Deeply, deeply disturbing.

Katsu adds a rich vein of horror to her imaginative retelling . . . astonishingly atmospheric, with a strong sense of claustrophobia, despite the vast prairies and mountains . . . this is an enthralling and chilling read.

Uneasy, nauseous, slow-burning tale that marries historical fiction with a hint of the supernatural. Great detailing; colourful characterization; some supremely ominous stuff, but always reined in at the final moment to rack up the tension even more. Loved it!

This . . . is supernatural suspense at its finest. It is strangely ethereal, yet gritty, with one eye on the distant skyline and the other on the bloody journey. If historical novels are your thing, The Hunger delivers a believable, fully realized 19th-century America. But the best thing about The Hunger is that it will scare the pants off you.

An absorbing thriller that had me digging into the history behind this tale as soon as I’d read the last page . . . Her descriptions of the land are movingly beautiful, but there is danger even here.

Like The Revenant but with an insistent supernatural whisper. The setting and the story are utterly chilling. And the telling of it is so well done.

Beautiful, lyrical, utterly grounded in the land, and the people, this is the best - and scariest - story I’ve read this year.

The story she writes of human failings and despair is so powerful and so well written . . . Her account of the pioneers’ dawning realisation that pressing on, staying still and turning back all mean death is hauntingly good.

Alma Katsu's accomplished, engrossing novel weaves a cocoon of supernatural horror around historical tragedy . . . it is a beautifully intense read.

In an audacious twist, Alma Katsu has made something new and suspenseful from the legendary story of the Donner Party. The Hunger is filled with terror, pity, and grue.

Alma Katsu has taken one of the darkest and most chilling episodes in our history, and made the story even darker, even more terrifying. I swear I'm still shuddering. A fantastic read!

The Hunger is a bold and brilliant novel, heavy with foreboding and dread, and with a rich vein of humanity at its core. I challenge you to read it without experiencing your own hunger pangs.

The Revenant by way of The Walking Dead and it works.

A terrific historical novel with a thrilling, bloody twist. Alma Katsu’s brilliant reimagining of the Donner Party’s fate is rich with character, laden with imminent doom, and propelled by chilling mystery. A novel that book clubs and dark fiction fans should devour with equal relish.

Katsu injects the supernatural into this brilliant retelling of the ill-fated Donner Party . . . fans of Dan Simmons’s The Terror will find familiar and welcome chills.

A riveting drama of power struggles and shifting alliances . . . the tensions [Katsu] creates are thrilling.

If you think the story of the Donner Party can’t get more horrific, think again. In this gripping, atmospheric reimagining of that dark tale, Katsu has created a deeply unsettling and truly terrifying masterpiece.

Fizzingly fresh and can't fail to lift your spirits

What an absolute treat – sheer joy from start to finish.

Fast, furious and fabulous fun

Another heart-warming story from the Queen of feel-good fiction

A joy to read

This fun, super-readable breath of fresh air had us completely hooked

An enjoyable read, funny and moving

A fun, frothy good-hearted read

A tale of long-term love and friendship told with Sophie’s blend of warmth and humour

Hadley's writing is lyrical, perceptive and has great emotional heft. Go read [Late in the Day]!

Tessa Hadley's Late in the Day promises an intriguing study of the way members of a close-knit group of friends react to the sudden, unexpected loss of one of their number.

Hadley’s great strength is her wise, fine-grained observation of interpersonal relations… Hadley moves with ease between perspective and also back and forth in time.

Tessa Hadley is easily one of my favourite authors writing today, and her new novel – Late in the Day... has been highly praised by everyone I know (and, crucially, trust) who's already got their hands on it.

Tessa Hadley is well-known for her inimitable portrayal of character and her latest effort, Late in the Day, is no disappointment... A smart exploration of human nature, desire, and friendship.

A penetrating observer of human behavior, [Hadley] has a gift for dialogue that bristles with what remains unsaid… vividly imagined… Hadley presents a masterly portrait.

Strange, unsettling — eerily beautiful, discomfiting, stay-up-late-addictive, sometimes hair-raising... Always, it’s Hadley’s high-res magnification on the interplay of marital (and friendship, and parental) dynamics that supplies her work’s steady gold.

[Hadley’s] prose is a form of civilised conversation... Late in the Day is a very good novel indeed… [Hadley] knows when to let silence speak, and she has the rare gift of writing dialogue which both rings true and hints at what had been left unsaid but is keenly and sometimes painfully felt.

A clever, compassionate novel that sings to the possibility of renewal in late middle-age.

[A] splendid, perceptive book… Hadley has expertly examined the complications and intimacies of marriage and family in such novels as The Past, The Master Bedroom and Clever Girl. In Late in the Day she continues her persistent exploration of human frailty and resilience, moving easily between the present and the past to reveal the hard edges and silent compromises that shape all relationships.

Her prose has the penetrating quality of Henry James at his most accessible… and is alert, as Virginia Woolf and Elizabeth Bowen were, to how time sculpts, warps or casually destroys us... A quiet triumph.

Late in the Day is confident, brilliant, dark and interesting.

Tessa Hadley’s brilliant new novel – an event that always sparks joy… [– is an] elegantly written, ironically witty book… [Hadley] is constantly being favourably compared to Virginia Woolf – as well as Jane Austen and Henry James.

This is not a novel filled with incident, its pleasures are perception, insight and the intense examination of emotions… A very grown-up read.

Tessa Hadley’s compelling new novel, Late in the Day, is a subtle, delicate evocation of modern life… Hadley’s observation is pin-sharp: whether describing a contemporary student’s house, a late-night drive, or simply a quiet room with only the reading light turned on, there is a shapely intelligence at work… There is something of Iris Murdoch’s fierce attention to the physical here.

Tessa Hadley has become literary fiction’s chronicler-in-chief of the lives and loves of the English middle classes… Conveying their lifestyle with shrewd economy… Hadley relies on patient, persuasive observation to draw us into a satisfying family drama of hopes and regrets as viewed from the fag end of middle age.

Tessa Hadley’s great success as a novelist lies in… examining her characters with an unusual degree of psychological subtlety. Her particular strength is to combine a deep excavation of human frailty with compassion for its effects.

Clever and thoughtful… [Late in the Day] is wholly impressive.

Hadley… [is] authoritative and powerful… a complex story structure juxtaposing present and past and featuring carefully timed revelations.

This is the perfect example of domestic fiction done well… Hadley's prose is measured, spare and utterly perceptive of the human condition.

Extraordinarily skilled and penetrating.

The language is poetic and beautifully crafted… [and it] is the measured intimacy of Hadley's language that allows her to capture in so few words, the whirring emotions that stir beyond the surface.

Crisp, considered prose.

Exquisitely written… A slow burn that’s as elegant as it is crushingly emotional.

Late in the Day… [is] beautifully written with moments of real tenderness — I found it immensely enjoyable and thought-provoking.

A wonderfully involving, intelligent and subtle.

One of the best literary offerings so far this year.

A prime study of the modern condition.

Tessa Hadley is one of those rare authors who keep getting better and better… the writing is joyous, and the conclusion will set your heart singing.

Hadley’s prose is so elegant, her quiet observations on ageing, adultery, motherhood and art so penetrating, it is pure reading pleasure.

Unflinching, intelligent and fascinating

Hadley’s elegant sentence-making is pure joy, combining scathing observation with careful compassion in a novel.

A stunning read by a masterly writer.

Late in the Day will delight fans of Tessa’s work and is an excellent introduction to her style for those unfamiliar with her novels. It’s a gentle yet impactful and deeply thought-provoking book that will leave you reflecting on your own choices and relationships – and makes a perfect beginning to a new year of reading.

A brilliant, beautiful novel populated by multifaceted characters and lit by Hadley's insight and skill.

Reflective, poignant and beautifully written, it reminds us that the constant in life is change.

Compelling.

[A] compelling novel… Hadley captures the way old feelings, longings and hidden secrets unravel tight-knit relationships.