An immensely readable, passionately written epic, with an involving, fast-moving plot constantly challenging readers' assumptions

Young readers will find themselves swept along with Breslin's engaging cast into a world where duty and compassion must somehow co-exist

Breslin brilliantly weaves the themes of emancipation, class, love, propaganda and the machinations of war into the story of how these young lives are changed with a light touch that belies the seriousness of the subject

Breslin's light touch and beautiful prose give the harrowing sights and sounds of the war a much more human feel . . . A novel that will stay with me for a long time

Theresa Breslin is simply a superb writer and I strongly recommend this novel to all readers

An African whodunit that alludes to the troublesome relationship that lies between the modernity and custom ... Parkes has managed to write fabulously poetic and fresh prose that is both vernacular and contemporary

In this tale of crime, punishment, and forgiveness Parkes' landscapes are filled with magic, his characters speak with the wisdom of the ancients; he has used his poet's sensibility to recreate for us the oral tales, fables and wonders of a world before time, a world overtaken by time

The novel has a compelling draw; the supernatural is undercut by a psychological authenticity with strong Freudian resonance and a very human pull...like all good detective stories of the gentler persuasion, it is a humane investigation of human failing as much as it is about crime, but it also touches on more threatening and mysterious territory