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Outstanding
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Boston Globe Chuck Leddy
A page-turner told in prose so beautiful you'll want to read some passages repeatedly.
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Outstanding
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The New York Times Janet Maslin
Christine Falls rolls forward with haunting, sultry exoticism.
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Outstanding
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The New York Times Book Review Kathryn Harrison
More than a seamless performance in fulfilling the demands of its genre, Christine Falls is executed with what feels like authorial delight.
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Favorable
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The Observer Peter Guttridge
Christine Falls is dank, gloomy and powerful.
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Favorable
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Publishers Weekly
Though Black makes an occasional American cultural blooper, he keeps divulging surprises to the last page so that the reader is simultaneously shocked and satisfied.
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Favorable
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Christian Science Monitor
John Banville's first foray into crime fiction is a happy one: the genre rules keep the plot whirring along smoothly, and Banville's trademark prose helps illuminate his noir world.
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Favorable
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Washington Post Patrick Anderson
Readers who love gorgeous prose and aren't in any rush to find out whodunit will savor this novel.
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Favorable
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Entertainment Weekly Daniel Fierman
Crime fiction rarely lives up to the term ''literary,'' but Falls...is the happy exception. Falls starts slow, but builds to a melancholy, satisfying conclusion.
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Favorable
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Los Angeles Times Mark Rozzo
Christine Falls [is] a crime novel that is more than a mere busman's holiday by a master of English prose.
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Favorable
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PopMatters Frank Wilson
Crime does figure in, and there’s mystery aplenty, but if you’re looking for fast-paced excitement, look elsewhere. Christine Falls offers a subtler, deeper satisfaction than just finding out whodunit.
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Favorable
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Slate Gideon Lewis-Kraus
Christine Falls, despite an ultimately less-than-believable resolution, is a delight in itself, and it's also a promising experiment.
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Favorable
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Sydney Morning Herald Sue Turnbull
Despite the literary flourishes and delays, Banville does not condescend to the genre and the writing is nuanced and fine, although self-consciously so.
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Favorable
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The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Charles Foran
Benjamin Black, it is true, can't quite escape genre dictates, especially a lame ending designed to usher in the sequel, and Banville, once or twice, can't quite help being his lofty self...But this is a lovely novel, elegant and haunted and beautifully told.
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Favorable
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The Guardian Michael Dibdin
It would be absurd to suggest that Banville writing as Black is better than Banville writing as Banville, but in a different and yet fascinatingly similar way he is every bit as good, and deserves to win a new, broader readership with this fine book.
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Favorable
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The Independent Patricia Craig
The strange and unnerving atmosphere of [Banville's] early work is replicated by Benjamin Black, with only a slight shift of emphasis.
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