Bale keeps us guessing as our heroes edge towards a shocking climax

This first time thriller cuts the mustard ... Very readable

A spellbinding thriller ... Quite simply the best book I've read this year

Be prepared to sit up all night reading this one

Here is a treat for crime fans. Brighton novelist Tom Bale has produced a gripping contemporary thriller despite setting it largely in a sleepy Sussex village. Pacy and well written ... the deft local references simply add to the horror of the tale

Bale does the kind of spare, muscular prose that's increasingly popular with new practitioners. He gets his set pieces right too, nicely structured with the right degree of intensity. His plotting is clever, especially the late revelation of the killer. Bale deftly hijacks the archetypal English village setting of the golden age of crime writing and infuses it with the violence of an urban thriller

Skin and Bones opens with a startling scene and never slows down and never gives pause ... this is a mystery and a thriller that is satisfying on every level. Rich characters and a plot that grabs hold and won't let go ... This book gave me chills

As the story progresses, the pace speeds up until the very bloody climax ... A great first crime novel from Tom Bale

A great read, exciting, assured, fast-paced and utterly scary. Wonderful stuff

If you are a fan of thrillers, then this will certainly be up your street. It is a quite a page-turner and one you certainly won't be able to put down

Instantly engaging and terrifying crime thriller ... once you start reading, you won't want to stop. 5 stars

Anyone who enjoys crime fiction will welcome this first novel

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!'