Tony Black’s Edinburgh makes Ian Rankin’s version of the city seem sedate, polite and carefree … makes a strong case to assume the mantle of Edinburgh’s leading fictional detective, vacant since the retirement of Rankin’s Rebus

Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy ... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn. DI Rob Brennan is my new star on the capital's murder mile. And you can't help but think Rebus would approve

Murder Mile is the second outing for DI Rob Brennan, a complex and brooding character who makes Rebus look positively chipper by comparison ... With Murder Mile Tony Black has put the heart back into the serial killer novel. It’s dark, yes, and deeply unpleasant in places, as it should be, but he hasn’t played to shock and there’s a refreshing lack of cheap gore. Rob Brennan is the perfect guide to follow through the criminal underworld, a bundle of rage and righteousness, and after reading Murder Mile the next fictional DI you come across will have a lot to live up to

A convincing portrayal

Brennan’s Edinburgh roils and seethes with violence

One of the best of her early novels... it is written with luminous intensity

This is Nemrovsky's most autobiographical novel...recalled in hauntingly atmospheric detail

It's an unerring portrait of a neglected, baleful and punitive daughter

Nemirovksy captures the rootless existence of emigres beautifully

Sandra Smith's translation is mellifluous and certain passages - the opening lines describing dusk in Kiev, for example - are breathtaking

Némirovsky excels at describing this dysfunctional household

Sandra Smith’s translation of the novel faithfully reflects Nemirovsky’s talents as an astute portraitist and storyteller

Nemirovsky evokes a time and a place when domestic upheaval could prove every bit as tragic and bloody as those played out on a wider stage