A first-rate thriller

One of the best spy stories ever told

A story torn from today's headlines... Gritty and fast-moving

Ingenious... Uncertain times call for tough examinations, and The Faithful Spy doesn't back away

A thriller worthy of le Carré

A well-crafted page-turner that addresses the most important issue of our time. It will keep you reading well into the night

Mounting suspense, a believable scenario and a final twist add up to a compelling tale of frightening possibilities. It's not for the squeamish, though: the torture sequences and bombing descriptions are graphic and chillingly real

Unguessable and brilliant

Chief Inspector Wexford is Rendell’s most enduring and best creation

Has the spooky, crooked-angled, danger-around-every-corner feeling of a Carol Reid film. It reminded me often of The Third Man and that is no mean feat

Exceptional debut . . . A new UK crime writer to shout about

Blacklands heralds a fresh new voice in crime: Belinda Bauer inhabits the mind of her 12-year-old hero, struggling to tease the whereabouts of his uncle's body from an imprisoned child-killer, with uncanny conviction

A compelling story of a fragmented family and the loss of innocence

A tense, well-orchestrated crime novel with a refreshingly unusual premise

A chilling and gripping original thriller by a great new talent. You'll want to race through to the scary climax

Blacklands... managed to glean the best word-of-mouth for any new crime novel in years.

A gripping read

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!'