Will keep you riveted from page one

CSI: Victorian London

Throw in deranged prostitutes, poisonings and throat slittings galore, amidst lashings of London fog. Gory, lurid and tons of guilty fun

excellent debut

Very accomplished technically, and a scary psychological study of an introverted rural community

There's a haunting, hypnotic, quality to this book that gives a splendid tautness as the secrets of a suspicious and inward-looking community isolated in a magnificent but dangerous – even deadly – landscape are uncovered. An accomplished debut.

an excellent story, told with well-fleshed, warmblooded characters that give colour and authenticity to the Ozark backdrop. It was a compelling read ... Marvellous. There is lip-licking anticipation for more from this first time author.

The Weight of Blood is a tense, taut novel and a truly remarkable debut ... The Weight of Blood rewards its readers with a suspenseful thrill ride that satisfies in all the right ways.

This is an outstanding first novel, replete with suspense, crisp dialogue, and vivid Ozarks color and atmosphere.

The prose is strong, with evocative paint strokes in all the right places. McHugh is an artful, efficient writer who tells her story in vicious blows ... McHugh has crafted a sharp, haunting tale of blood in the Ozarks, as substantial as it is pleasurable to read.

...it’s superb. Sentence after sentence reads like a gem. The dialogue is masterful. The characters are believable. The plotting is gripping ... The Weight of Blood constitutes first-rate literature

an incredible and multi-layered story woven to perfection by the author. Overall the book feels very authentic… The writing here is superb, very descriptive and of a very high quality I'd say it's one of the best written books that I've read so far this year. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author in the future… told in an intelligent and gripping way. Not a book to miss this one and very highly recommended

It may be McHugh’s debut psychological crime novel, but in my book, The Weight of Blood, puts this talented writer up there with the best of them. Inspired by a true story that took place in the town in the Ozark Mountains where McHugh spent part of her childhood, this gripping thriller bravely confronts the scandalous treatment of young women in modern-day America… A compulsive debut filled with suspense, this book leaves me wanting more from McHugh

A chilling psychological thriller with two distinct strands... This is tense, atmospheric stuff well told, an impressive debut

One of my favourite reads of last year, this is a well-written cleverly plotted and chilling story

Compelling.

There is a fantastically handled creeping dread to the narrative flow… The ambiguity of Jake's story and her history are played with brilliantly throughout, making this an eerie, creepy kind of existential thriller.

Tim Winton [is] a writer with whom the fearless Wyld deserves serious comparison.

Completely and utterly monumental. Powerful and beautiful written... I was a fan of Evie Wyld beforehand and this is such a leap forwards. An important book.

Thriller, beast-fable and fantasy, Evie Wyld’s second novel is a sparky, dark yarn set in a georgic world of sheep husbandry where things have gone spectacularly awry.

In a sense, this is a tale of possible love and redemption, at once energetic and dark. In another sense, it is a book about summary justice and suspicion, which we readers have been indulging in too… Clever and very unexpected indeed.

A story that asks darkly whether we can rid ourselves of our past.

Wyld has a skill for creating flawed characters you can’t help but root for.

It is written with wit and affection.

This is a wonderfully atmospheric novel with a gripping narrative that keeps the reader on edge all the way through.

A dark, powerfully disturbing and beautifully observed story about a haunting, both physical and temporal.

Evie Wyld merges into her mysterious tale of a lonely shepherdess a savage Australian back-story that lends a haunting extra dimension to a novel of troubling beauty.

A page-turner.

All the Birds, Singing is a gracefully written, absorbing thriller from a new literary talent.

A hair-pricking rural thriller that confirms the talents of a thrilling prose stylist.

I’ve never taught a creative writing course, but if I did I’d certainly introduce my would-be students to Evie Wyld’s All the Birds, Singing... Written in the future tense, the book has an ending of extraordinary pathos and beauty.

This is a powerful, gritty, strong story of suffering and survival... It is quality stuff, stunning.

A wonderfully atmospheric novel with a gripping narrative.

Precise, intense, haunting and poetic… This is a subtle exploration of suffering and resilience and, for once, the hype matches the talent.

Broodingly lyrical… Spellbinding.

Wyld uses language that is purely gorgeous, even – perhaps especially – when underscoring dread.

Impressive.

A tough and tender take on suffering and redemption.

Suspenseful and melancholy… Masterful

A compelling, tense novel that lingers with the reader long after it has been finished

With beautiful writing, it is a compelling, rather dark story which makes you laugh and cry

I am obsessed with it, and with what Wyld is going to do next