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Detective Story
Detective Story
Nov 23, 2025 1:20 PM

Author:Imre Kertesz,Tim Wilkinson

Detective Story

‘A sophisticated and brilliant dissection of nihilistic power’ Times Literary Supplement

From his prison cell, Antonio Martens, an interrogator for the recently fallen dictatorship, awaits execution. His charge? Multiple counts of murder; the murder of those disappeared by the state. Bereft of authority, and unable to avoid the consequences of his actions any longer, Martens turns his story to his involvement in the assassination of the high-profile Salinas family, and with it peers into the murderous mechanics of a regime bent on achieving its ends - no matter the means.

Reviews

A dark, disturbing novel, from a writer with a profound understanding of a dictatorship's inner workings

—— The Times

A sophisticated and brilliant dissection of nihilistic power

—— Times Literary Supplement

A powerful and troubling new novella

—— Daily Mail

Genuinely haunting and lyrical... memorable and thought-provoking

—— New Statesman

A suspenceful, bleak comic parable

—— Observer

The narrative is neat, lucid, written with admirable economy

—— Alan Massie , Scotsman

One of the most inspired originals at work today...an astonishing performance, as terrifying as Kafka and as plausible...candid and as black as night, remarkable, alluring... How these pages shimmer with irony and astute observation

—— Irish Times

Compelling, chilling, bitter little sigh of a novel

—— Scotland on Sunday

A timely moral fable, then, but a gripping story too. With impressive economy, Kertesz creates enough round characters to populate a novel five times as long

—— Daily Telegraph

A masterful addition to his other translated novels

—— Financial Times

Reintgen's Nyxia has all the qualities that will make this become a blockbuster and one of the most important young-adult science-fiction stories of our time. The plot is gripping. The characters are a spectacularly multi-ethnic blend of misfits and outsiders that are unflinchingly human and flawed. Simply amazing all around, and I desperately need the next story from this new author

—— Jay Coles , author of Tyler Johnson Was Here

Sleek, fast, and action-packed, this is a thrilling new take on space adventure. I got to the end and instantly wanted more

—— Stefan Bachmann , author of the internationally acclaimed The Peculiar

With a vivid cast of characters, relentless pacing, and layers ofmystery, Reintgen hits all the right buttons to craft an addictive pageturner

—— Fonda Lee , author of Zeroboxer and Exo

The futuristic ship is full of impressive gadgets; the competitions are clever and it's fun to guess what skill they might be designed to elicit; the true stars, however, are the teens themselves, wildly diverse and all carrying their own emotional baggage. It is still of note when an African American boy pops up as a sci-fi protagonist, and Emmett is a complex, well-developed, and rich character who speaks, acts, and interacts like a teen who was raised in a rough, urban setting but surrounded by people who love him. Both curious and suspicious at every turn, he is an ideal narrator, and a sequel can't come soon enough

—— The Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books

What a gem of a story . . . This book made me laugh, made me angry, made me cry

—— Malorie Blackman

Thoughtful but never preach

—— Sophie Kinsella

Wonder is essentially . . . a wonder. [It] touches the heart in the most life-affirming, unexpected ways

—— Nicholas Sparks

Every page is honest, brave and delightful

—— Laura Dockrill

A powerful read

—— Stylist

A funny, emotional, brilliantly observed story

—— Bella Magazine

It's one of those rare books with almost universal appeal: it will make you laugh, cry and break your heart

—— The Bookseller

It wreaks emotional havoc . . . To finish it with a firm resolve to be a better person - well, you can't ask much more of any book than that

—— Independent

When the kids have finished with this, the adults will want to read it. Everybody should

—— Financial Times

A bold tale of slavery for a new 'Roots' generation

—— Washington Post

Rich, epic. . . Each chapter is tightly plotted, and there are suspenseful, even spectacular climaxes

—— New York Magazine

Rarely does a grand, sweeping epic plumb interior lives so thoroughly. Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing is a marvel

—— Shelf Awareness

Terrific

—— Ann Patchett

Spectacular

—— Taiye Selasi

Homegoing is stunning - a truly heartbreaking work of literary genius

—— Bustle

This is, hand on heart, a completely brilliant novel...a brilliant debut. If this isn't shortlisted for some prizes next year, I'll be disappointed

—— Stylist's pick of the best new books for 2017

Encompassing events major and minor, but skilfully skipping the civil war, it humanises big issues by giving us unforgettable characters. It could not be more relevant or needed

—— Damian Barr , Observer Books of the Year

Gyasi imbues indigenous life with richness and dignity, in a style that owes something - though by no means everything - to Chinua Achebe...it serves as the engine for a powerful message

—— Daily Telegraph

A future classic and a novel that you'll want to pass on to everyone you know...the real deal...2017 is set to be the year of Homegoing

—— Stylist

While the issues she wrestles with are heavy, her writing is a joy....Now, more than ever, we need books like this one

—— Red

Hugely courageous and really important

—— Sathnam Sanghera

Homegoing is remarkable...the writing at the end of the book is every bit as vital as that at the start...she has produced a contemporary classic - one you'll actually want to read

—— Daily Mail

An epic debut novel

—— Good Housekeeping

Intriguing debut...a noble enterprise

—— Mail on Sunday

Brilliant

—— Sunday Telegraph

Vivid and ambitious debut

—— Sunday Express

Toni Morrison's Beloved spoke to a generation. Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing will do the same for a new one. In a word, it's brilliant. And not just "for a debut"

—— The Pool

The powerful narrative of Yaa Gyasi's accomplished first novel do more than reveal the history that still troubles the United States. They make that history immediate

—— Harper's Bazaar

A fascinating view of the history of slavery...Gyasi gives voice to suppressed stories, and that feels hugely important....it certainly deserves our attention

—— Sunday Times

A searing indictment of racism and a very impressive debut

—— Sunday Express

Ambitious, superbly written, important - don't miss this one

—— Woman & Home

It is written with such maturity and beauty, that it is hard to believe it is Gyasi's first published work...Gyasi has created a masterpiece which is educational, highly ambitious and extremely touching. Her writing style is raw and intense and leaves one desperate to see what work she will produce in the future

—— Press Association

Extraordinary

—— Glamour

The hype is justified

—— Emerald Street

This unputdownable tale spans three continents and seven generations to tell the story of a family and of America itself

—— Reader's Digest

A bold and ambitious debut...full of fire and youthful confidence

—— Daily Express

Here is a book to help us remember. It is well worth its weight

—— Guardian

Hands down the best book I've read in months...I can't wait to see what Yaa Gyasi does next

—— Grazia

Gyasi has created a masterpiece which is educational, highly ambitious and extremely touching

—— The i

Through her words we come to understand parts of history that are sometimes ignored

—— Pride

An epic saga

—— Scotsman

A wonderfully evocative and compassionate novel - one that shows deftness, depth and maturity. Homegoing is a gift to its readers and a treasure to cherish

—— Petina Gappah , Financial Times

The structure is fantastically strong, but it would have been nothing without Gyasi's ability to bring each character alive. At every turn she resists cliché and dogma ... she deftly weaves in just enough historical information without sacrificing its complexity ... Homegoing has something better than perfection, and that is a touch of magic... [Gyasi is] the right artist at the right time

—— Alice O'Keefe , New Statesman

Gyasi's debut novel has a distinctive strength and courage ... a descendent of Alex Haley's Roots and Toni Morrison's Beloved, an extended response to Joyce Carol Oates's Last Hundred Years trilogy

—— Times Literary Supplement

A confident, vivid, engrossingtale [that] winds towards a moving conclusion

—— Radio Times

Gyasi's widescreen view of history powerfully drives home her view that we are all responsible for ourselves and for each other ... a highly compassionate feat of storytelling

—— Metro

Entwining history, politics and personal events, this is an ambitious novel that is, and will continue to be, highly culturally relevant

—— Big Issue

Astoundingly ambitious

—— New Books

Ambition and talent don't always go hand-in-hand; here they unquestionably do

—— Daily Mail

Tracing the descendants of two women across seven generations, this unflinching debut from Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi examines the lingering effects of slavery from the 18th-century Gold Coast to the US at the turn of the 21st century

—— Financial Times

Ambitious, multi-generational saga of the effects of the slave trade

—— Guardian Books of the Year
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