A Tolstoyan epic of love and war; life and death...she writes beautifully

Remarkable, affecting...there are few more interesting stories than this; and few writers who could have told it better

Utterly convincing. A deeply moving account of two love stories in terrible circumstances. The story of their struggle to survive appears simple, as all great literature should...A world-class novel

Literary writing of the highest order set against a background of suffering so intimately reconstructed it is hard to believe that Dunmore was not there

A remarkable parable of human survival against the odds

In this wise, humane and beautifully written novel she has written a masterpiece

A searing historical novel. Dunmore vividly evokes the unbelievable cold, privations and violence as people struggle to survive...an extraordinary description of the horrors of the time

An important as well as a thrilling work of art

A moving and powerful novel in which Dunmore employs all her celebrated descriptive and narrative skills...beautiful

A harrowing, urgent narrative of cold, starvation and the battle to survive

The page-turner of the season is Orphan X . . . Wonderful

A masterpiece of suspense and thrills . . . Turn off the real world and dive into this amazing start to a new series

'There is a pristine classicism to Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X, which borrows from Robert Ludlum and superhero lore to bring us Evan Smoak, adopted as a child by a shadowy figure called Jack and trained to be an assassin as part of a secret US government scheme. When the Orphan programme (as it is known) is disbanded, Evan moves to California and devotes himself to good works - taking out a slum-landlord paedophile cop, for example, after his victim calls Evan's special number. However, his meticulously compartmentalised life makes him vulnerable . . . Orphan X is tight and tense in all the right places. But it wouldn't work half as well if we didn't feel Evan's pain and share his panic as the worst-case scenario unfolds: another former Orphan, with a less noble agenda, seems to be hunting him. Orphan X is weapons-grade thriller-writing from a modern master

Pure nail-biting stay-up-all-night suspense

Orphan X is not good. Orphan X is great. Whatever you like best in a thriller - action, plot, character, suspense - Orphan X has it

Mind blowing! A perfect mix of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher

Bond, Frodo, Paddington Bear - some of literature's greatest heroes have been orphans. Add Orphan X's Evan Smoak to the list

In terms of plot, characters, suspense and innovation, Orphan X is outstanding . . . I've always thought that one reason for Tom Clancy's success was the endless detail he provided about military hardware, and that the James Bond novels benefited from the loving attention Ian Fleming devoted to the martinis, expensive cars and gorgeous women he so admired. Hurwitz outdoes both writers . . . Orphan X is a smart, stylish, state-of-the-art thriller. It's also the start of a series, one that might give Lee Child's Jack Reacher books a run for their money

Bestseller Hurwitz melds non-stop action and high-tech gadgetry with an acute character study in this excellent series opener . . . Evan Smoak is an electrifying character

A masterpiece of suspense and thrills . . . Turn off the real world and dive into this amazing start to a new series

Strikes like a fully loaded clip on an automatic rifle: taut, safety off, and lethal ... I can assure you, James Bond sits in admiration of this electrifying novel... In a plot that simply winds around like a clock, The Nowhere Man binds the reader to every page. Great job, Hurwitz

The Nowhere Man is part John Wick, part Nikita, part the Equalizer, and unless you're the one who called that encrypted phone number...you do not want to see Evan coming. This novel is anything but an ordinary thriller

...this is a novel to touch even the coldest of hearts - definitely 2007's first must-read book.

A compelling tale from the start...definitely 2007's first must-read book.

A moving story from the German perspective of everyday civilian hardship and surivival under the Third Reich. It celebrates the power of words and love, in the face of unutterable suffering

Death turns out to be a tender narrator in Zusak's 'The Book Thief' [...] This novel movingly depicts the Himmel Street community, and its orphaned book thief, Liesel Meminger

Your emotions by the end of this novel are shot to pieces, but it's well worth it.

Although already a bestselling children's book, THE BOOK THIEF's insightful and poignant tone and appealing characters...are amply equipped to capture adults, too.