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Dramatic,
Dark,
Addictive

6 reviews

The Farm
by Tom Rob Smith

Published: 2014-06-03
Hardcover : 368 pages
19 members reading this now
17 clubs reading this now
2 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 6 of 6 members
The new international bestseller from the author of phenomenal Child 44 trilogy...

The Farm

If you refuse to believe me, I will no longer consider you my son.

Daniel believed that his parents were enjoying a peaceful retirement on a remote farm in Sweden. But with a single phone call, ...
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Introduction

The new international bestseller from the author of phenomenal Child 44 trilogy...

The Farm

If you refuse to believe me, I will no longer consider you my son.

Daniel believed that his parents were enjoying a peaceful retirement on a remote farm in Sweden. But with a single phone call, everything changes.

Your mother...she's not well, his father tells him. She's been imagining things - terrible, terrible things. She's had a psychotic breakdown, and been committed to a mental hospital.

Before Daniel can board a plane to Sweden, his mother calls: Everything that man has told you is a lie. I'm not mad... I need the police... Meet me at Heathrow.

Caught between his parents, and unsure of who to believe or trust, Daniel becomes his mother's unwilling judge and jury as she tells him an urgent tale of secrets, of lies, of a crime and a conspiracy that implicates his own father.

Editorial Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2014: The Farm is the sum of its parts: a psychological thriller written with the intricate plotting and pacing of a spy novelist. Tom Rob Smith, best known for the Cold War-era series Child 44, steps out of his comfort zone to deliver a he-said she-said mystery that rivals the delicate balancing act of Gillian Flynnâ??s Gone Girl. Daniel visits his parents, only to discover that his mother and father no longer trust each other. In fact, something so sinister may be at play that his entire life could be a lie. You'll go back and forth between believing and doubting the motherâ??s conspiracies about a girl who goes missing in a small Swedish town. Smith cleverly places the burden of the narrative on Danielâ??s interior dilemma--the guilt of choosing one parent over the other and his unwillingness to let go of the parents he once thought he understood. I won't give anything away, but the truth turns out to be both a satisfying resolution of plot and an emotionally crushing finale. --Kevin Nguyen

Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

Suggested by Members

f this happened to you, which parent would you most likely believe after the first two phone calls, one from dad, and one from mom? Why?
What would you do if you suspected someone close to you, son/daughter/parent/spouse committed a heinous crime?
In the book, Chris and Tilde kept their financial ruin from Daniel also their suspicions about each other. Daniel kept his homosexuality from his parents. How do keeping important secrets among family members affect the relationships/dynamics? Is it
by jbrod (see profile) 07/25/15

The concept of hysteria being a female disease.
by MrsSutton (see profile) 07/03/14

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

No notes at this time.

Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by Carissa B. (see profile) 05/14/18

 
  "Secrets"by Chelsea B. (see profile) 03/20/16

Makes you question your initial perception of people...maybe even those you've know a long time.

 
  " last bit of this book is the part I liked best"by ELIZABETH V. (see profile) 01/08/16

Daniel's father tells him that his mother has had a psychotic breakdown. Then Daniel's mother tells him that his father is dangerous. What follows is a four- out of five-star book. And that'... (read more)

 
by Angela C. (see profile) 10/20/15

 
by Janet B. (see profile) 07/25/15

 
by lauren l. (see profile) 08/18/14

 
by Jenny W. (see profile) 08/18/14

 
by Lauren R. (see profile) 08/18/14

 
by Jessica M. (see profile) 08/18/14

 
  "A gripping psychological thriller"by Tanya S. (see profile) 07/03/14

Daniel is a garden designer living in London with his partner, Mark. His parents, Chris and Tilde, have recently retired to a remote farm in Sweden, his mother's childhood home. Daniel bel... (read more)

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