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 Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals. 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 Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated. 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 Cambridge in 2001 and lives in London. Child 44 is his first novel.
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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A thrilling page turner...:
Outstanding book. I couldnt possibly say enough good things about this one! For a 1st time author, Tom Rob Smith hit a grandslam with "Child 44". "Child 44" is loosely based on the real life Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo (The Butcher of Rostov) who actually killed around 52 women and children. The storyline in "Child 44" is completely made up, by that I mean it isnt the actual story of Chikatilo, but a fictional one based off his murders. Awesome suspense, great action, great... more info
This should be a beat seller!!!:
I keep waiting for the world to wake up and figure out that this deserves to be a Top 10 best seller. I can't imagine a more engrossing debut novel.
Review:
Leo Stepanovich Demidov is a member of the MGB, the State Security Force for the Soviet Union and one of MGB's top investigative detectives. When it comes to loyalty, Leo is the most loyalists of men. He serves his country well and for that he is rewarded handsomely. In a country where any talk of disloyalty whether it be from reading a book or talk of being a traitor, can be punishment by death. Suddenly Leo finds himself in a moral situation. He is put in charge of investigating his wife, Raisa.... more info
There's a killer on the road, his brain is squirming like a toad.:
On November 22, 2008 Ukrainians in Kiev, Ukraine marked the anniversary of a 1932 famine, known as Holodomor (Death by Hunger), in which upwards of 3.5 million Ukrainians starved to death. That famine serves as the prologue for Tom Rob Smith's novel "Child 44". In that prologue two young Ukrainian children are sent out by their mother to scavenge for food. The scavenger hunt has terrible consequences for both brothers. The story then jumps ahead twenty years, at the end of Stalin's long reign, and... more info
