One of the greatest novelists presently at work in our language ... A writer whose work should be read by anyone who either enjoys a brilliant mystery - or distinguished literature

The most brilliant mystery novelist of our time

With immaculate control, Ruth Rendell builds a menacing crescendo of tension and horror that keeps you guessing right up to the brilliantly paced finale

Without doubt the most distinguished living writer of crime stories... Ruth Rendell really makes the most of this beautifully-imagined plot

Hold on tight - this one burns like a lit fuse

An action movie on the printed page... a protagonist tough enough to take on the Jacks of this world (thats Bauer and Reacher)... an adrenaline-rush read that you're not going to forget any time soon

Murder, kidnapping, explosions... mix in Sean Black's no-nonsense all-action hero, Ryan Lock, and you have all the right ingredients for a top-notch thriller

Tipped to be the biggest selling thriller debut of 2010

This is modern crime at its most brutal, its most affecting, its most honest and its most intelligent.

Tony Black's third novel Loss is another bleak investigation for his poignant Edinburgh washed up journalist turned involuntary private investigator Gus Dury. Black writes about urban blight and the curse of alcohol like no other, but his down at heel tales are also full of everyday humour. Harrowing but indispensable.

Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer and Gus Dury the genre's most interesting protagonist. Like his previous books, Loss has the power, style and street swagger that makes most of his contemporaries a little bland by comparison.

Most of the fiction books about Edinburgh are geared for the tourist but this is actually geared for the punter ... It really evokes the place ... In Gus Dury you have a very Edinburgh character. If Trainspotting's Begbie's younger brother had gone to university and become a journalist he might have been something like Gus Dury.

From every angle - character study, philosophical discussion or straightforward plot - it shines with crystalline intensity, and so far as one can tell, nothing is lost in the translation. Complex and supremely elegant, this is a book to relish

This is a book and a half

Nesbo effortlessly shows what can be done with the classic detective story, employing clever tricks to maintain almost unbearable suspense

Consolidated his reputation as a Scandinavian novelist ready to fill any Larsson-shaped holes. Nesbo, one ex-rock star who can write, fuses urgent storytelling with a keen engagement with social issues

A superb, tasty, huge page-turner... Seriously scary but a superior thriller

My big book discovery this time was The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - it's about a Norwegian detective who has to investigate a series of gruesome murders. What could be better for holiday entertainment

THE NEXT STIEG LARSSON

[A] dark, chilling, page-turner

'Civilised, funny, life-affirming and hugely enjoyable. I can't recall reading crime fiction quite like this before- honest, ironic, and cheerfully unselfconscious. I urge you to share my surprise and delight.'

One of the most brilliantly playful, witty and original writers we have.

'At heart a comic novelist, who explores the relationship between comedy and crime... In Case Histories, these skills have found their literary home.'

'Sharp humour, together with a number of unexpected twists, make this a typically pacey and intelligent read.'

Not just the best novel I have read this year...but the best mystery of the decade. There are actually four mysteries, nesting like Russian dolls, and when they begin to fit together, I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight and amazement. Case Histories is the literary equivalent of a triple axel. I read it once for pleasure and then again just to see how it was done. This is the mind of book you shove in people's faces, saying 'You gotta read this!'