This collection of interwoven stories is a gripping, haunting read, with an edgy tone reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe at his most dazzling and thought-provoking. Its dark, disquieting images linger long after the book itself is finished. `Duncker is a mistress of suspense... a writer of fascinating versatility. Her preoccupations - sex, power, obsession, archaeology, perversion, revenge, food - are always consuming, never prosaic. Seven Tales of Sex and Death is a febrile, fascinating, disquieting read. It asserts itself for what it serious stuff, to be read in one gulp and then mulled over for days` MAGGIE O`FARRELL, Independent