Red Winter

The chilling, sophisticated new historical thriller from the acclaimed writer of THE CHILD THIEF.

'A superbly shivery atmosphere' THE TIMES

'A gripping thriller' SUNDAY TIMES

Russia, 1920. Kolya has deserted his Red Army unit and returns home to bury his brother and reunite with his wife and sons. But he finds the village silent and empty. The men have been massacred in the forest. The women and children have disappeared.

In this remote, rural community the folk tales mothers tell their children by candlelight take on powerful significance and the terrifying legend of The Deathless One begins to feel very real. Kolya sets out on a journey through dense, haunting forests and across vast plains as bitter winter sets in, in the desperate hope he will find his family. But there are very dark things in his past - and there's someone, or something, on his trail...

“a superbly shivery atmosphere”

THE TIMES
Showing the same skills that he exercised in his previous novel, Smith has fashioned a story of page-turning intensity that simultaneously possesses real depth of characterisation SUNDAY TIMES
Once again Dan Smith has produced a first class historical thriller that will satisfy the most demanding of crime fans, while exploring the consequences of unchecked military might and the persistence of the human spirit. Smith's prose is crisp, his sense of pace flawless and his appreciation of the mundane terrors of warfare nothing short of masterly CRIMEFICTIONLOVER
A gripping thriller SUNDAY TIMES
[a] gripping thriller with real depth of character SUNDAY TIMES
-- Marcel Berlins THE TIMES
Once again Dan Smith has produced a first class historical thriller that will satisfy the most demanding of crime fans, while exploring the consequences of unchecked military might and the persistence of the human spirit. Smith's prose is crisp, his sense of pace flawless and his appreciation of the mundane terrors of warfare nothing short of masterly CRIMEFICTIONLOVER (blog)
Showing the same skills that he exercised in his previous novel, Smith has fashioned a story of page-turning intensity that simultaneously possesses real depth of characterisation SUNDAY TIMES

Dan Smith grew up following his parents across the world to Africa, Indonesia and Brazil. He has been writing short stories for as long as he can remember and has been published in the anthology MATTER 4, shortlisted for the Royal Literary Fund mentor scheme, the Northern Writers Awards, the 2010 Brit Writers Published Author of the Year award and the Authors' Club First Novel award. He lives in Newcastle with his family. Find out more at

The chilling, sophisticated new historical thriller from the acclaimed writer of THE CHILD THIEF. ' A superbly shivery atmosphere' THE TIMES' A gripping thriller' SUNDAY TIMESRussia, 1920. Kolya has deserted his Red Army unit and returns home to bury his brother and reunite with his wife and sons. But he finds the village silent and empty. The men have been massacred in the forest. The women and children have disappeared.In this remote, rural community the folk tales mothers tell their children by candlelight take on powerful significance and the terrifying legend of The Deathless One begins to feel very real. Kolya sets out on a journey through dense, haunting forests and across vast plains as bitter winter sets in, in the desperate hope he will find his family. But there are very dark things in his past - and there's someone, or something, on his trail...

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