Child 44 is already a sensation before it is has been released. Tom Rob Smith, a 28 yr old screen writer, has been given a giant contract by Grand Central Publishing that prompted a huge article in the Wall St Journal and film rights have already been sold to Ridley Scott. The book takes place during the dark days of Stalinist Russia and features a State Security Investigator hunting an evil serial killer (based on Andrei Chikatilo). The plotting of the book is first rate as the Investigator travels across Russia trying to convince others that he is hunting a different kind of enemy of the state. The setting of Stalinist Russia is facinating, disturbing and very informative. Fans of this kind of mystery will love this book, an excellent first novel.

Richard