This book is a very welcome addition to liaison psychiatry literature. It is the first really comprehensive textbook of liaison psychiatry by authors predominantly working in the UK; however, the inclusion of a number of eminent international contributors greatly enhances it. Although the editors state that it is aimed at clinicians ‘from a variety of backgrounds’, it will principally be read by practising or aspiring liaison psychiatrists. General adult psychiatrists would, however, greatly benefit from reading several of the contributions notably those on self-harm, alcohol problems, functional somatic symptoms and neurology.

Although there are multiple authors, the editors have succeeded in ensuring an evenness of style and all the contributions combine clinical wisdom with reasonable discussion of the evidence base underlying the area under discussion.

In recent years liaison psychiatrists have become more aware of the need to forge links with primary care, particularly as patients spend less time in hospitals and more services for physical illness become community based. This is acknowledged by two excellent chapters on primary care psychiatry. Particular highlights were the assessment section in the neurology chapter, which could be of benefit to all psychiatrists (although in the same chapter I would have liked more advice on how to manage behaviourally disturbed brain-injured patients in a general medical setting), and also the chapters on alcohol problems and psychological treatments.

My criticisms of this book are few. In any multi-author book it is challenging to keep the reference lists up-to-date and in some of the chapters this was an issue. I would have liked to have seen a chapter on transplant surgery. The contributions in other chapters, for example those on renal and hepatic disease, did not cover assessment of both organ donors and recipients as comprehensively as a single chapter might have. The otherwise excellent chapter on legal and ethical issues could have made more use of experience already gained in Scotland of incapacity legislation. These are, however, minor reservations. The editors are to be congratulated on pulling together an excellent book. Were I to be asked to recommend a single liaison psychiatry textbook for liaison psychiatrists and trainees it would now be this one.