What would you do, given the second chance of a lifetime?

Like most men in their thirties, Lazarus has plans that don't involve dying. He's busy. Life is good.

But he can't cheat destiny.

Lazarus dies. Jesus weeps. Lazarus returns to life. This part we all know.

But as Lazarus is about to find out, returning from the dead isn't easy. He thinks he wants a second chance at life, but what will he do when he gets it?

As gripping as a thriller and endlessly thought-provoking... Surprising, spellbinding, witty and utterly original -- Chris Dolan * Sunday Herald *
Lazarus is Dead is a delightful falsehood - a brilliant novel and a shining example of the gospel untruth -- Alfred Hickling * Guardian *
This clever and original book keeps the reader guessing until the death - and beyond * Financial Times *
An idiosyncratic delight...Yet again, Beard shows himself to be one of our most inventive novelists -- Max Davidson * Mail on Sunday *
A brilliant reimagining of the Lazarus story...wry, incisive and surprisingly moving (Favourite Books of 2011) * Irish Times *
Ultimately it is the narrative voice - cultivated, wry, yet not too knowing to sustain a note of wonder - that makes this novel so compelling * Sunday Times *
A thoughtful, enjoyable book * Spectator *
He can stir emotion quickly and simply... his essayistic digressions temper the mythic luminosity of his subject * TLS *
Beautiful prose...this is a challenging, thoughtful read, even for the die-hard heathen * Eastern Daily Press *
Beard writes with sharp clarity; short unadorned sentences that contain an unforced, incisive wit....Lazarus's legend continues to fascinate in this totally original book * Sunday Business Post *

Richard Beard’s most recent book is Acts of the Assassins, which was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize.

In the twenty years since his first book he has published critically acclaimed novels and narrative non-fiction, including Becoming Drusilla, the story of how a friendship between two men was changed by a gender transition.

He was formerly Director of the National Academy of Writing in London, and is now a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo and has a Creative Writing Fellowship at the University of East Anglia. He is an optimistic opening batsman for the Authors Cricket Club.