Only Killers and Thieves

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

Chosen by Nick Rennison as a BBC History Magazine Book of the Year

Chosen by Jon Coates as a Crime Time Magazine Book of the Year

An Amazon.com Best Book of 2018

'A gripping and vivid novel, Paul Howarth brings early Queensland to life so well that you can practically smell the horses' -- John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies

'Everywhere alive with vivid evocations of a landscape as punishing as it is beautiful... Only Killers and Thieves compels and convinces from the start. This is a thrilling book and Paul Howarth a writer of tremendous talent' -- Laird Hunt, author of Neverhome

'Wild West attitude' -- Jane Harper, BookPage

'A gripping novel about conflict in the Australian outback at the turn of the century; beautifully done' -- Paulette Jiles, New York Times Bestselling Author of News of the World

'The narrative crackles with dramatic tension and an atmosphere of fear and dread. Howarth seduces us with his gripping story and empathetic characters while making us look unflinchingly at the casual brutality and entrenched racism of the Australian frontier' -- Julian Leatherdale, bestselling author of Palace of Tears and The Opal Dragonfly

'I couldn't put [it] down. It does what great Westerns do, it drops you inside the ugliness and chaos of Australian frontier life, it educates and horrifies, but also it entertains. Howarth's debut is a powerhouse page turner' -- Willy Vlautin, author of Lean on Pete

'Only Killers and Thieves is a story of brooding danger, family bonds, and the choices two brothers make in becoming men. A sparse and lyrical Western that manages to illuminate one of Australia's darkest periods' --Emma Viskic, author of Resurrection Bay

'Superb debut novel' -- Antonia Senior, The Times, Historical Fiction Books of the Year

'Paul Howarth's superb, but harrowing debut... Such is the savage brilliance of Howarth's prose that the reader feels almost complicit in Noone's horrible vision' -- The Times, Book of the Month

'Outstanding debut... a powerful novel of crimes in a bleak landscape' -- Sunday Times

'Paul Howarth impresses with his debut... gripping... Howarth has a real feel for small details of characterisation and setting... [an] intriguing new writer' -- Observer

'Accomplished debut... muscular prose... chilling coming-of-age story' -- Daily Mail

'Howarth's stunning debut has shades of Cormac McCarthy and Patrick deWitt... a book that grips from the outset and entertains even as it educates us about an appalling part of Australia's history' -- Irish Times

'Australia in the 1880s feels like the Wild West in this outstanding debut about the hunt for a family's killers' -- The Times Magazine, 100 Best Books to Read this Summer

'Vivid, hypnotic, horrifying... stunning' -- Daily Express

'In Only Killers and Thieves - latest in a superb line from the groundbreaking Pushkin Press - Paul Howarth has delivered an instant classic' -- Irish Independent

'Terrific debut... haunting... vivid' -- The Sun

'Hugely impressive, if devastating. Reminiscent of Peter Carey' -- Irish Examiner

'Beautifully crafted... a quality of painful realism that is found in the best westerns' -- Pendora Magazine

'A powerful and, at times, savage novel that's incredibly compelling, promising great things from Howarth in the future' -- Culturefly, Best Books of 2018

'An astounding debut' -- Nudge Books

'The writing is by turns savage and poetic, powerful and tender. The landscape of Central Quensland forms the perfect backdrop for a story about depravation, brutality and human folly, with the harsh, barren terrain becoming almost a character in its own right' -- New Books Magazine

'A tale of savagery and race, injustice and honour' -- Bookblast, Top Ten Reads for Independent Minds

'A spellbinding story that holds the attention of the reader by the compelling flow of narrative throughout' -- ON Magazine

'Rarely have I read such a powerful account... a compelling read' -- Never Imitate (blog)

'A stunning novel, lean yet grand in scale, violent and deeply touching at the same time' -- Thriller Books Journal (blog)

'A Western of grit and grace... at once epic and intimate... a harshly beautiful debut novel by one hell of a promising author' -- Hits the Fan (blog)

'So compelling you can't stop reading... the author has great skills and great imagination' -- Breathing Through Pages (blog)

'An important piece of fiction, brilliantly written with plenty of compassion and understanding. Highly recommended' --Steph's Book Blog

'One of the best debuts I've ever encountered... if this novel does not figure prominently on the list for next year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, my flabber will be well and truly gasted' -- Lizzy's Literary Life (blog)

'Powerfully and movingly written' -- Suffolk-Norfolk Life Magazine

'A brutal and visceral outback western to rival the best American frontier novels... you'll be hard pushed to find a more compelling novel about Australian history' -- Culturefly (5 stars)

'A brilliant debut worthy of Man Booker attention' -- South China Morning Post

'Brutal and beautiful' -- Shelf Awareness

'Powerful debut... the novel feels like a modern Western along the lines of Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. Howarth's narrative is almost cinematic... U.S. readers will make the connection with our country's oppression of Native Americans and gain an understanding of the fundamental racism of both former British colonies... Howarth is a novelist to watch' -- Library Journal (starred review)

'An impressive debut... deals unflinchingly with the brutality of Australian rule' -- Kirkus (starred review)

'A quest for frontier justice drives the events of Howarth's devastating and impressive debut, set in the Australian outback in 1885' -- Publishers Weekly

'Howarth is skilled at taking the old forms of the Western... and reshaping them to address contemporary concerns' -- Washington Post

'Howarth manages to infuse the old tropes with a depth of emotion and moral complication that will stay with readers long after closing the book' -- BookPage

'A powerful debut... The story and his words will stay with you... long after you have finished the book' --New York Journal of Books