Smile of the Wolf bares its fangs from the first page. Like a medieval tapestry, the storytelling is rich with imagery. Readers will be lured spellbound into this lyrical and evocative Icelandic saga. It deserves huge success

David Gilman

A thoughtful, literary take on a world that is more often depicted in a boy's adventure way. The focus in Leach's book is not on the fighting, but on the strange, inescapable logic that makes the fighting inevitable

The Times

An epic story of exile and revenge set in the snows of Iceland

Sheffield Telegraph

A poetic, absorbing narrative with many of the same qualities as the medieval Icelandic sagas that it echoes and reimagines

Sunday Times

Through him we understand the pitiless code of honour which drives almost everyone in the story to destruction – we understand, and we care

Historical Novel Society

Leach's gift for conjuring up the past is underappreciated

Sunday Times, Books of the Year