As gripping as a thriller and endlessly thought-provoking... Surprising, spellbinding, witty and utterly original

Lazarus is Dead is a delightful falsehood - a brilliant novel and a shining example of the gospel untruth

This clever and original book keeps the reader guessing until the death - and beyond

An idiosyncratic delight...Yet again, Beard shows himself to be one of our most inventive novelists

A brilliant reimagining of the Lazarus story...wry, incisive and surprisingly moving (Favourite Books of 2011)

Ultimately it is the narrative voice - cultivated, wry, yet not too knowing to sustain a note of wonder - that makes this novel so compelling

A thoughtful, enjoyable book

He can stir emotion quickly and simply... his essayistic digressions temper the mythic luminosity of his subject

Beautiful prose...this is a challenging, thoughtful read, even for the die-hard heathen

Beard writes with sharp clarity; short unadorned sentences that contain an unforced, incisive wit....Lazarus's legend continues to fascinate in this totally original book

A fascinating mixture of fiction and academic essay...using biblical sources and other, less orthodox ones, Beard weaves a compelling tale portrait of first-century Israel, of Jerusalem with its factions and sects, and of Jesus, Lazarus's enigmatic friend, as he makes his journey towards the Cross

I finished the book at a sitting. What makes it so gripping is Beard's limitless curiosity.

The approach is unusual, the narrative bold and exhilarating...this book with its melding of fiction and non-fiction, critical analysis and detective work, consolidation and controversy, is a potent combination that breathes life not only into the 'imaginative representations' of historical events but also into the possibilities of what we think a novel might be able to achieve.

So good it's almost off the scale for me. Brave, brilliant and utterly readable.