Penguin has picked the perfect time to re-issue John Ball's brilliant debut story ... This is a psychologically astute examination of racial prejudice, an atmospheric depiction of the times and a brilliant, suspense-filled read ... If you haven't read it, do so

Compelling

Nordic noir of note

A tightly woven tale in spare but piercing prose

Moving and thought-provoking

Karin Fossum's minimalist police procedurals... have a stealthy way of mutating into richer, if also darker, psychological studies of criminals and their victims... In the end, the novel isn't about willful murder or even accidental death, but the psychological aftershocks for the living

Reading a Karin Fossum novel is always a wonderful, almost meditative, experience. Even though she writes about horrible crimes, her compassion and intelligence shine through, and by the time you reach the final page you’re left feeling irrevocably changed - for the better. Her latest, The Drowned Boy, is right up there among her best

Fossum shows us how the crime novel can be more than sheer entertainment… Well-written and gripping

Karin Fossum is among our foremost authors, regardless of genre. This because of her unique ability to create real people and her deep understanding of the human soul. She has always mastered this, but never better than in The Drowned Boy

Among Fossum’s finest novels…a strong literary quality and quivering suspense

Abir Mukherjee’s A Rising Man is a whodunit set in the social and political tinderbox of 1919 Calcutta – a thought-provoking rollercoaster

One of the most exciting debut novels I've read in years

Witty, atmospheric.

Colourful, eloquent, witty, unputdownable. And here's the best bit: this is the first in an unmissable new series that is clearly destined to join the pantheon of intelligent historical crime fiction. Jump on the wagon now

[An] atmospheric period thriller from [a] promising debut author

A thoroughly engaging new detective... A Rising Man kept me awake, racing to the finish… This is a Calcutta of smart cantonments and deep corruption, vividly brought to life, the politics and the people skewered with sharp dialogue and a brilliant sense of period

A historical thriller of the highest calibre; evocative and pleasingly complex, shot through with the driest of wit, it marks Mukherjee out as an author of great style and ambition

A journey into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

A promising start to Mukherjee’s atmospheric new historical crime series.

Enjoyable tale… Agreeably witty and sharply written, this is an evocative portrait of a multifaceted Calcutta.

This guy is a real find… Mixes family history with a good helping of imagination.

An assured novel: well researched and vivid, with a strong plotline, delivered with verve and some appealing wry humour.

A vivid sense of history and locale

Meticulously researched and delivered in clear, lucid and intelligent prose, Mukherjee is a fantastic addition to the stable of international crime writers, whose books effortlessly cross boundaries and bind readers in a community of excellence and enjoyment.

Vividly described, full of humour and humanity, it's a wonderful picture of that time and world, as well as being a perfect murder mystery novel.

Bursting with lively historical details about post-World War I India, this is a stirring and entertaining mystery

This brilliant mingling of real history and fictional invention kicks off a series that does for the Raj what Philip Kerr did for the Reich