First Reviews for The Coral Thief

‘A powerful offering from an immensely talented writer…Vividly atmospheric, propulsive, and intricately plotted, this is a surefire page turner with literary heft and wide appeal.’
Publishers Weekly, starred review

‘Stott again skillfully combines an intriguing love story, complex scientific concepts, and a beautifully realized historical setting…Riveting on all fronts, from its suspenseful plot to its elegant presentation of evolutionary theory.’
Booklist, starred review

‘Stott once again juxtaposes science with a tale of love, mystery and intrigue, setting this volatile mix against a backdrop of critical events in post-Revolutionary France… Skillfully embeds early 19th-century culture, history, and attitudes into a story that flows like the Seine and floods the senses.’
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

‘Beautiful and oddly haunting… The Coral Thief is quite wonderful. Part love story, part mystery, part steampunk-tinged discovery of the scientific… It is a novel of ideas. One finds it difficult to think of higher praise.’
January Magazine

‘An engrossing and cerebral thriller.’
People, 4 stars.

‘Drenched in color, taste, texture, fragrance of the period, this is fabulous literary fiction grounded in historical fact.’
Sacramento Book Review

A historical scientific romance-thriller? Stott has quite possibly invented the genre, and in [The Coral Thief], she elegantly walks that unlikely tightrope, unspooling a tale of intrigue among thieves and anatomists in post-Napoleonic Paris… a vivid mix of love story and pre-Darwin evolutionary debate, unfurled at the edges of a Les Miserables-style underworld. Science may not seem sexy, but Stott comes close to making it so.’
Entertainment Weekly, grade: A-

‘Full of larger-than-life characters and situations that allegorize the vast political and intellectual shifts of the time…. Great fun… vividly imagined’
Austin Statesman, Texas

‘Stott’s writing is visual and eloquent. She brings the intellectual excitement of the era alive. Beautifully written.’
Portsmouth Herald, Maine

‘The Coral Thief is a delightful and gripping historical tale…. a beauty packed with scientific nuggets and superlative intrigue.’
The Bookseller, UK – January Choice.

'This is an intellectual thriller, a book of penetrating humanity and a vivid evocation of Paris in the wake of Bonaparte's defeat'
Financial Times

'full of twists and turns. The period detail is good, and there is an authentic whiff of post-Napoleonic Paris, evidence of how thoroughly Stott has done her research'
The Scotsman

'superbly told.. intriguing and involving'
Choice Magazine

'Science and life seamlessly intertwine in a wholly natural way as the characters pursue both personal fulfilment and an understanding of the bigger picture'
The Independent

'tightly written and engaging'
Daily Mail