"Chris Hadfield has deftly combined fact and fiction in a gripping tale of high-stakes treachery. Told against the background of the amazing Apollo space program — this story of Cold War tensions, dark secrets, and an ego gone over the edge builds to an explosive and satisfying finale."

John Verdon, internationally bestselling author of the Dave Gurney series

"Col. Hadfield’s bona fides are unimpeachable—but it’s his inventive action sequences and keen eye for illuminating details that propel THE APOLLO MURDERS ever skyward. Strap in and brace yourself, because with Hadfield at the stick, you’re in for a stellar thrill ride that’ll leave you breathless."

Chris Holm, author of The Killing Kind

"Chris Hadfield's twisty thriller blasts off and turns the cold war hot, as superpower conflict erupts in the cramped confines of the Apollo module. America's final moon mission confronts even greater challenges: an armed Soviet orbiter, an aggressive moon rover, and a cosmonaut determined to draw a line in the regolith. Old-school tech is the background for machine guns in space and knife fights on the moon -- and it's all entirely plausible, written by someone who could have been there."

Mike Cooper, author of The Downside

This thriller set in the world of space aeronautics feels chillingly real. No surprise—it was penned by an actual former astronaut....We were glued to shuttle-era astronaut Chris Hadfield’s suspenseful story. The Apollo Murders has all the political backstabbing and cloak-and-dagger intrigue you’d want from a Cold War thriller, mixed with a good, old-fashioned “...IN SPAAAACE!” adventure story. And these two elements go together brilliantly."

Apple Books

"Hadfield draws on his expertise as an astronaut to add authenticity and realism to his debut thriller. Fans of Clive Cussler and Andy Weir will enjoy this genre-bender combining military fiction, the detective novel, and techno-thriller."

Library Journal

Bestseller Hadfield (An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth) makes his fiction debut with a spectacular alternate history thriller...His mastery of the details enables him to generate high levels of tension from just a description of a welding error, which cascades into something significant. This is an intelligent and surprising nail-biter that Tom Clancy fans will relish."

Publishers Weekly

"Real-life astronaut Hadfield’s first novel is surprisingly ambitious. We might have expected him to draw on his expertise to tell a story involving astronauts and space travel, but to set the story during the Cold War (1973, to be precise)? Interesting. To use Apollo 18, one of several canceled NASA missions to the moon, as its backdrop? Intriguing. To incorporate real people (flight director Gene Kranz, CIA director James Schlesinger) into the story? Clever. To incorporate a murder mystery and a race between nations to find a rare treasure on the moon? Gutsy. Rich in the kind of scientific and technical details that made Andy Weir’s The Martian (2014) and Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora (2015) such treats, the book also features very well-drawn characters, natural-sounding dialogue, and a story that leads the reader to expect a spectacular conclusion (and delivers it). Perfect for fans of sf/mystery combos."

Booklist

"One of the most accomplished astronauts in the world, Chris Hadfield has drawn on his wealth of experience to produce a cold-war thriller riven with detail and authenticity."

Living magazine

"Since Hadfield has himself flown in a space shuttle and served aboard the International Space Station, he writes with authority but also with a surprisingly astute grasp of what makes a thriller work."

Financial Times

"The Apollo Murders is as dizzying and exhilarating as a journey into orbit. You can tell from the care and attention to every layer of detail that it’s written by the kind of highly trained, methodical, process-oriented individual almost genetically predisposed to become first a military test pilot and then an ice-for-blood spacefarer. Yet it’s in the parts that could have been written from life where the book is at its most supple, driven and gripping. The Saturn V launch sequence is a remarkable piece of writing, as rich in atmosphere and detail as the account of the Apollo 11 launch in Michael Collins’ memoir Carrying The Fire."

The Quietus

"Hadfield puts a rocket under the genre with a riveting space thriller....a breathtaking plot full of twists and turns."

Business Post (Ireland)

"A debut space-adventure story outstanding in its genre."

New York Review of Books

"Laden with all sorts of insider space lore and grounded with Hadfield’s first-hand knowledge of space living, this thriller moves hard and fast...space nuts will love this book."

The Globe and Mail (Margaret Cannon)

"This is such a terrifically confident, well-written thriller that to find it is the author’s debut is unexpected; and, as a bonus, it’s classier than most other Cold War novels because Hadfield (who spent time in Russia) gives us fully realised Soviet characters."

Sunday Times

"Chris Hadfield explains the hugely complex engineering and technical details of space flight and astronaut training with a remarkable clarity and lightness of touch. He also manages to brilliantly recreate the claustrophobic atmosphere of three humans confined in what is really nothing more than an elaborately engineered and extremely vulnerable tin can....he has written possibly the most authentically voiced work yet of murder and mayhem in deep space. Totally gripping from first page to last, this is an accomplished debut."

Irish Independent

"In his fiction debut, Chris Hadfield, a former commander of the International Space Station, impressively uses unfamiliar historic and technical detail not as mere window dressing but to drive an adroitly handled blend of twists and Cold War politics. Lift-off."

Times (United Kingdom)

"A gripping and convincing thriller."

The Daily Mail

"The Apollo Murders is a brilliant and powerful literary debut from former astronaut Chris Hadfield, who blew me away with this amazing first novel. The Apollo Murders contains a fantastic and complex story that blends several genres into an exciting and clever read that takes the reader on a wild and thrilling adventure into space."

The Unseen Library

"It felt like I was experiencing liftoff. I have never read a more gripping or graphic account of 3400 gallons a second of rocket fuel burning 300 feet beneath where you're seated."

Brian Williams, former anchor of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Brian Williams

"A ruddy good read."

Belfast Telegraph