Anyone who wants to know how it felt to be young, idealistic and innocent at the end of the war should read The Cowards

Utterly believable . . . a lot of fun.

True identities constantly shift in this world -- lovers might be enemies, priests can be evil, and stuffed animals, given the depth and intellect that Davys gives them, may as well be human

Oddly gripping and convincing ... Skip that evening Scotch and read this one stone-cold sober -- it's plenty trippy as is

A delightful mystery-thriller set in a city populated by stuffed animals...dastardly fun to read

Hardboiled teddy bears, voluptuous rats, pious penguins and exploding fowl populate a world that's violent, tender, hilarious, and downright sickening. Really, what could be better?

These are stuffed animals like you've never seen: deep, dark, and, somehow, utterly believable. Lucky us--a mystery that's completely original

In this off-beat debut, Davys marries film-noir-slick with teddy-bear-sweet to create a cutthroat world peopled with stuffed animals. Like Who Killed Roger Rabbit's evil cousin, this gangster story is replete with stakeouts, break-is, threats, coercion and double dealing....With its engaging characters, refreshing perspective and action-packed plot, AMBERVILLE is poised to become one of the must-read books of the year

Peebles tells this story with skill, tempering a potentially saccharine plot with a wry authorial gaze

The Death of Lomond Friel is a very fine first novel, full of emotion, laced with wit, and crowded with observations of the surface absurdities and hidden pains of being human. It marks Sue Peebles as an assured and cunning writer

Shot through with a fizzing mix of philosophy and comedy

An unusual, loveable debut...that explores the complexities of family relationships and the weight of memory

An unusual, loveable debut about a father and his daugther on the East Coast of Scotland...superbly written with a small cast of memorable characters

The beautiful debut by Scottish novelist Sue Peebles. This tale of a daughter caring for her father who has suffered a stroke is psychologically true and elegantly portrayed

The best debut I read...sharp, tender, wicked, and beautifully poised prose that reads like the work of an accomplished novelist

It would be a hard heart indeed that remained unmoved . . . the tender feelings that Noble engenders in her readers are to be cherished

Warner navigates the comic, the philosophical and the socially acute like no other writer we have

Played refreshingly uncliched games with the device of the unreliable narrator

Blake Morrison's examination of the dark heart of male rivalry makes foe a gripping read

Pacy and gripping...wonderfully atmospheric

Morrison's compelling study of male competitiveness offers a discomforting account of the amoral excuses and self-deception of the compulsive gambler: "I don't have a problem. I could stop tomorrow"; "gambling is the basis of our whole economy". You reckon you could put it down at any point - though you'd be kidding yourself

The Bank Holiday weekend from hell is the subject of Blake Morrison's entertaining new novel - a dark little tale about middle-class rivalry and midsummer meltdown. With an ear attuned to metropolitan pretension - modern parenting skills are sent up with gusto - Morrison succeeds in weaving a murderous melodrama that is grounded in the most recognizable of human impulses and desires

A tense chamber piece about a twisted friendship...the author's skilful choreography of unsympathetic characters and a menacing tone make for a sharply intelligent novel that is both unnerving and enjoyable

The Last Weekend isn't really a thriller though its well-paced, tight and gripping narrative has you reaching for the same adjectives that you would use to describe one

For those holidaying with old friends…the book tells the chilling story ofa rivalrousfriendship…leaving Alex Clark to conclude that Morrison “keeps the reader constantly intrigued