Wide Eyed

'A quietly spooky tale...Part of the strength of the book as a thriller is the artful way Nicoll manipulates our sympathies...it is in the evocation of atmosphere, that elusive art, that Nicoll really earns his spurs. He is the master of everything from simple natural descriptions that have the limpidity of a watercolour to extravagantly gothic episodes in darkened churchyards. Weird events are set against equally weird backdrops: from RAF jets roaring across a cloudless sky to the burning pyres associated with foot-and-mouth disease. The result is a novel that is both unsettling and oddly exhilarating'

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'Nicoll writes intricate, accurate prose and offers alluring descriptions of the Scottish landscape...The landscape of Wide Eyed is beautiful and the situation is fascinating'

GUARDIAN

'The writing is lyrical and compelling and, for all the novel's emotive subject matter and intermittent violence, Nicoll's portrayal of grief, and the need to make sense of calamity is never less than convincing. Another triumph'

THE LIST

'Asked to condense a review of Ruaridh Nicoll's second novel into just one word, I would have to plump for atmospheric. I could also say riveting, or dramatic - or even entertaining. Indeed it is all of these but, for me, it is the all-enveloping atmosphere of Galloway that leaves the deepest impression on the reader. This is a truly grand second novel...his descriptive writing is of the highest quality...a beautifully told tale - and you will not be disappointed with the ending'

SCOTS MAGAZINE

'An emotionally-wrought novel, in turn lyrical and violent, fable-like and gutsy, in which many of its characters are on a quest to find out who they really are'

SUNDAY HERALD

'A claustrophobically tense novel, Wide Eyed combines Nicoll's profound love of the Scottish landscape and its people with a journalist's eye for topicality...a writer who intends to become as prominent a part of the literary landscape as the cliffs and mountains from which he draws his inspiration'

GLASGOW HERALD

'Absorbing...while the narrative is well-crafted and builds to a bravura climax, it is in the evocation of atmosphere, that elusive art, that Nicoll really earns his spurs'

Sunday Telegraph

'A quietly spooky tale...unsettling and oddly exhilarating'

Sunday Telegraph

'Emotionally-wrought...in turn lyrical and violent, fable-like and gutsy'

Sunday Herald

'Nicoll writes intricate, accurate prose and offers alluring descriptions of the Scottish landscape...The landscape of Wide Eyed is beautiful and the situation is fascinating'

Guardian

'Lyrical and compelling...Another triumph'

The List