A Murder of Quality - Tapa dura

A cracking thriller * Economist on THE CONSTANT GARDENER * The book breathes life, anger and excitement * Nigel Williams, Observer on THE CONSTANT GARDENER * A powerful, moving novel . . . essential reading * Sunday Telegraph on THE MISSION SONG * 'A formidably sophisticated work of fiction, full of energy, rage and great humour. All the qualities for which le Carre's fiction has been admired - his descriptive powers, his electrifying dialogue, his cynicism in the presence of corporate greed and government power - are visible in THE MISSION SONG. That this great English novelist continues to produce work of this calibre with such frequency is simply astonishing.' * Charles Cumming, Mail on Sunday * 'Bold, vigorous and extremely funny.' * Evening Standard on THE MISSION SONG * 'le Carre shows no sign of slowing up or losing touch.' * Spectator on THE MISSION SONG * 'Exquisitely crafted' * Daily Mail on THE MISSION SONG * 'Fast-paced and entertaining' * Times Literary Supplement on THE MISSION SONG * 'I imagine this is the first time that le Carre has been mentioned in the same breath as Updike and Roth. They, after all, are Literary Novelists with a capital L and N, whereas Le Carre is . . . well, what is he? Actually he is sui generis. Or, rather, he is his own genre. Quite an achievement that.' * Sunday Telegraph * Truly thrilling * Financial Times * ABSOLUTE FRIENDS is vintage John le Carre: complex, often sardonically funny, always galvanically written. In fact, his best book in years.' * Daily Express * Thoroughly gripping * Sunday Times * With ABSOLUTE FRIENDS le Carre is back on form. It is his best book for years, probably since A PERFECT SPY. He has found a worthy enemy, a target for his moral indignation. Moreover he has hit a contemporary tune again. This is an anti-war novel and, very fiercely, an anti-American one. It's written with passion. * Allan Massie, Scotsman on ABSOLUTE FRIENDS * This is le Carre with a twist, the Old Master developing new techniques for a new age * Raymond Seitz, The Times on ABSOLUTE FRIENDS * The book breathes life, anger and excitement * Nigel Williams, Observer on ABSOLUTE FRIENDS * Richly detailed, full of righteous fire . . . one of John le Carre's best books * Sean O'Brien, The Times Literary Supplement * The master storyteller . . . has lost none of his cunning * A. N. Wilson, Daily Mail on THE CONSTANT GARDENER * 'THE MISSION SONG is meticulously researched, and the tricks and tactics of being a top interpreter are convincingly rendered. You're left with the uncomfortable feeling that perhaps politicians, journalists, civil servants and the businessmen really are the lying, amoral bastards portrayed here. Perhaps it isn't only in le Carre's world, but in the real world too, that we're unwise to believe what we are told.' * Independent on Sunday * Nobody writing today manipulates suspense better. Nobody constructs a more tantalisingly complex plot . . . essential reading * Sunday Telegraph on THE CONSTANT GARDENER * 'This thriller exhibits his familiar strengths: superbly realised characters; a succession of knockout scenes nobody else could produce; and a distinctive ability to fuse social comedy and moral anger . . . Mesmerising.' * Sunday Times on THE MISSION SONG * 'Le Carre's eye is undimmed, his passion for his craft as strong as it ever was. He delivers a tale that few could equal and none will surpass.' * Observer on THE MISSION SONG *

George Smiley was simply doing a favour for an old friend, Miss Ailsa Brimley, who edited a small religious newspaper. Miss Brimley had received a letter from a worried woman reader: 'I'm not mad. And I know my husband is trying to kill me.' The writer of the letter was one Stella Rode, wife to an assistant master at Carne School, Dorset, and by the time it arrived, she was dead. Carne was an ancient, self-regarding Church foundation, proud of its proper standards of social distinctions. George Smiley went there to listen, take sherry, ask questions and think. And thus uncover, layer upon layer, the complexities, skeletons and hatreds that comprised this little English institution.