The Book of Secrets [is] a particularly rare thing: a candid, insider account showing just how much the party knew and how much it covered up.

Cindy Yu, The Spectator

An extraordinary firsthand account of Communist Party machinery at its most brutal and paranoid.

Sunday Telegraph

No one has done more than Xinran to tell the truth about the lives of ordinary people in twentieth-century China. Her Book of Secrets is a tale of horror, redeemed as always by the story-teller's warmth, grace and narrative grip.

Hilary Spurling, author of Burying the Bones

Xinran has written an exceptional, heart-wrenching account of the emotional tragedy of one family at the apex of Chinese Communist politics. A unique insight into life inside one of the world's most powerful and secretive organisations.

Julia Lovell, author of Maoism: A Global History

Xinran's talent is to survey the vast tidal waves of history and focus in on the human lives floating rudderless in their wake. This is a wonderful and compelling read.

Tim Clissold, author of Mr China and Cloud Chamber

Xinran recounts an epic journey through China's recent history with a rare passion and clarity. The tale is seen through the tragic experience of a once powerful family, whose suffering she describes as though it were her own.

Patrick Marnham, author of The Man Who Wasn't Maigret