«Women in peril flit through the pages of traditional Gothic fiction, murmuring 'Had I but known!' as they fall for the wrong man, open the wrong door or apply for the wrong job. Sophie Hannah takes the trusty formula in both hands, gives it a vigorous shake and uses it to produce something fascinating and original in her novel. Beautifully written the novel is outstandingly chilling - terror lurks in the half understood and in anticipation. Little Face is a hugely promising debut. Sophie Hannah is an author to watch»

Andrew Taylor, Spectator

«Hannah's whodunit milks a classic formula with subversive results. This missing-baby tale chimes with very modern anxieties. Custody issues lie at the heart of the resolution, and the increasingly perverse relationship between Alice and David is grounded in recognisable reality that serves only to make our flesh crawl more»

Emma Hagestadt, Independent

«A suspensful and psychological thriller, the plot twists and turns right up until the very last»

Heat

«Intriguing. Hannah's depiction of relationships tested to the limit by domestic tragedy is impressive»

Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday

«A gripping psychological thriller»

Independent on Sunday

«Sophie Hannah is an award-winning poet and short story writer, and for this, her first novel, she has come up with a chilling thriller . . . I was left thinking about the book for days»

Guardian

«The author is a poet by trade and she brings a wealth of psychological and literary subtlety to bear in this impressive novel. Smart and disarmingly unnerving»

Daily Mail

«Hannah adapts to crime fiction with arresting aplomb: her characters are vivid, the novel's challenging double narrative is handled with flair, and its denouement is ingenious»

The Sunday Times

«Quite brilliant - I was extremely impressed»

The Times

«This may well turn out to be the detective novel of the year . . . A terrifying mystery of manipulation, counter-manipulation and, finally, astounding revelation - it's a haunting story told with bewitching skill.»

Scotsman

«Chilling and completely gripping - I stayed up half the night to finish it.»

Marie Claire