If there were really superheroes, Alex Cross would be at the head of the class.

Cross is such a lovable hero . . . whose compassion warmly balances the icy cruelty of Patterson's villains.

It's no mystery why James Patterson is the world's most popular thriller writer: his uncanny skill in creating living, breathing characters we truly feel for and seamless, lightning-fast plots. I do this for a living, and he still manages to keep me guessing from the first to last page ... Simply put: Nobody does it better.

Behind all the noise and the numbers, we shouldn't forget that no one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.

James Patterson is The Boss. End of.

I wrote, "Along Came a Spider is the best thriller I've come across in many a year. It deserves to be this season's no. 1 bestseller and should instantly make James Patterson a household name." A household name, indeed.

Every once in a while a writer comes along and fundamentally changes the way people read. He or she is so bright, so innovative, so industrious that what they envision and create becomes the measure by which all others are judged. In 1993 one such writer - James Patterson - began to do just that ... James Patterson is the gold standard by which all others are judged.

[Alex Cross] has become one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, a character for the ages.

Alex Cross is a legend.

Patterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.

Patterson knows where our deepest fears are Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried... there's no stopping his imagination.buried... there's no stopping his imagination.

Patterson is in a class by himself.

Sharp, sassy and guaranteed to send shivers down your spine, this is a tense thriller

Cross is one of the best and most likeable characters in the modern thriller.

I was very close to taking the day off last minute - that's how hooked I was by Malin Stehn's debut novel. (...) The hours tick by. And the closer the clock ticks toward midnight, the more the sense of control begins to crack. Things that should never be said are spoken aloud. Thoughts that never should have crossed your mind, do. And, above all, actions are taken that you can never undo. [Stehn]'s craft is brilliant

This is the real deal . . . an incredibly well-written, clever and brilliantly composed debut that leaves me wanting more

Page turner is an overused word by now, but sometimes it covers everything . . . an incredibly clever and well written suspense novel.

A splendid debut in the genre

If you haven't already read Happy New Year by Malin Stehn, do so immediately

Malin Stehn skillfully depicts superficial friendships, the perfect life and marriage as portrayed on social media vs the secrets that are hidden beneath the surface. Through the points of view of three distinct characters - their thoughts, doubts and guilt - the story creeps closer to a harrowing reveal

A searing Scandi thriller

Fans of Joanna Cannon's The Trouble with Goats and Sheep will devour this

Totally heartbreaking, but also uplifting, this is a real gem of a read

Its twists and turns leave your blood running cold

It's rare that a thriller actually lives up to that word. But here - in the jeopardy its characters are plunged into, in the story's twists and turns, and in the true star of the novel, the mountain itself - Breathless truly manages to thrill

A truly breathtaking thriller. It had me gasping and guessing with every turn of a page. The audacity of the adventure is only matched by the brilliance of McCulloch's deft and evocative writing

A visceral, thrill-seeker's story of one woman's struggle to conquer her fears, with murder and mayhem at 8,000m. I really loved it.

A frighteningly original novel written with a deep passion for the mountains and an inquisitive mind. A brilliantly chilling read

Chilling . . . there really is something about the combination of a remote snowbound location and a killer hiding in plain sight that is a recipe for success

A blockbuster-worthy thriller