The Fig Eater

'A gripping psychological thriller...capturing the nervous mood of a city preoccupied, like one of its most famous residents, with sex and death'

The New York Times

'This is a captivating thriller that blooms into vivid life ... It's a novel written with immense skill, its sense of place and language constantly surprising and invigorating. A superb debut.'

Daily Mail

'Highly unusual, eerie...a glorious maze of dead ends and false leads. Sometimes gruesome and highly mysterious, it is an exciting new brand of detective story'

Spectator

'An artful and evocative thriller...rich in the texture of corruption' Independent

Independent

'An intensely powerful sense of time and place in this atmospheric and accomplished period whodunit'

Harpers & Queen

'Astonishingly original and vivid...one of the chief attractions of the novel is the laconic and elegant style. The writing is vivid and highly visual, but reveals very little about the character's feelings. Understanding and judging the motives of the characters is, with brilliant effectiveness, left to the reader'

Charles Palliser, author of The Quincunx

'Enjoyable and intelligent...tense, sophisticated and wholly tempting, it is good entertainment, with barely a word out of place'

The Times Literary Supplement

'Lush with dreamy suspense, gypsy portents and forensic detail'

Elle

'Shields has a powerful gift for poetic and painterly imagery. Her startling scenes, rich in metaphor, linger long in the memory...Beautifully written'

Wall Street Journal

'Eerie and erotic - a Viennese dance of death'

Victoria Glendinning

'Suspenseful, atmospheric and highly intelligent, Jody Shields focuses a brilliant light on the murky world of imperial Vienna'

D. M. Thomas