No other contemporary novelist has such supreme mastery of that sweet spot between high and low, literary and compulsively readable as Kate Atkinson. I look forward to a new Atkinson book like I look forward to Christmas…what lends the novel enchantment is that patented Atkinson double whammy: gravity and levity. Tragedy and comedy as so skilfully entwined that you find yourself snorting with mirth…brimming with dark wit that reminds you how deeply satisfying good fiction can be.

Transcription stands alongside its immediate predecessors as a fine example of Kate Atkinson's mature work, an unapologetic novel of ideas which is also wise, funny and paced like a thriller.

Kate Atkinson is a wonderful writer. I want to write like her when I grow up. Transcription shows she's at the peak of her powers. Full of beautiful, delicate, sharp sentences and characterisations. A spy novel that dismantles the whole genre. A class act, as ever.

Superb...Transcription is the sort of book that reminds you how profound and satisfying and moving and exhilarating good fiction can be. It’s the best novel I’ve read all year. I can’t praise it enough.

Never loses its sense of absurdity of human beings even in their most tragic or noble moments...How vehemently most novelists will wish to produce a masterpiece as good.

On a graph plotting the literary qualities versus saleability of contemporary British novelists, Kate Atkinson would surely occupy the highest point where the two meet...There are plenty of twists and turns in this terrific page-turner, some shocking moments, and a narrator whom the author encourages us to love.

Atkinson handles her mazy, Le Carre-style plot with complete authority. But there’s a lot more to the novel than its page-turning thrills. The increasingly sceptical Juliet makes for a very appealing heroine and the darker material is interspersed with some neat comedy. Above all, Atkinson recreates the atmosphere of both wartime and post-war London with utter conviction.

[A] superb story of wartime espionage...Hilary Mantel once said of Atkinson's ground-breaking first novel that she had a "game-plan more sophisticated than Dickens", and that skill is more than evident in this latest offering...remarkable...Transcription is a fine course in the art of deception. The sheer bravura of Atkinson's storytelling is such that you will find it impossible not to want to revisit those clues so cleverly placed, as you shake your head in disbelief at how effortlessly you have been taken in.

A new Kate Atkinson novel is always a reason to rejoice and Transcription was everything I was hoping for and more…The truly surprising denouement makes for one of the best conclusions of a novel I’ve ever read.I immediately wanted to read it all over again.

Kate Atkinson’s fluid identity as a novelist has long marked her out as one of Britain’s most interesting – and often underrated – writers…the playful always stands shoulder to shoulder with the painful, the grandiose with the grubby…Atkinson’s depiction of espionage and counter-espionage on the Home Front is nimble and convincing…But there is an immensely serious book here too, waiting in the wings to reveal itself on the very last pages; a book that asks us to question the entertainment we’ve just gobbled up, and to reckon with what lies beneath it.

A treat - cerebral and suspenseful, playful and empathetic.

This is a novel about identity in which no one and nothing is exactly as they seem - a spy novel, in short... Terms such as "postmodern" and "metafiction" seem far too heavy for novels as enjoyable as Atkinson's, but from Behind the Scenes onwards she has been chipping away at the fourth wall, and mischievously drawing attention to her craft. What elevates her fiction above mere playfulness is the emotional integrity of her characters... Atkinson always puts on a damn good show.

A triumph...inventive, atmospheric and witty.

Full of intrigue...sublimely suspenseful - droll,devious and deadly, beautifully serious.

In Transcription, Kate Atkinson recasts the bildungsroman within the fertile genre of the spy thriller… …As the plot of this accomplished novel hurtles towards its astonishing denouement, even the canniest reader may feel wrong-footed.

I loved Kate Atkinson's Transcription - you don't know if it's farce about spies, or a spy story about farce.

This intricate and captivating novel is a treat. Our advice? Cancel your plans and get lost in its pages.

Intricate, compelling, unpredictable…a gripping spy story …filled with the mystery, humour, and Britishness we have come to expect.

Murky, mysterious and with double bluffs,divided loyalties and untrustworthy narratives aplenty, Atkinson explores the nature of truth in this vibrant piece of historical fiction.

Atkinson’s poker-faced narration perfectly serves a twisty tale of innocence lost amid a fog of geopolitical double-dealing, framed with a deadly tragedy.

Glorious... beautiful and smart and everything you have ever loved about Kate Atkinson.

Totally gripping and extremely funny, with an excellent joke on practically every page...There won't be a better or more enjoyable book published this year.

Truly horrifying in the most delicious way. Samantha Downing sucks you in with a great story, pitch-perfect prose and disturbingly dead-on insights into the dark side of human nature. I hope I never meet her in a dark alley....

I couldn't pull myself away from this story - a terrifying and riveting window into the mind of the perfect suburban mother with a taste for murder. Make sure you clear your schedule before you pick it up. Absolutely unputdownable

It's no mean feat to find something fresh in the crowded thriller field, but Downing pulls off an indisputable triumph with My Lovely Wife. Exemplary writing and outstanding pacing confirm Downing's talent, but it's her deliciously depraved characters that kept me flying through the pages. Couldn't get enough of this subversive love-gone-sideways tale!

Deliciously dark and twisted... It's a remarkable achievement, full stop.

Best new books to read this March

A highly original and dark look at the shifting power structure in a modern marriage. . . A funny, smart book

Darkly witty and strangely plausible, it's a read-in-one-sitting firecracker of a thriller, laced with explosive twists

A marital, psychological thriller with darkly comedic undertones

Bold and brilliant

This is a ringer of a yarn, shot through with enough tooth-clenching moments to make you have your dentist on speed dial

With a twisty plot that will leave you gasping, this deliciously dark thriller is on a par with Gone Girl

One of the best thrillers I've ever read

I loved The Chalk Man, but The Taking of Annie Thorne is even better, creepier and more addictive! I was so creeped out I had to stop reading until my husband came home one night! Brilliant stuff - well done, C. J. Tudor!

The Hot List

Following on from C J Tudor's successful debut, comes a novel about bullying, cruelty and deceit. . . Tudor keeps the novel moving at a fast pace

A Stephen King style thriller that will have you transfixed and submerged in the entanglement of the twisting plot. This book kept me intrigued all the way to the very end

Crime meets psychological suspense meets out-and-out horror. From the stomach-churning first chapter to the grand guignol ending that is as shocking as it is surprising, Tudor racks up the nastiness . . . Another hit.

Matches Stephen King for creepiness. A must-read for horror fans

Creepy beyond words. Just like Stephen King, the fact that Tudor's characters are so believable makes the events even creepier