Author:Francis Duncan,Geoffrey Beevers
Mordecai Tremaine, former tobacconist and perennial lover of romance novels, has been invited to spend Christmas in the sleepy village of Sherbroome at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame.
Arriving on Christmas Eve, he finds that the revelries are in full flow - but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.
Midnight strikes and the party-goers discover that it's not just presents nestling under the tree...there's a dead body too. A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas.
With the snow falling and the suspicions flying, it's up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit - and prevent someone else from getting murder for Christmas.
'Kept guessing to the end, I am left wondering why it has taken so long to discover Francis Duncan… With some 20 crime novels to his credit, a relaunch seems long overdue'
Daily Mail
'Who can resist a seasonal whodunnit? This is a bah-humbug’s ideal read'
Lady
'The book nods towards Agatha Christie but retains a crackling atmosphere of dread and horror that will chill the heart however warm your fireside'
Metro
'A wonderfully cosy read and a great way to while away a winter’s evening'
Nudge
'This is a golden age murder mystery that’ll certainly appeal to lovers of Agatha Christie – or anyone who enjoys a good, old-fashioned whodunit… This is a book that could be read at any time of year but would certainly make perfect festive reading. It has humour, excellent characterisation and a gentle tone that would sit well following the after-Queen’s Speech nap'
crimefictionlover
The book nods towards Agatha Christie but retains a crackling atmosphere of dread and horror that will chill the heart however warm your fireside
—— Claire Allfree , MetroKept guessing to the end, I am left wondering why it has taken so long to discover Francis Duncan […] With some 20 crime novels to his credit, a relaunch seems long overdue.
—— Barry Turner , Daily MailA classic murder mystery
—— BooksellerThis is a bah-humbug’s ideal read
—— LadyA wonderfully cosy read and a great way to while away a winter’s evening
—— Erin Britton , NudgeA delightful festive murder mystery
—— NudgeHard to know what to praise first here: the operatic sweep of this mesmerising novel; the surefooted orchestration of tension; or the vividly realised sense of time and place; all of these factors mark Jack Grimwood's Moskva out as something special in the arena of international thrillers
Memorable characters, powerful recreations of history and an unrelenting pace that will keep you breathless. A striking début in the genre.
—— Maxim JakubowskiA sublime writer . . . I felt glimmers of Le Carré shining through the prose.
—— CrimeSquadIf you love thrillers Jack Grimwood is the name you need to remember...
—— Viv Groskop , BBC Radio 2, Sara Cox ShowGripping . . . like an ecclesiastical version of House of Cards
—— The TimesWell-researched, intelligently observed and highly credible . . . Fast-moving and suspenseful, it’s elegantly written entertainment from a first-rate storyteller.
—— Mail on SundayGrips like a vice and manages to convey all the drama of an election without resorting to melodrama
—— Jake Kerridge , Sunday ExpressAn electric read, like a shot of adrenalin to the heart . . . rollicking and literate . . . an insightful and witty thriller
—— Tim Stanley , Literary ReviewPage-turning heaven
—— Alice Jones , IndependentSlick and fast-paced
—— Expressthis year's most highly anticipated psychological thriller
—— Sunday Timesaddictive
—— ObserverIf you like your books twisty and your narrators unreliable and flawed, this is for you
—— CosmopolitanWow, now I know why it has caused such a stir. Taut, tight, utterly compulsive. Once you embark you won't want to get off until the very last stop
—— Tammy CohenArtfully crafted and utterly riveting. The Girl on the Train's clever structure and expert pacing will keep you perched on the edge of your seat, but it's Hawkins' deft, empathetic characterization that will leave you pondering this harrowing, thought-provoking story about the power of memory and the danger of envy.
—— Kimberly McCreight, New York Times-bestselling author of Reconstructing AmeliaDamn you #girlonthetrain . . . you unputdownable, you. So twisty, compassionate and gritty. Loved it. Deserves to be massive
—— Tweet from Julia CrouchGoing to be THE book of 2015. Sexy, smart & v intricately plotted
—— Tweet from Eva DolanBrilliant, fast-moving, very clever. Add to your January wish-list now!
—— Tweet from Mark EdwardsBe ready to be spell-bound . . . It's the kind of book you'll want to press into the hands of everyone you know, after you've turned the last page, just so they can share your obsession and you can relive it
—— Laura Kasischke, author of The RaisingCompulsively readable…. It actually hurt to put it down
—— JOY FIELDING, New York Times bestselling author of Now You See HerI'm calling it now: The Girl on the Train is the next Gone Girl. Paula Hawkins' highly anticipated debut novel is a dark, gripping thriller with the shock ending you crave in a noir-ish mystery
—— BustleA gripping, down-the-rabbit-hole thriller
—— Entertainment Weekly (US)Gone Girl fans will devour this psychological thriller . . . Hawkins' debut ends with a twist that no one - least of all its victims - have seen coming
—— People Magazine (US)[Paula Hawkins] pulls off a thriller's toughest trick: carefully assembling everything we think we know, until it reveals the one thing we didn't see coming
—— Entertainment Weekly (US)distinctive, intelligent and unpredictable
—— The Timesperfectly paced, from its arresting beginning to its twist ending; it's not an easy book to put down . . . what really makes The Girl on the Train such a gripping novel is Hawkins' remarkable understanding of the limits of human knowledge, and the degree to whcih memory and imagination can become confused
—— NPR.orgA complex and increasingly chilling tale courtesy of a number of first-person narratives that will wrong-foot even the most experienced of crime fiction readers
—— Irish TimesThe Girl on the Train marries movie noir with novelistic trickery . . . hang on tight. You'll be surprised by what horrors lurk around the bend
—— USA Todayachieves a sinister poetry . . . Hawkins keeps the nastiest twist for last
—— Financial Times[L]ike Gone Girl, Hawkins' book is a highly addictive novel about a lonely divorcee who gets caught up in the disappearance of a woman whom she had been surreptitiously watching. And beyond the Gone Girl comaparisons, this book has legs of its own
—— GQ.comHawkins' masterful deployment of unwittingly unreliable narration to evoke the aftershocks of abuse and trauma is a powerful way of exploring women's marginalization
—— Huffington PostSprings new surprises on us . . .Pulses will be quickened
—— The Good Book GuideThe Girl on the Train has more fun with unreliable narration than any chiller since Gone Girl
—— New York TimesHalfway through and I can't stop reading it. My kinda thriller!
—— Tweet from Armistead Maupinit's BLIDDY FABLISS, isn't it! A long long time since a book gripped me like this
—— Tweet from Marian KeyesThe Girl on the Train is one of those delicious thrillers that can be devoured in four sittings, that's two return journeys on a typical train trip! There's a whiff of Agatha Christie and a dollop of Gone Girl with plenty of blind alleys that we happily wander up and get lost in. Pick it up, solve the crime and pass it on . . .
—— Ryan TubridyAgatha Christie meets Rear Window...a taut psychological thriller that's chockful of chilling twists.
—— Mail on Sunday, Events MagazineClever, exciting and full of twists, this is undoubtedly the cream of this year's crop
—— Daily MailUnputdownable . . . the new literary sensation . . . nothing short of sensational
—— Daily Mail...this unusual clammy-palmed thriller.
—— THE TIMESHawkins juggles perspectives and timescales with great skill, and considerable suspense builds up along with empathy for an unusual central character.
—— GUARDIAN