The Child Thief: A Novel - Hardcover

Smith, Dan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 160598440X ISBN 13: 9781605984407

Publisher: Pegasus Books, 2013

Synopsis

In the tradition of City of Thieves and Child 44, a troubled First World War veteran races across the frozen steppe of 1930s Ukraine to save a child from a shadowy killer with unthinkable plans.

Luka is a war veteran who now wants only to have a quiet life with his family. His village has, so far,remained hidden from the advancing Soviet brutality. But everything changes the day the stranger arrives,pulling a sled bearing a terrible cargo.When the villagers’ fear turns deadly, they think they have saved themselves. But their anger has cursed them: in the chaos, a little girl has vanished. Luka is the only man with the skills to find who could have stolen a child in these frozen lands―and besides, the missing girl is best friend to Luka’s daughter, and he swears he will find her.Together with his sons, Luka sets out in pursuit across lands ravaged by war and gripped by treachery.Soon they realize that the man they are tracking is no ordinary criminal, but a skillful hunter with the child as the bait in his twisted game. It will take all of Luka’s strength to battle the harshest of conditions, and all of his wit to stay a step ahead of Soviet authorities. And though his toughest enemy is the man he tracks,his strongest bond is a promise to his family back home.

About this title

About the Author:

Among other novels, Dan Smith is the author of The Child Thief, Red Winter and The Darkest Heart, which are also available from Pegasus Crime. He lives in Newcastle with his family. Find out more about Dan, his novels, and the places that inspire them at www.dansmithbooks.com.

From Booklist:

Luka is a soldier turned reluctant farmer, living a hand-to-mouth existence in a small Soviet village with his wife and children. While hunting, he finds a strange, sick man pulling a sled holding the bodies of two young children. Everyone in this small village lives in fear of the Communists taking their homes and putting them on work farms, so a stranger in their midst causes a panic. The townspeople turn on Luka and hang the unconscious man, scaring Luka’s young niece and prompting her to flee. Or was she abducted? Luka sets off through the frozen wasteland with his twin teenage sons and the girl’s father to find the girl and the man who took her. The terrain is barely passable and the weather is brutal, but Luka soldiers on, killing when he has to but determined to bring the girl home. The tone in this tightly written story is dark and disturbing, with tension mounting steadily until the unexpected ending. Sure to appeal to fans of David Benioff and Tom Rob Smith. --Stacy Alesi

About this edition

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 160598440X
• ISBN 13: 9781605984407
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352