The Clearing

Reviews / Votes

'Nail-biting and as haunting as the forest itself.' Daily Mail


'Everything you would expect from a thriller and then some' Central Bylines


'Beginning with a creepy abduction that unnerved me to my core, The Clearing follows an unsettling case where old myths and new greed collide. A welcome return for Laughton Rees and DCI Tannahill, getting to know them again as they reach the next stage of their budding relationship.' Sam Holland


'Scared the bloody daylights out of me. The very definition of haunting. Toyne is a guru of suspense writing, and this is him at the top of his craft. Makes for a breath-taking read.' Helen Fields


'Simon Toyne is one of the best storytellers writing today, but even by his high standards, The Clearing is something really special. In a story where not everything is as it seems, and as creeping death stalks the claustrophobic Forest of Dean, the returning Laughton Rees desperately searches for a missing girl, unaware that there are much bigger things at stake than the maybe-not-a-myth Cinderman. The pacing is frantic but not rushed, the tension is almost unbearable, and the ending is genuinely one of the most jaw-dropping ones I've read in a long time. Absolutely superb.' M.W. Craven


'In the spirit of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta... Toyne makes the most of her creepy setting, and effectively conceals the truth behind the legend of the Cinderman until she's ready to reveal it. Everything here suggests that Rees merits a long series run.' Publisher's Weekly


'THE CLEARING is a spine-chilling, creepy-suspenseful mystery masterpiece! ... This book had me hooked right to the end. I loved it!' Steph Broadribb