Where The Crawdads Sing: Delia Owens - Tapa dura

A painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature . . . Owens here surveys the desolate marshlands of the North Carolina coast through the eyes of an abandoned child. And in her isolation that child makes us open our own eyes to the secret wonders-and dangers-of her private world (New York Times Book Review)

Part murder-mystery, part coming-of-age novel, its evocation of the marshland and its inhabitants is as unforgettable as Kya herself. A story of loneliness, survival and love that's as engrossing as it is moving (Daily Mail)

For a debut the prose is impressively accomplished . . . A Hollywood film seems inevitable. Yet it will be hard to match on screen the delicacy of Owens's exploration of the natural world. Kya and her magical little world are a rare achievement (The Times)

Kya is a compelling character, Owen's descriptive prose is lushly impressive, and the twist in the narrative's tail is neat (Sunday Times Culture)

Owens combines high tension with precise detail about how people dress, sound, live and eat - the case studies in her book are both human and natural . . . Surprise bestsellers are often works that chime with the times. Though set in the 1950s and 60s, Where the Crawdads Sing is, in its treatment of racial and social division and the fragile complexities of nature, obviously relevant to contemporary politics and ecology. But these themes will reach a huge audience though the writer's old-fashioned talents for compelling character, plotting and landscape description (the Guardian)

For sheer escapism pick up Where The Crawdads Sing . . . there is writing that takes your breath away (The Times (separate review))

An Amazon Best Book of August 2018: This novel has a mystery at its core, but it can be read on a variety of levels. There is great nature writing; there is coming of age; and there is literature. Crawdads is a story lovingly told-one that takes its time in developing its characters and setting, and in developing the story. You'll want to relax and take your time as well, and when you're done you will want to talk about it with another reader. (Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review)

Unsettling and tinged with sadness, yet astonishingly fresh, powerful and mesmerising - with a surprising ending that will haunt you. I couldn't put it down (The Lady)

The strength of the story comes from the sympathetic portrait of its heroine who cannot fail to captivate, right up until the surprising end (UK Press Association and Independent I)

Steeped in the rhythms and shadows of the coastal marshes of North Carolina's Outer Banks, this fierce and hauntingly beautiful novel centers on...Kya's heartbreaking story of learning to trust human connections, intertwine[d] with a gripping murder mystery, revealing savage truths. An astonishing debut. (People)