The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller

‘Travis McGee is my favourite fiction detective. He’s great because he has a philosophical side – he will fight a bunch of mobsters in a car park and then have a muse about life, the universe and everything’

A dominant influence on writers crafting the continuing series character . . . I envy the generation of readers just discovering Travis McGee

The consummate pro, a master storyteller and witty observer . . . The Travis McGee novels are among the finest works of fiction ever penned by an American author and they retain a remarkable sense of freshness

...my favorite novelist of all time

What a joy that these timeless and treasured novels are available again

A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field

There’s only one thing as good as reading a John D. MacDonald novel: reading it again . . . He is the all-time master of the American mystery novel

The descriptions of Venice and Venetian life are beautifully written and acutely observed … The author clearly has an excellent understanding of the Italian psyche and a profound knowledge of Venice and Venetian life. This is the 22nd book in Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series and I can’t wait for the 23rd.

The familiar characters and Venetian location are described with remarkable freshness and, as always, the edifying result is both amusing and thought-provoking.

Tense, twisty, and driven by a melancholy insight into human motivation . . . deeply compelling

John le Carré is as recognisable a writer as Dickens or Austen, with an often-imitated but never rivalled cast of seedy spies, false lovers, public schoolboys struggling with guilt, and charming but immoral leaders of the brutal establishment . . . This is vintage le Carré and highly enjoyable

Thrilling, suspenseful . . . Fans will not be disappointed

Utterly convincing characters, a tight plot . . . Wonderful

Thrilling

Choreographed with unsettling precision

When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carré ... they were a journey into the wider world ... These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind

Plunges the reader into a modern-day thriller...Dad won't be able to put it down

[It] has all the essential ingredients of his masterpieces: the dilemmas of duty, patriotism and decency

John Le Carré at his masterful best . . . nobody does it better

Widely hailed as a return to the good old Smiley days . . . le Carré writes with laconic elegance

This is a class act which unveils its secrets as tantalisingly as a courtesan

Wonderfully evocative of Oxford, this is a love story and a mystery that will keep you guessing

Part love story, part murder mystery… Dymott’s novel is ample proof of the literary flair that lurks within some lawyers

One of the best books I’ve read this year