In his first time at bat, Smith has hit a home run with Child 44. The plot is riveting, the prose is spot on, the narrative is engrossing, and the characters are fully developed. Smith weaves his tale in such a way that I, as the reader, felt I was right in the middle of all the action with the main characters. Basically, Child 44 is the story of Leo Demidov, a rising prominent officer in Stalin’s Soviet Union State Security force during the 1950’s. Demidov is a former war hero whose only ambition is to serve his country, to defend the worker’s paradise, and to guarantee a secure life for his parents and for his wife. Ideological crimes — crimes of disloyalty, crimes of thought and crimes against the revolution — are forcefully suprressed without question. And then the impossible happens; in that a different kind of criminal — a murderer — is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies. The only way for Leo to save himself and his family is to uncover this criminal. From this point on be ready to be unable to get up from your chair until you finish this exciting, extremely well-written story (which is based on fact). If you pay careful attention to the early details in Child 44, I think you will (as I did) be able to guess who the murderer is in advance of the ending. This, however, does not detract from the riveting reading experience that Smith has provided in his debut thriller. Child 44 is one of the best fiction books I’ve read in a while and I highly recommend it to you. Enjoy!

By Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown’s No. 1 international phenomenon with 81 million copies in print worldwide and the UK’s biggest selling paperback novel of all time, and it will once again feature Dan Brown’s unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. This book’s narrative takes place in a 12-hour period, and from the first page, Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape.The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book.’This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey’, says Dan Brown himself. ‘Weaving five years of research into the story’s 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine’.

About the Author
Dan is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher before turning his efforts fully to writing. In 1996, his interest in code-breaking and covert government agencies led him to write his first novel, Digital Fortress, which quickly became a #1 national bestselling eBook. His novels have been translated and published in more than 30 languages around the world.