Author:Joanne Harris

Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid, this is an astute and intelligent psychological thriller centring around obsession and rage from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns, it will get right under the skin...
'[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen & Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form' -- DAILY EXPRESS
'[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' -- DAILY MAIL
'It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was thinking about it long after I turned the last page' -- ***** Reader review
'An intricate, engrossing novel' -- ***** Reader review
'Wonderfully, horribly plausible' -- ***** Reader review
'I read it in three days which is as close as I get to "couldn't put it down"' -- ***** Reader review
'Well written and enthralling' -- ***** Reader review
'A must read....' -- ***** Reader review
'Absolutely loved this book!' -- ***** Reader review
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At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement.
But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs.
And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.
The trilogy continues with blueeyedboy and Different Class.
[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen & Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form
—— DAILY EXPRESS[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life
—— DAILY MAILWith a lightness of touch, Harris illuminates just how resentment of privilege and exclusion can lead to violent resolutions... Marvellously mischievous
—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPING[A] clever story of obsession and revenge... Ms Harris has scored another success
—— SUNDAY TELEGRAPHA classic whodunnit with the characters carefully crafted and the tension at a knife edge
—— SUNDAY EXPRESS (TOP TEN FICTION 2005)A terrific and absorbing suspense novel, with a cast of characters you come to really care about and enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes
—— PETER ROBINSONBook groups of the world, watch out
—— GUARDIANA wonderfully clever book, rich in atmosphere, crawling with fascinating characters, and packing a terrific surprise as well
—— Elizabeth George[A] literary gobstopper with an aniseed heart ... wildly entertaining
—— INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYA diverting and absorbing story which will delight her legions of fans
—— THE SCOTSMANA great novel and series, The Magicians Trilogy is very highly recommended indeed.
—— Civilian ReaderThe Magicians is the most dazzling, erudite and thoughtful fantasy novel to date. You'll be bedazzled by the magic but also brought short by what it has to say about the world we live in
—— Gary Shteyngart , author of The Russian Debutante's Handbook and AbsurdistanThe Magicians is a spellbinding, fast-moving, dark fantasy book for grownups that feels like an instant classic. I read it in a niffin-blue blaze of page turning, enthralled by Grossman's verbal and imaginative wizardry, his complex characters and most of all, his superb, brilliant inquiry into the wondrous, dangerous world of magic
—— Kate Christensen , author of The Epicure's Lament and The Great ManThe Magicians is Harry Potter as it might have been written by John Crowley...This is one of the best fantasies I've read in ages
—— Elizabeth Hand , Fantasy & Science FictionThe author has taken all that is held dear in the fantasy genre, reverently (most of the time) tipping the hat to Rowling, Tolkien, Lewis, Le Guin and others, and shown it from a completely different and unique angle
—— Fantasy Book Review...a gripping fantasy thriller that will please all the older Harry Potter fans out there
—— Yours MagazineSumell’s compulsively readable novel in stories introduces a restless underachiever as irresistible as he is detestable, surely one of the most morally, violently, socially complex personalities in recent literature…. Sumell’s debut is humbly macho, provoking outrage, pity, and finally tenderness. Perhaps this is a book readers will hate to love, but only because it feels, like Alby, all too real
—— BooklistThere's a special alchemy here that you are going to want to witness...offhand and funny, and then the tender heart emerges from the shadows, so tender, and comes at us with a knife. Every story here is two: one the fun, the other the blade
—— Ron CarlsonFocusing on the single reality that human beings die, Sumell wakes up, and boy oh boy is he ever pissed off... Sumell, on Alby's behalf, fights back, and he fights dirty. Using cunning, reckless rage, and bravura comic timing, he kicks death's ass... Bystanders get hurt, the reader got hurt, but at least I was reminded that I was part of this whole shitty deal. You'd like to believe that there are consolations, and there are. Being sentient, for example. Being able to read, for instance. Having read Making Nice
—— Geoffrey WolffThe self-destructive narrator lashes out with reckless intimacy, random violence, and an often hilarious misplaced rage that shoots to wound rather than kill. What saves its victims and the reader is a naked rendering of a heart sorting through its broken pieces to survive. The result is an eloquent empathy, an uplift of hope-filled grace
—— Mark RichardMaking Nice will grab you by the throat, raise your blood pressure, and cause you to chortle in a crowd. It will also break your heart. When they're writing the history of the best characters of our time, Alby will be there, telling the others to get in line
—— Matthew Thomas , author of We Are Not OurselvesMaking Nice is a little bit special. A truly original portrayal of grief
—— Benjamin Judge , Book MunchMaking Nice has an anarchic humour and a goofy, ingenuous humanity that makes every page feel new… Some jokes…aren’t just funny, they are insightful, unexpected and hilarious. In its rampage to nowhere, Making Nice achieves the remarkable feat of making it feel better to travel hopelessly than to arrive.
—— Sandra Newman , Guardian