Conclave

A master of producing thrillers of ever-tightening suspense, full of insider analysis of political power and the treatment of momentous events . . . gripping . . . more than a crime novel, it is also a psychological and political thriller . . . Conclave is a triumphant addition to Harris’ acclaimed output

David Grylls, Sunday Times

I am about to use a word I have never knowingly used in any review of any book ever. During my 25-odd years of writing about books I have done my best to avoid cliches, slipshod summaries, oracular pronouncements and indeed anything else that might appear emblazoned on a book jacket. Nonetheless, there is only one possible word to describe Robert Harris’s new novel, and it is this: unputdownable

Ian Sansom, Guardian

Gripping . . . like an ecclesiastical version of House of Cards

The Times

Well-researched, intelligently observed and highly credible . . . Fast-moving and suspenseful, it’s elegantly written entertainment from a first-rate storyteller.

Mail on Sunday

Grips like a vice and manages to convey all the drama of an election without resorting to melodrama

Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express

An electric read, like a shot of adrenalin to the heart . . . rollicking and literate . . . an insightful and witty thriller

Tim Stanley, Literary Review

Page-turning heaven

Alice Jones, Independent

Slick and fast-paced

Express

Harris’ superlative skill at depicting power politics makes this an irresistibly gripping papal page-turner.

Sunday Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Robert Harris is incapable of writing a substandard novel.

Alan Johnson, Observer, BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Thriller of the year . . . with a plot so serpentine and sinuous that I could not bear to put it down.

Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail BOOKS OF THE YEAR

‘I have been waiting for most of my life for Robert Harris to write a novel that is not gripping, insightful and entertaining. I am waiting still. His latest, Conclave, is superb.

Ben Macintyre, The Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR

A real page-turner, with a great twist in the final pages.

Libby Purves, The Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Finishing this splendid and intelligent story, as with all great fiction, brings an acute sense of loss.

Richard Susskind, The Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Each Robert Harris thriller is different but of exemplary consistency.

Ian Rankin, Mirror BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Robert Harris is the master storyteller of our time . . . Beautifully constructed . . . it’s dramatically compelling, politically intelligent, beautifully paced and with a lovely twist in the tail . . . narrative doesn’t come better than this.

Scotsman BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Robert Harris's Conclave turns the factional infighting of the supporters of the competing candidates into a gripping narrative. The narrator, Roy McMillan, catches them perfectly: pompous Venetian, charming African, sly New Englander, harassed Roman dean, all manipulated by the dead Pope's iron will.

The Times