"[Ryder's] prose is confident and fashions a credible world, peopled by intellectually sophisticated artists and art connoisseurs... To read the book is to move through a maze that delivers twists, turns, revelations, and surprises."

      ~ Sue Monk Kidd, bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees

      "In Malice, Quite Close is a triumph. Ryder's writing is as gorgeous as the many works of art she describes, and her characters- especially the twisted Tristan and tortured Gisele- seem to leap right off the page. The novel's many mysteries unfold carefully and beautifully, and readers will be trying to connect the dots until the very last page."

      ~ BookPage

      "Sophisticates of the contemporary art scene show a lethally sordid side in this superbly crafted murder mystery... Lucid prose, snappy dialogue, and sharp characterization combine to limn a credibly realized world where life imitates art, facades are deceiving, and forgeries cast doubt on seemingly certain truths. The unraveling of the mysteries turns on perfectly prepared surprises, unexpected twists, and well-orchestrated plotlines that will have readers guessing, like the characters themselves, until the final paragraphs."

      "A mesmerizing read, Ryder's first novel is assured and elegant."

      "What a deft hand newcomer Ryder uses in telling this tale of an innocent muse caught in a web of artistic obsession. No one is wholly innocent, though, and every character has secrets in this extraordinarily well-plotted tale that holds its final revelations for the very last page."

      "In Malice, Quite Close is a complex and beautifully written debut novel by Brandi Lynn Ryder, a finalist for Amazon's 2009 Breakthrough Novel Award. The title comes from a poem by Rimbaud (yes, one of the ones that got him in trouble) and sets the perfect tone of vaguely perverse literary suspense. If you read the first chapter (which should be featured in a 400 level creative writing class called "How to Write Your Arse Off in Your First Chapter"), you'll be dragged kicking and screaming under the surface of this sophisticated mystery in which the lines between abduction and seduction are blurred, time and POV keep deftly shifting, and the authenticity of the soul-sick main characters is nothing less than chilling."