The Child Audiobook By Sebastian Fitzek cover art

The Child

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Child

By: Sebastian Fitzek
Narrated by: Robert Glenister
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.66

Buy for $20.66

My name is Simon. I'm 10 years old. I'm a serial killer.

Robert Stern, a successful defence lawyer, doesn't know what lies in store for him when he agrees to meet a new client in a derelict estate on the outskirts of Berlin. To his astonishment, the defendant is a 10-year-old boy - Simon, a fragile child with a chronic illness who insists that he was a murderer in a former life.

Stern's surprise quickly turns to horror as he searches the cellar Simon has directed him to and discovers the skeletal remains of a man, the skull split with an axe - just as Simon told him he would. But this is only the beginning, as Simon tells Stern where to find even more victims whose bodies have lain undisturbed for years. Suddenly the present feels murderously dangerous as well....

The Child is a darkly twisting thriller that will make your heart pound with adrenaline.

©2014 Sebastian Fitzek (P)2015 Audible, Ltd Thriller & Suspense Crime Fiction Suspense Scary Mystery Exciting Heartfelt
About the Creator - Sebastian Fitzek

About the Creator

Sebastian Fitzek is an international bestselling author from Germany, with published works that have sold more than 15 million copies and been translated into more than 36 languages. Fitzek got his start in radio, later studying law with a doctoral thesis in copyright law. In 2006 he published his first psychological thriller, Therapy, which became a bestseller, as did all subsequent books. Many of his titles have been the subject of several theater adaptations, including Soulbreaker, Therapy, and Passenger 23. Sebastian Fitzek has twice been nominated for the Glauser Prize and has won the Golden Lovelybooks Readers' Award several times. He also received the Hörkules and is the winner of the European Prize for Crime Literature 2016. He is involved as an ambassador for the German Children's Association and as a patron of the association Das frühgeborene Kind e.V. Fitzek was born in Berlin in 1971. He lives with his family in Berlin.
Read more Read less
All stars
Most relevant
An outstanding work of art. Left me speechless then it all came together. I thought I knew who did what and what was going to happen next but I was wrong every time.

Weird and twisted. A jaw dropper.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had listened two other books and enjoy them but I struggled same interested in this book to me it was little far fetched

started strong ended weak

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I just recently discovered this author. The first book I read by him was The Gift - mind-blowing, thought-provoking, awesome!
Then I read The Package - just OK.
This book, The Child, was meant to be the tiebreaker for me and it's almost as good as The Gift. This book, written by a German author and set in Berlin, is translated into British English (complete with Brit slang and Cockney dialects for some more shady characters). It follows Robert Stern, an attorney whose ex-girlfriend asks him to help a terminally ill 10-yr-old boy, Simon, who claims to have murdered someone 15 years ago. Just as in The Gift, Herr Fitzek then leads the reader on a harrowing, twisty, smart adventure. The book does have some bothersome scenes including child pornography and violence. The MC is depressed and still mourning the death of his son 10 years before. So, it's not a mood-lifting kind of book.
The last paragraph of the book - seriously that one paragraph - took it from a 5 to a 4 for me. I wish I were part of a book club that could help make sense of the ending.... maybe I'll google it.
The narrator is very good, even though I preferred the American English translation of The Gift.
I recommend this one and look forward to reading more by this author.

Reincarnation?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What made the experience of listening to The Child the most enjoyable?

The atmosphere of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

The way one puzzle pops up after another.

Have you listened to any of Robert Glenister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure. But he's good enough for this one.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Someone always knows.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth listening!

Not as good as eye collector, but still brilliant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Child is a good story, well written.

The performance was OK but why did the street toughs all have to have Cockney accents? The story takes place in Germany. Does it really make sense that the criminals would all sound like My Fair Lady? I understand the translation was in English and recorded by a British voice actor but, I found the choice of accents odd.

Overall it is a very good book. A very good story reminiscent of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." and the voice acting was pretty good.

Well written mystery.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.