The Murders at Reading Gaol: A twisty and gripping historical murder mystery

The curse of fictionalising well-known characters is having to manoeuvre within the facts, but Brandreth manages it superlatively. This is light stuff, but energetic, and Brandreth clearly has Wilde at heart - Financial TimesPraise for the Oscar Wilde Series'Gyles Brandreth and Oscar Wilde seem made for each other' - Daily TelegraphA cast of historical characters to die for - Sunday TimesGenius . . . Wilde has sprung back to life in this thrilling and richly atmospheric new novel - Sunday ExpressA witty fin-de-siecle entertainment . . . rattlingly elegant dialogue - Sunday TimesVery entertaining - Literary ReviewA flight of imagination that partners Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle in a deadly pursuit to the heart of the Eternal City merits a round of applause for sheer chutzpah . . . Gyles Brandreth succeeds magnificently . . . The relationship between the two writers is drawn so convincingly, but there is also dialogue of the period without any Victorian heaviness and a plot that is intriguing throughout. Brandreth's research is impeccable. Literary and theological references merge easily into a skilfully crafted story that goes all the way to meet the standards set by his two eminent protagonists - Daily MailBrandreth has always delighted in puzzles, in the quirks of both the past and present, and in the gloriously camp wit of Oscar Wilde. Here all of these things come together in a story that reminds us how enjoyable a well-told traditional murder mystery can be - Scotsman