Beneath the foam of this exuberant debut is a dark, strong drink

Boyd was a smart choice for a Bond thriller. The action clips along. There are welcome literary flourishes and a dense plot.

Written with aplomb, Boyd’s Bond novel is a terrific twisting thriller.

Anyone wishing this autumn to enjoy the Cold War with the assurance of a happy ending should seek out William Boyd’s new James Bond novel, Solo, in which 007 is dispatched to West Africa and the fictitious country of Zanzarim, where he finds himself in the midst of a civil war.

A fantastic read, which I ripped through in the time it would take to watch Skyfall, as it happens, and I found it significantly more enjoyable.

A terrific twisting thriller

William Boyd brings back the real Bond, triumphantly

A triumph. Bond is back

Works brilliantly well

Superb

The late Ian Fleming would surely have approved

Brilliant

Keeps us on our toes until the closing pages

Terrific… A tremendous Bond story

Exciting stuff… Mission accomplished, Mr Boyd

Manages to enrich and refresh a character we thought we knew too well. Solo is a terrific twisting thriller – just when you smugly think you have spotted a huge hole in the plot, Boyd turns it breathtakingly around.

Since the death of Ian Fleming, plenty of writers have tried their hand at perpetuating the career of James Bond, with mixed results. Boyd’s Solo is undoubtedly one of the best.

A triumphant thriller worthy of Bond’s creator Ian Fleming.

I found myself wondering if Boyd had outdone Fleming.

[Boyd is] an ideal writer of James Bond novels, and this one, his first, is very good

Perfectly judged homage

A brand new James Bond adventure combining all the glamour and excitement of Fleming’s original novels with the masterful storytelling of William Boyd

A very good piece of literary ventriloquism, with a great baddie

Fleming’s James Bond lives again in this perfectly judged homage

Robert Harris is the master of the political thriller and his latest finds him in fine form.

Both gripping thriller and Buchanesque adventure: its revelations impeccably paced and its original material used to poignant effect… An Officer and a Spy is carried throughout by the peerless characterisation of Picquart… But most of all it is the honest, implacable soldier’s dawning realisation that the institutions in which he has placed his faith are appallingly corrupt that has the most tenacious hold on the reader. It still has power to shock – and it leaves us in no doubt as to an old story’s continuing resonance.

An event that obsessed France and the world is retold here, in forensic detail, with great clarity and humanity.

I have just had a preview copy of Robert Harris’s new novel An Officer and a Spy, a thriller based on the Dreyfus case. Like John le Carré, Harris is interested in rogue intelligence, corrupted by politics. Unlike le Carré he does not lay it on too thick. The story of Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer convicted in France for spying for the Germans then exonerated, is one of history’s great political dramas. Harris backs the power of argument and reason. Politicians reportedly took Charles Moore’s Thatcher biography with them on holiday. Harris’s thriller would be perfect for the trip home.’

I found it hard to put down, with several ingenious twists

This is the perfect beach read, absolutely gripping and with a pacey storyline that’s guaranteed to see you racing to the final page within days

Absolutely loved The Never List. Absorbing, innovative and thought provoking. Great read too! Fantastic new voice in fiction

If you’re looking for an edge-of-your-seat thriller, then this one is sure to suit