'The intelligent reader's answer to The Da Vinci Code: a big, fat satisfying archaeological puzzle'

Not just a tightly-plotted, richly-observed, thought-provoking thriller, but one with a soul...The compelling mix of tough, page-turning suspense, archaeology, history and characters caught up in the brutal politics of the Middle East, make this a timely and authentic novel. Paul Sussman builds his story with the meticulous strokes of a craftsman...His storytelling comfortably blends historical mystery with unflinching contemporary suspense, all of it told through utterly convincing depictions of setting and character. Inspectors Khalifa and Ben-Roi are heroes of our age: conflicted, harassed, noble and, most crucially, very human. I hope we see more of them very soon.

Another sure fire winner from a gifted storyteller.

Sussman's brilliant novel...shines a light into a bloody part of the world, where it is hard to tell enemy from friend, and where ancient debts of pain and murder echo to the present. Here is a thriller on a par with the best literature out there. Challenging, shocking, evocative...it should be required reading during these harsh times

'Ambitious, large-scale adventure...Sussman's fastidious research into the novel's setting grants everything a plausibility...his millennia spanning plot functions as a colourful backdrop'

'A rollicking, feel-good adventure set among the murky and convulsive politics of the present-day Middle East'

'An exciting page-turner...unusual and intriguing'

There's a stark immediacy to his prose...frenetically paced thriller

Running jokes and consciously ludicrous moments come thick and fast

The taut dialogue buzzes with snappy ventriloquism. Welsh is one of our most interesting writers on the minutiae of human consciousness

Essentially a stunning exploration of the darkest parts of the human psyche, one which will haunt the reader

There is no doubt that Crime is a page-turner

Reacher fans will love it - it's all storming compounds, breaking hearts and not bothering to take names, taking justice into his own hands and to hell with the wos'name... a solid inter-Bond-film substitute