10,402 book reviews and counting...

"It’s rare to find such a programmatic opposition between the procedures of a book and the values behind it..."

"One can appreciate the novel for its quiet humour and compassionate consideration of the everyday, unfashionable and unloved..."

"comfort and wit, compassion and philosophical stimulation..."

"A lightly sketched social history of postwar Britain..."

" Sex and Vanity is a straight-up retelling of A Room With a View. ..."

"a Schrödinger’s drama in which the action spirals out from an enormous maybe, resulting in a paranoia-filled page-turner..."

"a penetrating and ultimately sympathetic character study..."

"(a) timely and clever investigation of otherness and sameness..."

"demonstrates a broadening out of his ambition..."

"It shouldn’t work, but it does..."

"an indictment on race and class in America..."

"A Theatre for Dreamers is a thoroughly enjoyable drama of hedonism, enchantment and emotional beastliness..."

"an exhilarating and moving story of an Ireland in disarray..."

"Despentes has produced a rock ’n’roll Odyssey, but arguably with better women...."

"a masterly, far-reaching exploration of a de-industrialized country..."

"a highly enjoyable novel, convincingly and smoothly translated by Anne Milano Appel..."

"Politics and intimacy collide constantly in Tomasz Jedrowski’s enthralling debut..."

"When this novel is funny, it’s seriously funny..."

"The competing social forces emerging in 1980s Italy are somewhat clumsily embodied through Pieri’s many characters,..."

"compelling tale of London property noir..."

"smart and funny..."

"Elizabeth Wetmore takes a multi-faceted look at a serious assault set against the hardscrabble world of 1970s West Texas..."

"This Happy is at its strongest when Alannah is alone..."

"The 70something protagonists of this glorious, forthright novel are less afraid of death than of irrelevance..."

"a warts-and-all look at what goes on behind the camera..."

"this is a story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost..."

"No one alive can write sentences as he can. He’s the missing evolutionary link between William Burroughs and Virginia Woolf..."

"(a) powerful and poignant lament to those rendered invisible in the past..."

"a heartbreaking portrait of an ordinary family shattered by a war they didn’t want..."

"(an) untidy, ultimately redemptive novel..."

"Cooper offers no trite conclusions, just a welcome thoughtfulness at a time of so much noise and fury over statues..."

"One can appreciate the novel for its quiet humour and compassionate consideration of the everyday, unfashionable and unloved..."

"a Schrödinger’s drama in which the action spirals out from an enormous maybe, resulting in a paranoia-filled page-turner..."

"demonstrates a broadening out of his ambition..."

"The reverse storytelling here is dispatched adroitly..."

"Rhodes writes beautifully crafted psychological thrillers..."

"compelling tale of London property noir..."

"a peerless exercise in suspense..."

"Combining fast-paced plotting with Alagiah’s deep knowledge of the region..."

"With its bravura picture of a wrecked economy and swingeing death toll, Camino Winds has come to seem all too prescient..."

"Jeffery Deaver mines new territory in The Goodbye Man..."

"Is Stephen King a horror writer or a crime writer these days?..."

"Rumours of the death of Scandicrime are greatly exaggerated, as The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Bjorg Ægisdottir proves..."

"... very readable; the plot races along, with plenty of surprises and red herrings...."

"the kind of thriller that contains so many good plot devices you worry that the author might have emptied their imagination store..."

"a messy rehash of Briscoe’s other tales of upper-middle-class crisis..."

"A thought-provoking thriller..."

"A dramatic and intense psychological read..."

"a truly creepy tale of jealousy and obsession..."

"A must for any crime lovers..."

"...one of the more preposterous Secret History facsimiles..."

"The pacing of the development is perfectly right..."

"This emotional thriller is a serious page-turner...."

"a gripping and affecting read..."

"a twisty, small-scale thriller that is immensely entertaining..."

"It’s like a cross between James Bond and Jack Reacher..."

"an insightful peek into the state of the intelligence world, but also aspects of the modern-day American psyche..."

"Johnston manages to make the world of “runtime executables” and “rootkits” thrilling — no mean feat..."

"this transports you back in time..."

"hard-hitting and perfectly paced..."

"Shocking..."

"This is fine writing and a compelling story...."

"a pleasure to read and highly recommended..."

"demonstrates a broadening out of his ambition..."

"It shouldn’t work, but it does..."

"Rhodes writes beautifully crafted psychological thrillers..."

"The reverse storytelling here is dispatched adroitly..."

"compelling tale of London property noir..."

"deliciously horrid horror..."

"If you’ve come up with a protagonist your readers have taken to their hearts, it makes sense to maintain that affection..."

"Jeffery Deaver mines new territory in The Goodbye Man..."

"Rumours of the death of Scandicrime are greatly exaggerated, as The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Bjorg Ægisdottir proves..."

"With its bravura picture of a wrecked economy and swingeing death toll, Camino Winds has come to seem all too prescient..."

"a peerless exercise in suspense..."

"Is Stephen King a horror writer or a crime writer these days?..."

"...owes a debt to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca..."

"a messy rehash of Briscoe’s other tales of upper-middle-class crisis..."

"the kind of thriller that contains so many good plot devices you worry that the author might have emptied their imagination store..."

" An offbeat, comic crime..."

"A dramatic and intense psychological read..."

"A must for any crime lovers..."

"The esoteric, essential Maigret..."

"The pacing of the development is perfectly right..."

"a gripping and affecting read..."

"Shocking..."

"a dark tale..."

"Steiner combines a compelling plot with chilling social commentary..."

"Naughton’s dazzlingly inventive novel set in Chelsea ..."

"he uses his knowledge of his parents’ Yoruba culture to brilliant effect..."

"Sigurdardottir is as confident a writer as ever..."

"the novel is rich on local colour..."

"It’s all highly entertaining, if occasionally preposterous...."

"This is fine writing and a compelling story...."

"it all falls into place..."

"One can appreciate the novel for its quiet humour and compassionate consideration of the everyday, unfashionable and unloved..."

"deliciously horrid horror..."

"Cooper offers no trite conclusions, just a welcome thoughtfulness at a time of so much noise and fury over statues..."

"...owes a debt to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca..."

"... very readable; the plot races along, with plenty of surprises and red herrings...."

"Kane deftly draws a portrait of the charismatic and ruthless Richard..."

"A motley crew of penitents heads for Rome in Matthew Kneale’s historically provocative yarn..."

"Captivating ..."

"exquisitely written..."

"a dark tale..."

"the novel is laden with fruits..."

"Taylor brings the period to life with lavish brio, along with a satisfyingly baroque storyline..."

"this very English scandal has wit and invention to spare..."

"an expert at weaving together historical detail, political powerplay and the feelings of a naive woman..."

"The Anointed is not without its flaws. But they are far outweighed by Arditti’s integrity..."

"Blasted Things is a crime novel, but not a mystery..."

"this is a welcome gift, and a testament to the storytelling panache of one of Britain’s great thriller writers...."

"a rich and intricately plotted thriller that is enjoyable on its own terms..."

"Ferocious and brutal reckonings..."

"This novel also fills in a vacancy, turning the bare fact of Hamnet’s death into a tribute to family bonds and to theatrical power..."

"A compelling look at the Italo–Ethiopian war of 1935..."

"A brutal imagining of the early Christian lives..."

"It’s the story we all know, but from a new angle, with all the familiar characters brought to vivid life...."

"there is much to enjoy in this evocation of a family whose lives are so upended by the convulsions of history..."

"One can appreciate the novel for its quiet humour and compassionate consideration of the everyday, unfashionable and unloved..."

" Sex and Vanity is a straight-up retelling of A Room With a View. ..."

"Politics and intimacy collide constantly in Tomasz Jedrowski’s enthralling debut..."

"Writers & Lovers is a puzzling and beautiful novel about writing and love..."

"a beautifully written and powerful tale..."

"sunlounger reads ..."

"entrancing..."

"Charming..."

"escapist and uplifting read ..."

"Simultaneously hilarious and heart-warming..."

"a dark tale..."

"Heartache and melancholy are knotted with uneasy eroticism in Garth Greenwell’s new novel..."

"a frequently-hilarious meditation on class, and loss, as well as a portrait of contemporary London..."

"a beautiful story of love, loss and resilience..."

"With laughs and a lot of heart, this is pure summer entertainment..."

"an expert at weaving together historical detail, political powerplay and the feelings of a naive woman..."

"The Anointed is not without its flaws. But they are far outweighed by Arditti’s integrity..."

"here’s a hallucinatory, fairy-dust sheen to The Glass Hotel..."

"what a rich and enjoyable mixture it is..."

"provided some blissful escapism from our current isolated reality...."

"demonstrates a broadening out of his ambition..."

"(a) powerful and poignant lament to those rendered invisible in the past..."

"Cooper offers no trite conclusions, just a welcome thoughtfulness at a time of so much noise and fury over statues..."

"a heartbreaking portrait of an ordinary family shattered by a war they didn’t want..."

"... very readable; the plot races along, with plenty of surprises and red herrings...."

"Kane deftly draws a portrait of the charismatic and ruthless Richard..."

"A motley crew of penitents heads for Rome in Matthew Kneale’s historically provocative yarn..."

"a sophisticated, oblique novel about empathy and the urge to right wrongs..."

"A tale of criminal derring-do casts a thief of raptor eggs in an overly heroic light..."

"the chapters that resulted are tantalisingly powerful, but there are simply not enough of them — a fuller overhaul was arguably required..."

"Starritt’s descriptions of conflict are shocking. But he becomes less sure-footed when the two characters start moralising about war..."

"(an) impressive and highly ambitious epic fantasy debut..."

"a spirited space opera that combines all the required ingredients of the subgenre..."

"a beautiful story of love, loss and resilience..."

"a vivid and atmospheric read..."

"A brutal imagining of the early Christian lives..."

"an action thriller with more texture than most..."

"a stodgy read, by no means as compelling as its predecessor..."

"It’s safe to say the intent is as much ironic as iconoclastic..."

"Natasha Pulley’s novel is full of paranormal mystery, but it’s the characters — including a clockwork octopus — that keep you reading..."

"A treat of a book..."

"Paramaditha’s references cleverly blend mythology, fairytales, Indonesian legends and popular culture..."

"Stories nest inside stories, like Russian dolls..."

"Devolution deftly incorporates “real-world” history..."

"No one alive can write sentences as he can. He’s the missing evolutionary link between William Burroughs and Virginia Woolf..."

"a high-octane, galaxy-spanning cyberpunk military space opera with an original premise and a breakneck plot that never lets up..."

"it is structurally elegant, with entire sections made up of whole sentences, then a break..."

"Johnston manages to make the world of “runtime executables” and “rootkits” thrilling — no mean feat..."

"Providence is such a blast you almost overlook just how clever it is. ..."

"Told in an enchanting, confessional first-person..."

"In a leisurely, discursive narrative Hao spins a fascinating and even-handed examination of two very different possible futures..."

"a spirited space opera that combines all the required ingredients of the subgenre..."

"subtle and stomach-churning, anticlimactic and eerily satisfying..."

"McAuley is a damnably odd writer..."

" the novel is gory, visceral and apocalyptic..."

"MacInnes’s intriguing second novel deserves to cement his reputation as a bold and curious writer...."

"There’s more adrenaline in a single page of Echo Cycle than you’ll find in whole chapters of other sci-fi novels..."

"This well-told tale is as clean and simple and chilling as a shroud..."

"It’s a commanding, if demanding, read..."

"a brisk, well-wrought piece of entertainment..."

"Gibson’s world is detailed and convincing..."

"Underpinning it all is an attempt to return our focus to the precarious wonder of the natural world..."

"this novel struggles to find novelty..."

"Earwig is a very curious novel, often at its most satisfying in its smallest physical descriptions..."

"deliciously horrid horror..."

"her storytelling ability and sympathetic characterisation win the reader over..."

"entrancing..."

"A great option if you’re a lover of fantasy and mythology..."

"(an) impressive and highly ambitious epic fantasy debut..."

"Teintze excels at building a fantasy world governed by an original system of magic, and thrills the reader with an enjoyable, breakneck plot...."

"Running through all of The City We Became is Jemisin’s fizzing, vivid energy..."

"Nyquist has to stick to the rules to win the game. ..."

" you might find this offbeat ghost story haunting or even poetic ..."

"It’s safe to say the intent is as much ironic as iconoclastic..."

"super-readable..."

"MacInnes’s intriguing second novel deserves to cement his reputation as a bold and curious writer...."

"Natasha Pulley’s novel is full of paranormal mystery, but it’s the characters — including a clockwork octopus — that keep you reading..."

"To spin a speculative novel out of erotica is a hell of an undertaking, and Szpara carries it off..."

"Highfire is deliciously funny at times. In a sea of forgettable modern fantasy titles, it offers moments of genuine originality..."

"What shines through is the author’s unbridled passion for classic literature, particularly its brooding anti-heroes..."

"it would make for a great TV series..."

" while this novel succeeds as entertainment, it is also one to make you think..."

"Underpinning it all is an attempt to return our focus to the precarious wonder of the natural world..."

"Earwig is a very curious novel, often at its most satisfying in its smallest physical descriptions..."

"the conclusion of the book is, in its bleak way, impressive..."

"Erin Morgenstern’s starry debut, The Night Circus, proves a hard act to follow..."

"Devolution deftly incorporates “real-world” history..."

"the timing of Paul Tremblay’s Survivor Song is either excellent or appalling..."

"Is Stephen King a horror writer or a crime writer these days?..."

"It’s a grim ride, by turns moving and harrowing, and not for the faint-hearted...."

"Lebbon excels at portraying the phantasmagorical proliferation of nature within Eden..."

"Nyquist has to stick to the rules to win the game. ..."

"a balm to the soul in these restricted times and her complicated mystery a welcome diversion from reality..."

" you might find this offbeat ghost story haunting or even poetic ..."

"a stodgy read, by no means as compelling as its predecessor..."

"Pine wraps folk-horror trappings around a tale of grief and loneliness set in the Scottish Highlands..."

"As desire turns to aversion, details that at first seemed inconsequential take on a menacing significance..."

"This twisted gothic novel is a winner..."

"Andrew Michael Hurley returns to a strange but familiar terrain..."

"a blunt, forceful poetry, entirely suited to a tale – and, in fairytale, a genre – that blends a catalogue of dangers with a celebration of female agency..."

"– a near-perfect ghost story..."

"Horrendously read-able, deliciously sickening and elegantly twisted, Joe Hill’s new collection of stories range from elegiac pulp to full-on horror...."

"Some readers might find [the authorial interjections] jarring; to others, it might feel like authorial over-sharing. In the end though, I think Logan pulls it off...."

"This novel is talky, smart, anarchic and quite sexy. You begin to linger on those three s’s when you speak the title aloud..."

"If you liked A Woman in Black, you'll love this utterly gripping and atmospheric book..."

"an enjoyably overwrought exercise in dark melodrama...."

"a powerful piece of work..."

"A funny, thought-provoking treat..."

"The idea of a graphic history of medicine seems almost an impertinence right now. ..."

"Year of the Rabbit movingly depicts the rising terror of the Khmer Rouge years...."

"South Korea’s reputation for comic art continues to blossom in this feline tale of feasts and filial duty..."

"this soapy, spiky book is a compelling read..."

"Funny, sweet and emotionally true, it doesn’t so much tiptoe on to fraught cultural territory as dance wildly across it..."

"Come for the consumer satire; stay for the heartache...."

"With her pithy put-downs and her easy way with half-truths, it’s impossible not to warm to Little Lulu..."

" a beloved genius of storytelling and illustration..."

"Rusty Brown is a human document of rare richness..."

"a restrained, poignant graphic novel..."

"This affecting account of family life features dreams of monsters, classroom japes – and a father hooked on heroin..."

"a huge year for the Wimpy Kid comes to a close with Greg's 14th adventure...."

"a masterpiece..."

" There is...real daring here, as well as empathy and imagination..."

"this flawless performance is captivating..."

"it certainly is a wild ride..."

"devilishly good..."

"a sweet romance that explores autism..."

"One admires Slimani's bravery in creating a deeply unsympathetic character ..."