New York, New York – April 29, 2008 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced that Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44 (Grand Central Publishing) is the next selection in the Barnes & Noble Recommends program.  The book goes on sale today, April 29, and can be purchased at any Barnes & Noble store or online at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com/recommends).

“This book will take you for a roller coaster ride you won’t want to get off,” said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc.  “Child 44 unfolds at a breathless pace, exposing the culture of fear that turns friends into foes and forces families to hide devastating secrets. Tom Rob Smith’s remarkable debut thriller dramatizes the human cost of loyalty, integrity, and love in the face of totalitarian terror that is at this story’s heart.”

A gripping novel about one man’s dogged pursuit of a serial killer despite the opposition of Stalinist state security forces, Child 44 is both suspenseful and provocative. A decorated war hero driven by dedication to his country and faith in the superiority of Communist ideals, Leo Demidov has built a successful career in the Soviet security network. When a fellow officer’s son is killed, Leo is ordered to stop the family from spreading the notion that their child was murdered. In a society that’s officially paradise, it’s a crime against the state to suggest a murderer might exist.  Meanwhile, Leo’s involvement in another case, that of the “traitor” Anatoly Brodsky, casts doubts on the cause he had served so devotedly, setting in motion a chain of events that changes his understanding of everything he had previously believed. Smith’s deftly crafted plot delivers twist after chilling twist as it lays bare the deceit of the regime that enveloped an impoverished people in paranoia.
 
One of Barnes & Noble’s booksellers who voted for this selection calls Child 44, “A fascinating look into Stalinist Russia,” while at the same time, “a pulse-raising, edge-of-your-seat thriller!” “Expertly atmospheric, and brilliantly quease-inducing,” says another bookseller.

The Barnes & Noble Recommends program includes:

• Barnes & Noble store events. Reading group discussions of Child 44 will be held in Barnes & Noble stores across the country. 
• Author appearances.  Meet Tom Rob Smith at Barnes & Noble.  Visit www.bn.com/recommends for information on his in-store events. 
• An online book club.  Join Tom Rob Smith in our online book club, and discuss Child 44 with him and other readers. Log on to www.bn.com/bookclubs throughout June.
• A free reading group guide.  Ask any Barnes & Noble bookseller for a copy of our free guide to starting your own reading group.  The guide can also be found online at www.bn.com/recommends.

Selections for Barnes & Noble Recommends are chosen by the company’s booksellers from across the country.  Each selection is a book that Barnes & Noble recommends unconditionally, believes is “unputdownable” and is especially appropriate for book discussion groups.

The previous seven Barnes & Noble Recommends selections were:

• Diane Setterfield’s debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale (Atria Books), now in paperback
• Chris Bohjalian’s The Double Bind (Shaye Areheart Books), now in paperback
• Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Harcourt), paperback on sale 4/14
• Paulette Jiles’ Stormy Weather (William Morrow)
• Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells (Bantam Books), paperback on sale 4/29
• Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Harcourt)
• Marisa de los Santos’ Belong to Me (William Morrow)

Each of these novels, including Child 44, qualify as riveting reads, books of exceptional quality, worthy of stimulating discussion.