Child 44 pa - Tom Rob Smith

'An amazing debut - rich, different, fully-formed, mature ... and thrilling' Lee Child
"CHILD 44 telegraphs the talent and class of its writer from its opening pages, transporting you back to the darkest days of post-war Soviet Russia with assured efficiency and ruthlessly drawing you into its richly atmospheric and engrossing tale."
Raymond Khoury, bestselling author of THE LAST TEMPLAR and SANCTUARY
‘CHILD 44 is a remarkable debut novel – inventive, edgy and relentlessly gripping from the first page to the last'
Scott Turow
'Child 44 contrasts the bleakness of Stalinist Russia with a love story that unexpectedly and ironically blooms only because the lovers are nearly crushed by a relentless totalitarian regime hell bent on their destruction. As the two attempt to solve a series of brutal child murders the government is determined not to acknowledge, they must avoid being killed themselves in a simultaneous flight and pursuit across the wintry Russian landscape. Achingly suspenseful, full of feeling and of the twists and turns that one expects from Le Carre at his best, it's a tale that grabs you by the throat and simply never lets you go.' Robert Towne
"This is a truly remarkable debut novel. CHILD 44 is a rare blend of great insight, excellent writing, and a refreshingly original story. Favorable comparisons to GORKY PARK are inevitable, but CHILD 44 is in a class of its own." Nelson DeMille
''Lovers of action and adventure will be delighted with this atmospheric thriller, which sucks readers into a chilling world where nobody knows who they can trust' Time Out 03/08
‘That brave new world is here’ Featured in ones to watch in 2008 piece by Robert McCrum Observer 30/12

‘A fast-paced and thought-provoking journey into a sinister world of brutal torture and a corrupt, all-controlling state’
Waterstone’s Books Quarterly March 2008 issue
Set in the Soviet Union in 1953, this stellar debut from British author Smith offers appealing characters, a strong plot and authentic period detail. When war hero Leo Stepanovich Demidov, a rising star in the MGB, the State Security force, is assigned to look into the death of a child, Leo is annoyed, first because this takes him away from a more important case, but, more importantly, because the parents insist the child was murdered. In Stalinist Russia, there’s no such thing as murder; the only criminals are those who are enemies of the state. After attempting to curb the violent excesses of his second-in-command, Leo is forced to investigate his own wife, the beautiful Raisa, who’s suspected of being an Anglo-American sympathizer. Demoted and exiled from Moscow, Leo stumbles onto more evidence of the child killer. The evocation of the deadly cloud-cuckoo-land of Russia during Stalin’s final days will remind many of Gorky Park and Darkness at Noon, but the novel remains Smith’s alone, completely original and absolutely satisfying. Rights sold in more than 20 countries. (May) PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
‘A fast-paced and thought-provoking journey into a sinister world of brutal torture and a corrupt, all-controlling state’ Waterstone’s Books Quarterly March 2008
‘Astounding ...The phrase ‘master storyteller’ is horribly over-used. In the case of young, first-time novelist Tom Rob Smith, it simply cannot do him justice. Child 44 is not only a thriller of the highest quality – addictive, pacey, frighteningly unpredictable – but also a magnificently written novel with far more to offer than carefully managed tension and twists’
Fiona Atherton, Scotsman 1/3

‘A thrilling, intense piece of fiction’
Peter Guttridge, Observer 2/3
'A memorable debut ... The atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim' Sunday Telegraph
‘Child 44 is a thrilling read from the first page’
The Sun 7/3

‘Smith is good at keeping us in suspense. He also succeeds in saying something new on a well-worn subject’
TLS 7/3
‘A dark, intelligent book that is virtually impossible to put down’
Attitude, March issue

‘Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44 is a memorable debut.... The atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim’
Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph 9/3

‘Tense, gripping and exquisitely written, Child 44 goes on the must-read list for this year’
4 stars, City A.M. 6/3

‘An excellently written account of what life was like in Stalinist Russia ... pure escapism’
Evening Standard 10/3
‘Smith’s plain, elegant prose powerfully evokes the bleakness of the era, and sympathetic characterisation gives the story flesh without slowing the plot. Impressive stuff’
Lottie Moggach, thelondonpaper 11/3

‘Smith excels at conveying the daily terror of the regime ... an enjoyable and illuminating read’
London Lite 11/3
"Child 44 is one of the best crime debuts of the last ten years. This dark and highly original novel reads like an unholy cross between 1984 and Red Dragon". Nick Stone, author of Mr Clarinet
‘Child 44 caused rare ripples of excitement when it was unveiled... It has the twists and turns of a Tom Clancy thriller but a more subtle undertone too: the hero Leo Demidov is on a journey of self-discovery to ‘save’ himself and the lives of others. So a tale of redemption but deliciously laced with a gritty, grimy undercurrent of repression and harsh Soviet reality... Leo not only risks his own life but that of his wife too: a drama and relationship played out with a maturity belying Smith’s own young age’
Daily Express 28/3
'Meticulously researched ... a gripping and harrowing novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end' Daily Express
‘The action tears along at a relentless pace, with twist following turn as Leo pursues his quarry, while the equally detirmined authorities close in on him. This is a perfectly plotted, utterly terrifying adventure -- unadulterated crack cocaine for thriller addicts’
Ross Gilfillan, Daily Mail 21/3
‘Child 44 is a debut novel with guts... His mastery of suspense will make any reader’s heart pound’
FT 22/3
‘Tom Rob Smith’s debut novel is stunning ... Smith captures the bleak Russia of 1953. The fear and mistrust engendered by the regime is plapable ... The characterisations are pinpoint accurate, leaving the reader as paranoid as the protagonists ... This is heart-stopping stuff ... It's little wonder that Ridley Scott snapped up the film rights. There’s nothing as gripping, chilling or as intense out there’
Gay Times, April 08 issue
‘This is a compelling detective story that I read in the proverbial single sitting... I can think of few novels that have touched so eloquently on the complex moral climate of life in the Soviet Union while delivering all the pleasures of a brilliant airport read’ Guardian 12/4
‘This is a compelling detective story that I read in the proverbial single sitting ... a real achievement ... I can think of few novels that have touched so eloquently on the complex moral climate of life in the Soviet Union while delivering all the pleasures of a brilliant airport read’
Guardian 12/4
‘In 1950s Stalinist Russia – a world where crime is ignored – a security agent opposes state rules when he decides to find a serial killer’ 4 stars, Heat 26/4
Tom Rob Smith’s debut novel is a breathless thriller set in the Soviet Union in 1953 at the height of Stalin’s paranoid purges ... it is supremely well-plotted and really rattles along ... Smith has obviously done his research’ Tribune 9/5
‘Tom Rob Smith tells a strong human story with exemplary clarity and at a cracking pace’ Mail on Sunday 4/5
'The book's lively, often racy candour.... Fascinating'
Guardian 24/5
‘This gripping thriller has everything you could wish for in a holiday read – and more. A real page-turner, its murder mystery plot acts as a device to explore the terrible workings of Stalinism. At its heart is a kind of catch-22 whereby the Soviet state won’t acknowledge murder or prostitution, allowing vice and slaughter to continue unchecked. Bleak but compelling, this is just the thing to make a long-haul flight fly by’ The 50 Best Summer Reads, Independent 14/6
‘The thriller debut of the season’ Top 100 summer reads, Sunday Times 28/6
' It’s hard to believe that Tom Rob Smith, author of Child 44, is only 29... A gripping and harrowing novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end’ Summer reads, Daily Express 18/7
'To have your book optioned for a film is not unusual. To have your first novel chosen is slightly more so. But to have your first novel, written when you are barely 30 years of age, picked by Gladiator director Ridley Scott... well, that does make people stand up and take notice ... The tale of a disgraced secret policeman in Stalinist Russia, it has the twists and turns of a Tom Clancy thriller but a more subtle undertone too ... a tale of redemption but deliciously laced with a gritty, grimy undercurrent of repression and harsh Soviet reality. It is an accomplished, smoothly-told tale' Daily Express 28/03
‘A superior commercial thriller’ Telegraph 9/8
‘From soaps to the Booker – and how I really feel about my feud with Jamie Byng’ Two-page interview, Evening Standard 18/8
'What Child 44 does -- with great expertise and efficiency -- is engross you utterly in its finely spun plot ... The novel's atmosphere of paranoia and delusion owes something to Orwell and Kafka but the action is as violent and fast as James Ellroy or Dan Brown ... the phrase ''action packed'' hardly does it justice -- you could not want for more danger and drama' Evening Standard
Ten Best Thrillers
‘The first thriller to get a Booker nod, Child 44 has caused something of a stir. It has the pace and punch of a crime blockbuster, tackling the moral ambiguities of