THE TECHNOLOGISTS combines everything I love in a thriller: fascinating history, science, and a frightening mystery that demands to be solved. Matthew Pearl is one of my must-read authors. He never fails to intrigue and thrill

An ingenious, sometimes terrifying, historical thriller

Vivid…frightening… The Technologists is a marvel

Pearl takes an unusual subject for a thriller and seamlessly weaves historical research and his own inventions into a satisfying story

The social background is intriguing ... recommended

The best yet from a true master of the historical thriller. I loved this novel

Pearl takes an unusual subject for a thriller and seamlessly weaves historical research and his own inventions into a satisfying story

Intriguing

Matthew Pearl and his research assistant, Gabriella Gage, certainly cannot be faulted on their historical work for this vast novel

Pioneers of academic science in the US become clue-hunting detectives in Pearl’s vivid, well-researched novel

The story is perfect . . . the writing is simply outstanding . . . this was an absolutely gorgeous story to read.

This rich debut couldn't be further from the straightforward 20th-century American family saga it appears at first to be . . . Spanning many decades, it is an intricate portrait not only of complex family ties, but also of one quietly strong woman who heads this complicated tribe of siblings, children and friends. With each chapter narrated by one of Hattie's children, the power of Brooklyn author Ayana Mathis' novel is in its ability to create distinctive yet precise characters brimming with recognisable humanity.

The opening pages of Ayana’s debut took my breath away. I can’t remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison.

As unremittingly bleak as her characters’ lives are, Mathis has not produced a grim novel: it is as much about our need for joy as it is about our struggles against bitterness. Written with elegance and remarkable poise, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is rather like its heroine – a bit withholding at times, but memorable and with a hint of something formidable glinting under the surface.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a moving story of a broken American dream.

This is an ambitious debut, already praised by Pulitzer and Orange Prize winner Marilynne Robinson and chat show host Oprah Winfrey. It is well-deserved, for this is an epic tale of struggle, oppression, love and loss, told bravely.

Mathis beautifully unfolds the heartbreaking scene of a mother watching her babies’ lives ebb away . . . Chosen for the influential Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, this ambitious debut has attracted a lot of attention.

Builds into a tense, real, multi-layered narrative of incredible emotional power. Much better than boring old Alice Walker.

Short stories aren’t usually known for boosting adrenaline levels, but Canadian author Alexander Macleod’s debut collection isn’t one for the bedside table… firmly rooted in work and family Macleod’s relaxed story-telling will make you feel anything but

Tipped as one of the best books of the year by Canadian critics…these are superbly crafted tales…MacLeod does his father proud with this debut

Both visceral and gracious in approach he delicately balances the physical stress and strain of everyday lives with mental and emotional tolls

A sharp, witty exploration of relationships, art and celebrity culture

[Sheila Heti] has an appealing restlessness, a curiosity about new forms, and an attractive freedom from pretentiousness or cant…How Should a Person Be? offers a vital and funny picture of the excitements and longueurs of trying to be a young creator in a free, late-capitalist Western City…This talented writer may well have identified a central dialectic of twenty-first-century postmodern being

Funny…odd, original, and nearly unclassifiable…Sheila Heti does know something about how many of us, right now, experience the world, and she has gotten that knowledge down on paper, in a form unlike any other novel I can think of

Playful, funny... absolutely true

Sheila's clever, openhearted commentary will draw wry smiles from readers empathetic to modern life's trials and tribulations

Amusing and original