Tom Rob Smith - Child 44

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright 2008 by Tom Rob Smith

Reading Group Guide Copyright 2012 by Hachette Book Group

Excerpt from Agent 6 Copyright 2012 by Tom Rob Smith

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retreival system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Grand Central Publishing

Hachette Book Group

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Second e-book edition: November 2011

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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

ISBN 978-0-446-53704-9

Crackling Smiths prose is propulsive His real genius is his careful plotting an elaborate mystery.

Entertainment Weekly

One of the summers hottest thrill rides.

USA Today

One of the rare pleasures of the book-reviewing trade is first hearing all sorts of advance hype about a novel and then finding out that every word was true.

Chicago Tribune

Smith paints a chilling picture of an era in which justice was nonexistent and the futures of innocent families were in the hands of self-serving thugs.

Washington Post Book World

The hero of Tom Rob Smiths sensational debut thriller, CHILD 44, seems to have stepped out of the pages of a classic by Hammett or Chandler Like a matryoshka, the clues to his elaborate mystery are unveiled in sudden bursts, with another doll-like surprise nesting just below the surface of the latest revelation.

Entertainment Weekly

Innovative CHILD 44 adds an even more terrifying twist to the serial-killer genre, magnifying the tension tenfold by creating a chilling portrait of a state in which hypocrisy, paranoia, lies, and ambition outweigh truth. And in Leo, Smith has an engaging hero, one whose transformation from perfect soldier to imperfect human lends this innovative procedural a solid heart.

Miami Herald

[A] brilliant debut novel.

San Diego Union-Tribune

This debut novel has been garnering rave reviews, and no wonder. His social portraiture can be compared to that of Martin Cruz Smith (Gorky Park).

USA Today

The buzz about CHILD 44 is on target. This page-turning thriller kept us up way past our bedtime.

Boston Herald

A fine debut novel remarkable on a number of levels, not just as an absorbing thriller but also as a penetrating deconstruction of the myths of what passed for justice in the Soviet Union The thriller plot moves briskly along from start to finish And were cheering Leo on all the way.

Newsweek

Cleverly plotted, packed with chilling psychological drama and densely researched.

Wall Street Journal

Even though thrillers set in Stalins Soviet Union arent the thing these days, CHILD 44 is gulag-grim and purge-scary Smith has brilliantly reworked the true story of a Russian serial killer.

New York Daily News

A remarkable debut novelinventive, edgy, and relentlessly gripping from the first page to the last.

Scott Turow, New York Times bestselling author of Innocent

Achingly suspenseful, full of feeling and the twists and turns that one expects from le Carr at his best, CHILD 44 is a tale as fierce as any Russian wolf. It grabs you by the throat and never lets you go.

Robert Towne, Academy Awardwinning screenwriter of Chinatown

An outstanding historical thriller [that is] one of the best mysteries of the year.

Roanoke Times (VA)

Smiths evocation of the hardships, political oppression, and epidemic paranoia are chillingly real a good story with a substantial dose of history thrown in, history we should know more about but are not likely to explore ourselves.

Newark Star-Ledger

It is impossible in only one column to do justice to this masterful first novel, as there are so many scenes of excruciating suspense, unexpected decisions by fully realized characters, and a complex plot in which, ultimately, every piece fits perfectly. It is, to use the most overused word of the decade, awesome.

Otto Penzler, New York Sun

So outstanding a portrait of Stalin-era Russia that feels authentic, terrifying, and bizarre a tremendously exciting thriller inventive entirely convincing and frightening the inevitable CHILD 44 film will be awfully exciting.

Raleigh News & Observer (NC)

Compelling a rapid-fire crime thriller tailor-made for the movies and for summer reading.

Austin American-Statesman

Hopefully Smiths CHILD 44 will be the first of many terrific books an original plot.

Olympian (WA)

A truly remarkable debut novel 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, New York Times bestselling author of The Gate House

An immensely entertaining debut novel a fascinating premise Smith has done a remarkable job of submerging us in a time and place.

San Antonio Express-News

A dazzler It conveys with almost claustrophobic intensity the paranoia and peril of life in the Soviet state The pages seem to turn themselves.

Arizona Republic

Smith has accomplished with CHILD 44 what M. Night Shyamalan achieved with The Sixth Sensea tour de force Smiths depictions of early 1950s Russia are remarkable And his writing is so facile pages turn as quickly as an Indy car at the Brickyard. This is a well-told story, taut and intensely gripping, with twists and surprising turns that easily make it the equal of Martin Cruz Smiths classic Russian mystery, Gorky Park a home run.

Muncie Star Press (IN)

An engrossing page-turner With an obvious authenticity, it takes the reader to a place and time that is, for most of us, incomprehensible. It is doubtless the best book I will read this year, and worth every bit of the nights sleep I lost.

Wichita Falls Times-Record News (TX)

CHILD 44 telegraphs the talent and class of its writer from its opening pages, transporting you back to the darkest days of postwar Soviet Russia with assured efficiency and ruthlessly drawing you into its richly atmospheric and engrossing tale.

Raymond Khoury, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Templar and Sanctuary

In his first time out, Smith has created an authentic and horrific world that gets more gripping with each passing page. Even Stalin might have enjoyed this, if he could ever pull himself away from his reign of terror.

MSNBC.com

Tom Rob Smith tells a strong human story with exemplary clarity and at a cracking pace.

Mail on Sunday (London)

This sharp debut by a British screenwriter has plenty to recommend it. Its intelligent, timely, and, as a work of historical reconstruction, fascinating Tom Rob Smith is definitely a writer to watch.