"Flinty, funny, subtle, and smart . . .Temple ranks among [the crime genre's] very best practitioners."--Entertainment Weekly
"Having read the new novels of Michael Connelly and Martin Cruz Smith, I have to say that Temple belongs in their company. . . . Murder, rape, suicide, child abuse, police brutality, shootouts--but always in the context of gorgeous writing . . . Throughout, Temple finds time to please us with flashes of writing that range from poetic to brutal."--The Washington Post
"A grim, brutally involving crime novel [from] a master of the genre . . . Temple develops a complex tale threaded with the racism and corruption so embedded in Australia's ways and means that the scene is as vivid as the crime. . . . A compulsive read . . . It's one of those books you can't wait to finish and then can only regret that it's ended."--Daily News (New York)
"The extra emphasis on character, as well as subtle commentary on race and class divides, add many welcome layers to Temple's already-outstanding acuity for plotting and pace and his almost musical ear for dialogue."--The Baltimore Sun
"A mature and measured account of the kind of crimes committed in the dead quiet of rural Australia . . . Temple offers some provocative and painful views of Australia's inner landscape."--The New York Times Book Review
"This deeply intelligent thriller starts slowly, builds inexorably, and ends unforgettably."--Booklist (starred review)
"[Temple] writes so beautifully."--Salon.com
"One of the year's best mysteries . . . Drop everything and read this book."--Rocky Mountain News
