right time.'

'This is one of those sink-your-teeth-into-it novels that reminds you why you loved to read in the first place.'

The writing is fiercely unsentimental, the plotting complex and the characterisation pleasingly contrary ... [This] will stay with you for a long time

Lee Child's protagonist, Jack Reacher, is a hero in the Dirty Harry style, a man who lives by his own principles...Produces a surprising twist when it's least expected

A good, edge-of-the-seat thriller

Great fun! Franklin succeeds in vividly bringing the 12th century to life with this cracking good story. Expertly researched, a brilliant heroine, full of excellent period detail

A skilful blend of historical fact and gruesome fiction

Terrific... Wonderfully plotted. It's a historical mystery that succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and crime-thriller

...A morbidly entertaining novel that outdoes the competition

Delightfully original

Brilliant...A ripper, peopled with vivid characters.

The deserved winner of this year's Ellis Peters Historical Dagger is a cunningly plotted tale set in medieval Cambridge. A serial killer is at large, and the Jews are blamed. Henry I offers protection because he needs the money. He sends a medical examiner - a master of the art of death - to find the killer. Great stuff

Gruesome and compelling

Norwegian star Jo Nesbo has obliterated most of his Scandinavian rivals in the bestseller stakes, with The Leopard published in paperback this week... The uncrowned king of Norwegian crime fiction is Jo Nesbo. Books such as The Redbreast (2000) and his imposing novel The Snowman have propelled Nesbo to the heights. Apart from its narrative finesse, his work also provides a coolly objective guide to fluctuations in Norwegian society. There is also a universal feeling that his work is more strikingly individual than that of most of his Scandinavian colleagues... Harry is a lone wolf, a chronic alcoholic separated from his wife and child but in touch with the zeitgeist of his country. And Nesbo gives us a sharp picture of Norwegian society in flux, crammed with relevant detail - as you might expect from an ex-freelance journalist, particularly where the role of the media is described

Nesbo has a skill for dispatching his victims with increasing inventiveness, and he barely lets you draw breath before delivering a virtuoso torture and death scene in the opening chapter

The plot is intriguing, and Nesbo's writing is as taught as ever

It's fascinating to discover, from the incident details, what it is like to live for much of the time in a world under snow... Nesbo writes beautifully

There are passages [which are] so anatomically gruesome...that they can only be properly read through the gaps between protecting fingers

Norwegian star Jo Nesbo has obliterated most of his Scandinavian rivals in the bestseller stakes, with The Leopard published in paperback this week...The uncrowned king of Norwegian crime fiction is Jo Nesbo. Books such as The Redbreast (2000) and his imposing novel The Snowman have propelled Nesbo to the heights. Apart from its narrative finesse, his work also provides a coolly objective guide to fluctuations in Norwegian society. There is also a universal feeling that his work is more strikingly individual than that of most of his Scandinavian colleagues...Harry is a lone wolf, a chronic alcoholic separated from his wife and child but in touch with the zeitgeist of his country. And Nesbo gives us a sharp picture of Norwegian society in flux, crammed with relevant detail - as you might expect from an ex - freelance journalist, particularly where the role of the media is described