Casebook

There's warm humour and deep feeling in [Casebook's] portrayal of the vulnerability and messiness of family life. (New Yorker)

Simpson's beautifully crafted novel shows us a reconfigured California family through the eyes of a smart, funny adolescent longing to keep hope alive. (Anne Leslie People Magazine)

The captivating voice in Mona Simpson’s sixth novel belongs to Miles, 9, who has begun to spy on his parents . . . From beginning to end, it’s clear that in everything he does, Miles loves his mother. His indisputable, powerful, and consistent filial love gives Casebook enormous emotional power and makes the surprise ending a heart-breaker. (Boston Globe)

Casebook is both a detective story and a coming-of-age novel - a hybrid of Harriet the Spy and Chandler's Phillip Marlow books. (Los Angeles Times)

The story captivates . . . Casebook is a sort of cross between The Catcher in the Rye and Harriet the Spy. But it is very much its own book, singular and haunting. (NPR)

Utterly infectious. (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

Delightful comic moments, and a surprising and poignant twist at the end. (BBC Culture)

Wonderful ... A compelling portrait of a quirky boy and his muddled family.... A funny and sad drama about intimacies, deception and growing up. (Guardian)