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Prague Nights
Prague Nights
Oct 30, 2024 1:25 PM

Author:Benjamin Black

Prague Nights

'The emperor's mistress had been murdered, and the world had been taken hold of and turned upon its head'

Prague, 1599. Christian Stern, a young doctor, has just arrived in the city. On his first evening, he finds a young woman's body half-buried in the snow.

The dead woman is none other than the emperor's mistress, and there's no shortage of suspects. Stern is employed by the emperor himself to investigate the murder. In the search to find the culprit, Stern finds himself drawn into the shadowy world of the emperor's court - unspoken affairs, letters written in code, and bitter rivalries. But there's no turning back now...

Reviews

Black is a master of high-class crime fiction, literary noir in the tradition of Georges Simenon and Raymond Chandler

—— Guardian

An atmospheric evocation of a city frozen by winter and riddled with intrigue

—— Daily Mail

This is an intriguing excursion into different historical territory

—— Sunday Times

Monumental, DeLillo at his chilling best. Concentrates on the inner life of the people who shaped the Kennedy assassination. He constructs the very human faces behind a monstrous event, creating fiction which trespasses on reality

—— Time Out

An audacious blend of fiction and fact

—— The Times

Sure Derek Miller's novels are smart and full of heart and savvy and hilarious, but even more than all of this, he's fun. He's as dedicated as any writer I know to the proposition that readers should enjoy themselves, should delight in the experience of life and language. If our hearts get broken along the way, so much the better.

—— Richard Russo, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Engaging characters, a cracking plot and some interesting insights

—— Guardian

At once an absorbing thriller and a beautifully observed study of the relationship between mother and teenage daughter

—— Refinery29

Rich with emotional depth

—— Evening Standard

Healey thoughtfully explores complex problems facing young women and families today and in Lana she has created a masterpiece of inarticulacy

—— Daily Express, Four Stars

An enjoyable novel about the complicated bonds of family life

—— Mail on Sunday

A sharp and sympathetic description of the whole strange business of and having a teenage child - and of being one

—— Reader's Digest

A sobering journey into the underworld of the human psyche

—— Irish Independent

Healey broadens the remit of the thriller...the author has managed a double feat here, creating a psychological thriller that meshes the homely with the gothic...the novel builds to a climax and the moving final sentence is formally and emotionally the perfect resolution

—— Literary Review

Quirky, humorous and entirely engrossing

—— Sunday Mirror

It's as gripping as its predecessor

—— Elle

Beautifully written

—— Good Housekeeping

A sensitive study of a mother-daughter relationship

—— Woman & Home

A gripping tale ... a deeply affecting account of one woman's quiet but unyielding refusal to allow hope to succumb to helplessness and despair

—— The Irish Times

I adored the forensic detail of Healey's writing and the wry, sharp take on millenial family life

—— Daily Mail

Authentically and empathetically written

—— Daily Telegraph

There's a winning irreverence to Healey's writing

—— Guardian

[A] satisfying, cathartic mystery

—— Jenny Colgan , Guardian

A fast-paced, gripping read

—— Closer

Gripping

—— Bella

The achievement of this follow-up lies its finely drawn mother/daughter pairing and sharp take on the nitty-gritty of contemporary familial relationships...the desperate love of a parent for a child they cannot know is wonderfully true to life

—— Guardian

The novel's real strength, though, lies in its examination of such intimate familial ties and the incredulity that in a world of Google Earth, rolling news and endless online discussion groups, something - a mystery - could still go unmapped. And the conundrum isn't even so much where Lana has been, but how parents can connect with their children in such dilemmas, and how many of life's problems cannot be immediately or easily solved

—— Financial Times

Courageous...intriguing...entertaining

—— Observer

A beautiful exploration of mental health and love

—— Stylist

The sequel to Beartown is finally here, and it does not disappoint.

—— Hello Giggles, US

This is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of an
innocence we all take for granted - and it will grip you from start to finish.

—— Canadian Living, Canada

Just as the cult TV hit Friday Night Lights wasn't just about high-school
football, this sequel to Beartown is about more than small-town hockey.
Us Against You is a story of hopes, dreams, loyalty, friendship, and - after
someone is left for dead - the lengths people will go to for the love of the game.

—— Hello! Canada, Canada

We have a rare book for you. [Us Against You] is not only about hockeyand sports. It's about everything that makes a man a man.

—— Pravo, Czech Republic

Backman uses an abundance of thrilling hints about upcoming events,
and it works. You simply have to continue reading. The story is
wonderful, deeply touching and very thought-provoking, and hats off
again to the author's ability to portray people and trends in society. The
novel plays on your entire register of emotions, and you live and breathe
alongside the many different characters, all of which are precisely and empathetically depicted.

—— Litteratursiden, Denmark

A beautiful and brutal drama.

—— Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark

"Fredrik Backman is one of Sweden's best authors. He's mastered how
to depict a village and its citizens so that you both love and hate them.
/.../ Backman writes with emotion, and it goes straight to your heart. /.../
As always with Backman, there's still hope for humanity, because wherethere is violence and hatred, there is also forgiveness and love."

—— Bogblogger, Denmark

Us Against You is an excellent novel that's easy to read and skillfully
handles great themes. /.../ The world created by Backman lives andbreathes and the characters are both human and complex.

—— Aamuset, Finland

Backman keeps you hooked from the first to the last page. For allBeartown fans, Us Against You feels like coming home.

—— Hebban, Netherlands

Fredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men, with a love and
understanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with theirfists. It's hard not to love it.

—— Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

Backman knows how to construct a thrilling plot, and what he writes
engages. /.../ And when he hits his stride among the emotions, the
sentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heart.

—— Landskrona Posten, Sweden

The perfect book for the beach.

—— Daily Mail

The most authentic, gripping presidential thriller ever.

—— Essence

The perfect book for the beach: a big, fast-paced, twisty engrossing thriller packed with spectacular detail of what it is really like to be President of the United States.

—— Daily Mail Ireland

Fast-paced is too inadequate a description for this dark, suspense-filled tale.

—— Guardian

Both a first-rate thriller and fascinating insight into the goings on within the White House.

—— Trucker magazine

A page-turner from start to finish

—— The People's Friend

Insightful and gripping

—— Good Living (ASDA)

A top-notch thriller.

—— Sun
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