Once upon a time, you read Malory Towers and The Famous Five from cover to cover.

Nowadays, you’re too busy playing grown-ups to read a whole book.

Reclaim the sport with Child 44, the debut novel from screenwriter Tom Rob Smith. Already snapped up for movie rights, this new page-turner demands immediate attention.

Set in 1950s Soviet Russia, the plot centers on a serial killer targeting children across the country. Of course, in the paranoid Stalinist society of the time, the powers that be deny such a crime. But when loyal officer (and all-time hero) Leo Demidov is demoted and exiled from Moscow, he turns his attention to the case and begins a stealth investigation, putting his life — and loved ones — at risk.

Don’t let the title confuse you.

It’s anything but child’s play.

Available online at amazon.co.uk or at your local bookstore.