“Ingeniously nasty… reminiscent of Vladimir Nabokov and Patricia Highsmith… Expect to be provoked by a teasing metafictional game.” John Dugdale, Sunday Times

“Creepily thought-provoking… [The narrator’s] manipulations are so cruel, his acts of violence so vile, that it feels profoundly disconcerting to have ever been seduced by him.” Melissa Broder, The New York Times

“At times almost unreadably horrible… Consent is thought-provoking as well as shocking… A compulsive dark comedy that entertains and unnerves in equal measure.” ★★★★ Anthony Cummins, Metro

A word of warning: do not pick up this novella late at night. Not if you’d like to sleep any time soon… Darkly addictive. Hephzibah Anderson, The Mail on Sunday

Queasily compelling… Perhaps most unsettling is the narrator’s voice… There is no denying the ingenuity with which Benedictus constructs his tale. Barry Forshaw, The Financial Times

This is a novel that plays with the conventions of the form… great subtlety and wit… unusual and enormously compelling. Alex Preston, The Observer

Another clever, cutting riff on the book-within-a book… this strangely congenial thriller-cum-treatise ends on a note of provocative ambiguity. Catherine Taylor, The Guardian

In its best moments this novel suggests a reimagining of John Fowles’ The Collector for an age of social media, constant surveillance, and toxic masculinity. Unfortunately, in the novel's second half, its narrator engages in a series of even more horrific acts, turning a work of psychological suspense into something more visceral. Kirkus

A fiendishly clever book, though not for the soft-hearted… You’ll find yourself turning pages in the most disturbing kind of grip. Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald

By turns whimsical and bone-chillingly explicit, Consent is a gripping reimagining of one of the crime genre’s most tired tropes. Declan Burke, The Irish Times

Not a particularly original contribution to an over-saturated genre Alice Wadsworth, The Times Literary Supplement

Claustrophobic intensity… makes it a memorable and rewarding, if far from comfortable, experience. Jake Kerridge, The Sunday Express

The second part of the book is dominated by an extended scene that is so gruesomely awful it will sicken you. Phil Harvey Washington Independent Review of Books

We’ll warn you now: Benedictus’s latest book - a psychopathic stalker’s journal - is pitch black. The stuff of nightmares. Anon, Shortlist

Consent is a carefully crafted and completely chilling novel where all the possibilities are open – until they suddenly snap closed. Book of the Week David Herkt, Stuff

Part-crime, part-thriller, part-horror novel from the much-praised author of The Afterparty… This is a disturbing book. Sebastian Shakespeare, Tatler

Read Me offers a salacious, disturbing, and increasingly focused look into the mind of a stalker. Michael Ruzicka, Booklist

This is a smart, powerful, chilling novel that has antecedents in Hitchcock, Stephen King and even the very precise Nicholson Baker. But it’s not for the faint-hearted. Lorraine W. Shanley, bookreporter

If you want to be nearly scared to death, this is the book for you. Anon, Whichbook.net

Consent is a pacy and chilling thriller about our voyeuristic obsession with other people. Mark, The Word’s Shortlist

His sparse, clean style… grips the reader in its claws… For those who enjoy clever and unsettling thrillers, this one is unmissable. Kelly Pells, This is Local London

Such a great read and the product of a highly entertaining and disturbingly dark mind. If I was a friend of Leo Benedictus, I’d be reconsidering my options. Stephen Mangan

Beautiful writing and a modest, pensive protagonist… A brilliant and goosebumpy read! Susan Crawford

A darkly elegant thriller - I was enthralled. Renée Knight

A fascinating, disturbing and original thriller that erases the boundaries of the genre and draws challenging new ones Sophie Hannah

Read Me offers a salacious, disturbing, and increasingly focused look into the mind of a stalker. Michael Ruzicka, Booklist

Absolutely superb… a truly dark and deliciously twisted thriller… Benedictus is completely without fear… I was mesmerised. Raven, Raven Crime Reads

Fantastic… really got into my head… Engaging but unnerving, creepy but intriguing. I was gripped from start to finish! There are so many elements of this book that I want to praise. Ronnie Turner, Blog

It is a short novel, but one which you won’t forget in a hurry… I was appalled and approving in equal measure… Whilst it is certainly not for the faint hearted, it is a compelling and clever read. Anon, Honestbookaholic.com

It’s dark as pitch on a black night in the height of winter, and at times it’s a little neat, but for all that it’s an almighty page turner that will have you in its grip until the final page. Anon, Bookmunch

Leo Benedictus gradually pulls the reader into his character’s nightmare mind… a clever and satisfying second novel. Anne Goodwin, Annethology

Leo Benedictus is prepared to take risks… This is a stylish psycho thriller… And it ends with a bang! Toria Forsyth-Moser, The Crime Warp

A literary stalker novel with a wicked difference… its tale of lies, love and deceit unfolds in snake-like manner… Compelling and unsettling both. Maxim Jakobowski, Crime Time

It is intelligently written and the idea is horrible… It was a decent read, and it’s disturbing, graphic in parts, but I was left scratching my head. Lolly K Dandeneau, BookStalkerBlog

A queasily compelling novel that demands shuddering admiration. The Listener, Best Books of 2018