With intricate plots, classical themes, and erudite characters...what's not to love?

There are some great twists in the plot and the chase is genuinely thrilling...an unusually arresting piece of crime fiction

The momentum of his plot is irresistible...a most inventive page-turner

Audacious and captivating...truly admirable

Ingenious

Ingenious... Sparkling with erudition

A fascinating, erudite and highly entertaining account of a remarkable moment in American literary history

Not since Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose has a literary novel of such scholarly density enjoyed international success on quite such a massive scale... The momentum of his plot is irresistible...a most inventive page-turner

Brilliant and erudite thriller... Pearl is a young Dante expert...this is his first book and he knows how to sustain a narrative. Perfect for reading before the flickering fire

Working on a vast canvas, Mr. Pearl keeps this mystery sparkling with erudition...with this captivating brain teaser as his debut novel, seems also to have put his life's work on the line in melding scholarship with mystery. He does justice to both

Audacious and captivating.

Pearl's scholarly background is evident in the erudite detail he weaves into his fictional narrative, adding texture and complexity

A brilliant literary novel which manages to be academic without being dull, combining as it does scholarly density with page-turning suspense

Matthew Pearl is the new shining star of literary fiction - a heady, inventive, and immensely gifted author. With intricate plots, classical themes, and erudite characters...what's not to love?

Startlingly inventive

Striking early scenes show why Henderson has his illustrious admirers.

A worthy contender for the title of a great American novel. With its magisterial scope and emotionally rich storytelling, this literary tour-de-force captivated and, at few points, grounded me to dust with its sheer brilliance. It is one of the books that will always keep bouncing around my head and one around which many readers will redefine their life. I can't recommend it enough.

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