Crime writings best-kept secret

One of the "Big Three" female mystery novelists, judged the equal of Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie, but that's not quite accurate - she's more like a mad combination of both

Mrs Bradley is easily one of the most memorable personalities

Darkly gripping.

Spectacular! Tense and human, fast and authentic.

Sometimes, rarely, you know from the first chapter or so of a novel that you're in the hands of a master story teller. In the case of Tony Parsons's brilliant new thriller, The Murder Bag, we know this within the first few pages. A relentless plot, evocative prose and compelling (and wrenching) portraits of the characters, good and evil, conspire to make this a must-read. And I have two words for hero Max Wolfe: More. Soon.

Has all the ingredients and more: great plotting, great characters and at least two eye-widening twists I didn't see coming.

It's a brilliant crime novel, a thrilling procedural. Max Wolfe is a wonderfully endearing character, smart and tough and vulnerable, and with Scout (and Stan too) Tony has created so much warmth and tenderness, in a world, a genre, so often devoid of it. His research is wide, deep, impeccable - from forensics to the psychology, procedure to protocol. And boy does he know how to create suspense, and convincing plot lines, which snake and weave, and surprise right until the very end. This is a complex, shocking, very contemporary story, told with utter conviction and authority. I was hooked from page one. Crime writing has brilliant new star.

Tony Parsons has fashioned a fiendishly plotted, chilling and unexpectedly moving thriller. The Murder Bag is pacy and passionate, often beautifully written, with a genuinely surprising final twist. Detective Max Wolfe has just the right balance of compassion and rage. I expect to see a lot more of Mr Wolfe.

Has reinvented himself as a gritty crime-writer … But there are two things that elevate Parsons’ novel: parenting is his speciality subject and it’s treated with a nuance largely absent elsewhere in crime fiction. And Parsons, a quintessential London writer, evokes his city with pungency and élan.

[Tony Parsons'] writing pedigree is first class. It shows in this terrific thriller, and Max Wolfe is a class act, a brilliant character that has to feature again ... Absolutely stunning!

Smith Henderson's prose is an utter joy to read. An intricate novel with an echo of Céline. A great accomplishment. An extraordinary debut.

A terrific debut novel, packed full of bracing scenes and sentences that stick in the mind long after the last page. It barely seems credible that this is Smith Henderson's first book.

Zings with an immediacy that makes you feel like you’re right there … Henderson, a former social worker and prison guard, hails from Montana, so it’s no surprise he can do it justice.

Listen out for echoes of Richards Russo and Ford as Henderson powers his way to an abruptly devastating ending.

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