Red Joan

A meditation on the secrets we keep... Red Joan's strength lies in the complex personal relationships that underpin the spying game... A powerfully-written exploration of the far-reaching consequences that even the smallest-seeming actions can have

Kaite Welsh, Literary Review

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot...tense, beautifully pitched and very moving novel

Eithne Farry, Marie Claire

Sensitive spy thriller… Finely detailed and resolutely sensitive… This excellent period novel still carries some considerable resonance in the age of Bradley Manning

Andrzej Lukowski, Metro

If you loved William Boyd’s Restless, you’ll enjoy this

Viv Groskop, Red

Compulsive reading... Rooney's approach it to make this a very personal story for Joan. There's love, loss, betrayal, friendship and secrets galore and it gives a believable insight on how one, normal person might be let to betray her country. The true mark of the story is that you find yourself thinking that you might have done exactly what Joan did in those circumstances

The Bookbag

A gripping, emotional and expertly plotted spy novel of the Cold War, inspired by a real story. Beautifully written and clever

Kate Mosse

One of Britain's brightest young writing talents

Nic Bottomley, Bath Life

Gripping

Glamour

A great thriller and a stirring love story

Grazia

A gripping narrative and a compelling lead character... This is an absorbing and accomplished novel

LittleReaderLibrary

A very human Cold War thriller

Good Housekeeping

Rooney is a novelist at home with life’s ambiguities, her plotting pleasingly intricate, her narrative richly textured

Lucy Beresford, Sunday Telegraph (Seven)

A captivating read

Choice

An exciting and intelligent novel... Rooney's re-creation of the politics of the day is brilliant

Kate Saunders, The Times

Particulary acute on the muddle of emotion, reason and morality that festers around betrayal...compelling, impressively detailed story, with thrillerish overtones...

Elizabeth Buchan, The Sunday Times

A wonderfully plotted spy drama full of intrigue and suspense… A fantastic read

UK Regional Press Syndication

Extremely readable

Mark Perryman, Hufffington Post

A wonderfully plotted spy drama full of intrigue and suspense… A fantastic read

Women's Way

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot... Tense, beautifully pitched and very moving

Marie Claire

[A] polished, intricate novel… rich in moral ambiguity

Sunday Telegraph

This powerfully-written spy thriller is compulsive reading

Falkirk Herald

A gripping spy novel with an unlikely culprit and a thoroughly researched basis in fact... Perfect for fans of William Boyd's Restless

Absolutely Chelsea