Child 44 (Leo Demidov)
by Tom Rob Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Tom Rob SmithEdition: Kindle Edition
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Kindle eBook
Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 460
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Child 44 (Leo Demidov)
Book Review: Better than Stalin's Ghost!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably the best mystery I have read in years. The background - Stalin's Russia, changing over the years to end in Kruschev's Russia - is perfectly, chillingly drawn. It gives a great but not arty or self-consciously literary sense of the Kafkaesque feel of life in an all- encompassing dictatorship, where the State is all and the individual nothing.
It begins during the famines caused by collectivization, a period rarely (ok, never) dealt with by modern writers. The characters are well-drawn, interesting, and you care what happens to them, particularly the protagonist as he sorts out the moral complexities of his life as an agent of the state. But it's not a preachy novel: the action moves right along, and it didn't surprise me to read that the movie rights have already been bought.
Highly recommended!
Summary of Child 44 (Leo Demidov)
A propulsive, relentless page-turner.A terrifying evocation of a paranoid world where no one can be trusted.
A surprising, unexpected story of love and family, of hope and resilience.
CHILD 44 is a thriller unlike any you have ever read.
"There is no crime."
Stalin's
But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov.
A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in
Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a murderer-is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every belief he's ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially paradise, it's a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer-much less a serial killer-is in their midst. Exiled from his home, with only his wife, Raisa, remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists.
Tom Rob Smith graduated from
If all that Tom Rob Smith had done was to re-create Stalinist Russia, with all its double-speak hypocrisy, he would have written a worthwhile novel. He did so much more than that in Child 44, a frightening, chilling, almost unbelievable horror story about the very worst that Stalin's henchmen could manage. In this worker's paradise, superior in every way to the decadent West, the citizen's needs are met: health care, food, shelter, security. All one must offer in exchange are work and loyalty to the State. Leo Demidov is a believer, a former war hero who loves his country and wants only to serve it well. He puts contradictions out of his mind and carries on. Until something happens that he cannot ignore. A serial killer of children is on the loose, and the State cannot admit it.
To admit that such a murderer is committing these crimes is itself a crime against the State. Instead of coming to terms with it, the State's official position is that it is merely coincidental that children have been found dead, perhaps from accidents near the railroad tracks, perhaps from a person deemed insane, or, worse still, homosexual. But why does each victim have his or her stomach excised, a string around the ankle, and a mouth full of dirt? Coincidence? Leo, in disgrace and exiled to a country village, doesn't think so. How can he prove it when he is being pursued like a common criminal himself? He and his wife, Raisa, set out to find the killer. The revelations that follow are jaw-dropping and the suspense doesn't let up. This is a debut novel worth reading. --Valerie Ryan
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