The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time

Mark Haddon's bestselling and multi-award-winning debut novel - one of the most talked-about books of the last decade.Fifteen-year-old Christopher has a photographic memory. He understands maths. He understands science. What he can't understand are other human beings.When he finds his neighbour's dog, Wellington, lying dead on the lawn, he decides to track down the killer and write a murder mystery about it. But in doing so, he uncovers other mysteries that threaten to bring his whole world crashing down around him.

“Haddon is to be congratulated for imagining a new kind of hero, for the humbling instruction this warm and often funny novel offers and for showing that the best lives are lived where difference is cherished”

-- Carol Ann Duffy Daily Telegraph
The clash between Christopher's view of the world and the way it looks to the rest of us makes this an extraordinarily moving, often blackly funny read. It is hard to think of anyone who would not be moved and delighted by this book, so the decision to publish it simultaneously for older children and adults is certainly well-founded -- Jill Slotover Financial Times
Brilliantly inventive, full of dazzling set-pieces, unbearably sad, yet also skilfully dodging any encounters with sentimentality, this isn't simply the most original novel I've read in years . . . It's also one of the best The Times
A stroke of genius, as the advantages of having a naive, literal-minded boy in the driving seat are manifold . . . We do learn what it might feel like to have Asperger's Syndrome -- David Newnham TES
The book gave me that rare, greedy feeling of: this is so good I want to read it all at once but I mustn't or it will be over too soon -- Kate Kellaway Observer
It's pretty much flawless . . . Haddon stays compassionate to all his characters, but not once does his story descend into treacly pathos or easy tears. This is a high ambition fully achieved -- Catherine Shoard Evening Standard
Supremely well-written, funny and oddly affecting Daily Telegraph
Exceptional by any standards . . . When we look at the world through Christopher's eyes we see it more clearly and understand ourselves better. What more could you want of a book? The Sunday Telegraph
Exceptional by any standards. Haddon sticks rigidly to the limits imposed by autism without sacrificing literary viability. When we look at the world through Christopher's eyes we see it more clearly and understand ourselves better. What more could you want of a book? -- Dinah Hall Sunday Telegraph
Mark Haddon has produced a well-executed, unusual mystery. GQ

Mark Haddon is a writer and artist. His bestselling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003) won seventeen literary prizes, was translated into 36 languages, and went on to become an award-winning stage adaptation by Simon Stephens. His most recent works of fiction include a novel, The Porpoise (2019), and a collection of fables and stories, Dogs and Monsters (2024).

'The most original novel I've read in years' The Times Fifteen-year-old Christopher has a photographic memory. He understands maths. He understands science. What he can't understand are other human beings. When he finds his neighbour's dog, Wellington, lying dead on the lawn, he decides to track down the killer and write a murder mystery about it. But in doing so, he uncovers other mysteries that threaten to bring his whole world crashing down around him. 'Believe the hype: a brilliant, heart-warming book' Scotsman Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize, shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.