"This true story left a hole in my head and in my heart. A woman on death row in Egypt decides that she wants to tell her story before her execution. She is in prison because she's killed her pimp, but even looking death in the eye she feels it’s the best thing she ever did, for in a weird way it sets her free. Painful, complicated, sad, and triumphant—all at once."

"Stephenson’s book on his death penalty exoneration work would help me remember that grace is still possible in the darkest times. There are courtroom and jailhouse scenes that are very moving."

"This tender memoir follows Potts’ life-swap from criminal barrister to patisserie chef in the wake of her mother’s death. It’s filled with the comfort we all seek when dealing with grief."

"In this gorgeous, lyrical novel, the writer Stephen Crane dictates from his death bed the story of a young rent boy and his relationship with an older, married man. An American masterpiece."

"Then at the time there was also a film called 5 Fingers of Death. That might have been a Shaw brothers film. Oh wait, no, no, no — who are those other cats?"