A pacy, poised and undeniably exciting debut ... a taut, bleakly humorous (and well written) adventure - Boyd Tonkin, Independent
Goddard's account of a picaresque mission in the final days of the Spanish Civil War is replete with this droll and deeply sympathetic view of the impulses driving human conflict; its's a cerebral, powerful and accomplished debut - The Face
A clever mix of humour and sadness and life and death ... a surreal book that juggles humour with horror as it journeys deep into the night. - John King
An impressive debut ... each character is drawn with humour and subtlety ...a fine balance between comedy and tragedy, pathos and slapstick - Times
Funny and inventive, a superbly written and immensely enjoyable read from a supremely confident authorial voice. A book to be read at one sitting. - Whitbread judging panel
A polished debut novel ... While bullets whistle through the air, knives flash silver in the moonlight and the body count creeps ever upwards, the real action takes place in the minds of the protagonists. There the drama of sibling rivalries, unrequited love and marital feuds is played out to surreal and often comic effect. - Daily Mail
Avoiding overly serious history, frank sex scenes rub shoulders with bloody and farcical violence to form a surreal, fable-like backdrop to the unfolding drama ... Readable and unpredictable, this
