Johnson has a brilliant eye for the telling specifics . . . She is a natural comic writer and has a breezy, Mitfordian tone that makes you laugh at the same time as wincing in recognition . . . To write an entertaining romp set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany is a tricky feat to pull off. Yet Johnson has done it - and done it in style

A rip-roaring read

There's never a dreary moment in this blast of a book . . . Johnson's descriptions are irresistibly exuberant . . . As addictively, fizzily invigorating as the Alpine air itself

Johnson delivers a genuine sense of time and place . . . there isn't a dull sentence in this sure-footed novel

Excellent on period detail, the blundering innocent abroad and young heartbreak

An excellent romp. Full of 'tally-ho' Mitfordian charm . . . a witty, fast read

An edifying moral lesson as well as a tale of inter-generational sleuthing

The Jane Austen of W11

Johnson is excellent on period detail and captures the flavour of an era when the storm clouds were gathering

The story is deeply involving, the dialogue utterly convincing, and the translation near-perfect. Unpretentious, restrained and profound, The Detour is everything a novel should be

A brilliantly uncomfortable read about the art of forgetfulness

Brilliant... You won't put this book down until its emotional end