{"product_id":"the-second-child-9781761472206","title":"The Second Child","description":"\u003cp\u003eSet in 1945 between Hitler's death and Hiroshima, \u003ci\u003eThe Second Child\u003c\/i\u003e is a satirical thriller about one young woman's plot to outsmart the supreme dictators in a world on fire. From the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe First Friend.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Knox at his most ambitious, scathing, hilarious best.' CHARLOTTE WOOD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou can't choose your family, but you can choose your enemies.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1945: It's the dying days of the war. A triumphant Josef Stalin has the world's future in his hands, but leading up to the Potsdam peace conference he is restless and paranoid, increasingly suspicious that his ambitious security overlord Lavrentiy Beria is plotting against him. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeria has a secret weapon, his best friend's daughter. A patriot and devotee of Papa Stalin, Melor Murtova has returned from a two-year exile to become Beria's adopted daughter, and his eyes and ears among the nepo babies of the Kremlin. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this palace of intrigue and deception, Melor must play a dangerous game, outwitting treacherous power plays and the capricious whims of her frenemies, while conducting a secret mission of her own: to find out who murdered her parents before her time runs out. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgainst a backdrop of international politics, spying and the true-history intrigue of the closing days of World War Two, \u003ci\u003eThe Second Child\u003c\/i\u003e is a chilling black comedy about survival in the court of madmen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eThe Second Child\u003c\/i\u003e is fast paced, resolutely playful and resolutely serious. That Knox can create such sparkling black comedy from one of the most morally compromised moments of the tragic twentieth century speaks volumes of his terrific talents and instincts as a writer.' CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eThe Second Child\u003c\/i\u003e takes us on a forensically researched, rollicking, deeply sinister and, yes, side-splitting journey through the treachery, paranoia, madness and shameless nepotism of Stalin's post-war court. LOL-ing at authoritarianism never felt quite so good or timely.' PAUL DALEY\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Unsettling, intelligent, and exacting. Tender in its attention to the ways we love, and brutal in its portrayal of the damage we do to one another. It's as unsettling as it is intelligent-and impossible to put down until you get to the end.' SHANKARI CHANDRAN\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Frighteningly funny, darkly moving and riveting from the start. This is a story of their time, but also of ours.' RICHARD GLOVER\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Malcolm Knox follows the spectacular \u003ci\u003eThe First Friend\u003c\/i\u003e with a thrilling sequel in \u003ci\u003eThe Second Child\u003c\/i\u003e-a gripping, thoroughly contemporary satire of postwar Kremlin offspring and their sadistic strongman dads. Holding up a dark mirror to our own collapsing democracies, \u003ci\u003eThe Second Child\u003c\/i\u003e glitters with intrigue and vicious wit. This is Knox at his most ambitious, scathing, hilarious best.' CHARLOTTE WOOD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781761472206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 01 Sep 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Allen \u0026amp; Unwin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: Sydney, Australia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eMalcolm Knox grew up in Sydney. Since 1994 Malcolm has written for the \u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald \u003c\/i\u003eand has won three Walkley Awards and a Human Rights Award. His many non-fiction titles include \u003ci\u003eBoom: The Underground History of Australia; From Gold Rush to GFC,\u003c\/i\u003e which won the 2013 Ashurst Business Literature Prize; and \u003ci\u003eBradman's War\u003c\/i\u003e, shortlisted in the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Awards. His novels include \u003ci\u003eSummerland\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eA Private Man,\u003c\/i\u003e winner of the Ned Kelly Award; \u003ci\u003eJamaica\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the Colin Roderick Award and was shortlisted in the 2008 Prime Minister's Literary Awards; \u003ci\u003eThe Life\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Wonder Lover and Bluebird. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe First Friend\u003c\/i\u003e was shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Award and longlisted for the Sir Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e","brand":"Malcolm Knox","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49241062375641,"sku":"9781761472206","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-second-child-9781761472206","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}