Author:Robert Goddard
When Tim Harding agrees to do a friend a favour by bidding for an antique ring at an auction on his behalf, he is unaware of the secrets tied up with it - secrets that date back three hundred years.
But the ring is stolen before it can be sold, and a shocking murder follows. Harding is quickly thrown into a web of conspiracies surrounding the ring's origins. As he draws closer to the heart of the mystery, he comes across a young woman he is certain he recognizes, even though they have never met.
But as he goes in search of her identity, his life begins to fall apart. Somewhere, a perilous truth awaits him, coupled with a terrible realization: those who uncover that truth cannot be allowed to live...
An absorbing read from a truly creative storyteller... A dizzying sequence of twists, handled with Goddard's customary aplomb, make Name to a Face both an excellent introduction to his work and a treat for diehard fans
—— GuardianMysterious, dramatic, intricate, fascinating and unputdownable... Goddard is the crime writers' crime writer
—— Daily MirrorThe master of the clever twist
—— Sunday TelegraphGoddard rarely disappoints... Meticulous planning, well-drawn characters and an immaculate sense of place... A satisfying number of twists and shocks along the way
—— The TimesWhen it comes to duplicity and intrigue, Goddard is second to none... A master of manipulation
—— Daily MailThe plotting in this intelligent thriller is exceptionally good. Goddard's greatest strength is his ability to operate like a literary conjurer; we know he will give us a twist or surprise in almost every chapter, but time and time again he hits us with it from an unexpected direction
—— SpectatorAdmirers of Goddard will know that they are in safe hands, as ever
—— Good Book GuideIt is certainly well worth unplugging the phone and immersing yourself in another Goddard adventure
—— Crimesquad.comA meticulously plotted tale of intrigue with his characteristic combination of contemporary invention and accurate historical detail
—— Literary ReviewExcellent... anyone who enjoys mystery, edge of the seat suspense and a good plot should read this
—— New BooksCombines the expert suspense manipulation skills of a Daphne du Maurier romance with those of a John Le Carre thriller
—— The New York TimesA real page turner, full of surprises to the very end
—— Woman's WeeklyAn intriguing plot, clever twists, surprise elements, believable characters and unexplained history explored... A real page-turner
—— ChoiceOne of Britain's finest thriller writers
—— Time OutThis guy can write.
—— James EllroyNeville has the talent to believably blend the tropes of the crime novel and those of a horror, in the process creating a page-turning thriller akin to a collaboration between John Connolly and Stephen King...
—— The Sunday IndependentA brilliant thriller: unbearably tense, stomach-churningly frightening.
—— The ObserverA no-frills thriller that barrels along at a ferocious pace, pausing only to offer the occasional nod to 1970s paranoid classics such as William Goldman's Marathon Man.
—— Declan Burke , Irish TimesStuart Neville's third novel effortlessly exceeds the high expectations created by the first two installments... Stuart Neville's latest novel is a thrilling masterpiece. From its gripping and well paced plot to its well defined and intriguing characters, Stolen Souls is a powerful novel, which does not shy away from exploring the new literary landscape for Northern Irish fiction.
—— Kellie Chambers , Ulster TatlerWith echoes of The Thomas Crown Affair, spectacular storytelling and a beautifully judged super-twist, it confirms Nesbo's place at the pinnacle of thriller writers and, inevitably, a film version will be with us next year. It's that good.
—— Geoffrey Wansell , Daily MailHarris is a master of pace an entertainment, and The Fear Index is a thoroughly enjoyable book . . . Read the book. If I die tomorrow, blame the computer.
—— ObserverLike all Harris's books, this one is readily enjoyable as a suspense story . . . But what makes Harris's thrillers so much more rewarding than those of his rivals is that they all, whatever their ostensible subject, come out of his deep and expert interest in politics, broadly conceived - which is to say, in power, in how power is taken, held and lost; how some people are able to dominate others; how wealth and status, fear and greed, work . . .The Fear Index (which has a lot to say about the very rich - a group to which Harris himself now belongs but doesn't like) is ultimately a study in the total lack of morality of those who manipulate the markets . . . By focusing thus on a rogue algorithm and a pure scientist, Harris is not really fronting up the true authors of our current financial plight, perhaps. But, in its own carefully conceived terms, The Fear Index is certainly another winner.
—— Evening StandardThis latest nail-biter from the author of The Ghost will keep fans of suspense up all night.
—— Good HousekeepingTo crawl by bus through rush-hour traffic is not something that would normally appeal to a busy person. Unless, like me, that person was in possession of Robert Harris's new thriller The Fear Index. Then they would certainly relish the potential for escapism such a slow journey could provide and there was nowhere else I wanted to be then in that story, which delivers pure pleasure with every page.
—— The LadyHarris is a master of pace and entertainment, and The Fear Index is a thoroughly enjoyable book . . . Read the book.
—— ObserverThe Fear Index is an escapist thriller to rank with the best of them, and as a guide to what hedge funds actually do, it is surprisingly clear and instructive.
—— EconomistThere are moments when this book feels so up to date it could have been written next week... spookily exciting.
—— ExpressPerhaps the greatest thriller writer around, Harris has delivered his best work yet. A modern classic.
—— Irish ExaminerMock-gothic variant on Frankenstein relates what happens when a computer programme goes rogue and ravages the money market. Suspense and satire combine in a book that is as up to the minute as a news flash.
—— Sunday TimesIf you didn’t catch it in hardback, grab it now in austerity-Britain paperback. Harris’s latest bestseller is a gripping, funny and timely tale of money – losing it or, more terrifyingly here, making too much of it… A high-speed plot, deft characterisation… and Harris even manages to explain what a hedge fund is.
—— The LadyPopulist fiction at its best.
—— SpectatorI would recommend The Fear Index. The writing is as elegant as ever.
—— Lionel Barber , Financial TimesHarris writes with a deceptively languid elegance, so that the novel straddles not only the crime and sci-fi genres but also that of literary fiction. A satisfying read on a number of levels, it is strongest as a character study of a man who discovers, pace Hemingway, the true meaning of the phrase "grace under pressure".
—— Irish TimesThe Fear Index is a frightening book, of course, as, with its title, it intends. Harris has an excellent sense of pace, and understands as much about fear in literature as Hoffman does in markets.
—— TelegraphLike Frankenstein, his novel is a tale of the catastrophic consequences of galvanising inanimate matter into uncontrollable life . . . The Fear Index is both cutting edge and keenly conscious of its literary predecessors. Reworking classic texts is a large-scale literary industry these days. Harris's tongue-in-cheek flesh-creeper (whose most chilling moments are its reminders of our present financial woes) is a virtuoso specimen of it.
—— Sunday TimesHarris is a master of pace and entertainment, and The Fear Index is a thoroughly enjoyable book . . . Read the book. If I die tomorrow, blame the computer.
—— ObserverA nail-biting listen - the financial world has never seemed so thrilling - beautifully read by Phillip Franks
—— Kati Nicholl , Daily ExpressThere is a cool edge to Franks' voice as he tracks Alex's surging paranoia to a blockbuster climax
—— Daily Telegraph