Child 44

Author - Tom Rob Smith ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Hardcover Book item from Grand Central Publishing was reviewed on 18-Oct-2008.

Search ISBN:0446402389 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Child 44 Reference Book. Classifications : Contemporary Literature & Fiction Subjects Books General Thrillers Mystery & Thrillers Subjects Books General Mystery & Thrillers Subjects Books Hardcover Binding (binding) Refinements Books Printed B . Click the following link to view the cover of Child 44.

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1) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. Child 44 is surprisingly well done - surprisingly in that it is a first novel, surprisingly that it is a thriller and I suppose I´m not used to the genre being particularly well written. I highly recommend it, and have sung its praises to many friends and family members. I would particularly recommend it if you like history/communist studies. It´s good even if you don´t, but the basic background I have in USSR-history only added to the reading experience for me.
The strongest aspect of Tom Rob Smith´s work is the development of the environment of Soviet Russia under Stalin and the tensions between the ideals and the reality. This work of fiction is very well researched and Smith has an excellent grasp on life in Soviet Russia and the inner workings of the Communist party. The main character, a KGB war hero, is faced with the deterioration of everything that he has believed in all his life. This conflict, not the murder mystery itself, is what makes this novel great.

As a murder mystery, it has its flaws. Several readers have already stated their disappointment in the ending. While I don´t share their disappointment, I don´t think that the murder mystery itself was particularly well established. In particular, I don´t think the connection between the murder and the murders was well defined. The murders themselves, the profile of the serial killer (the serial killer as a character is probably Smith´s weakest example of character development), and Leo´s quest to solve it seems like an afterthought. In a lot of ways, it seems like Smith got so caught up in Stalinist Russia that he forgot that what he was writing was a murder mystery. Regardless - Smith´s development of a fictional Soviet Russia places his work as a piece of a literature well above most mainstream murder mysteries that you will find.

I look forward to his next novel, because I think that the disconnect that I discussed is something that will improve with experience and I have nothing but high expectations for Tom Rob Smith´s future work.¤

2) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. I stopped reading this book after the first 80 pages or so because it felt like a million other detective books I have read in the past. After months of being left on the shelf, and not being able to find something else to read, I decided to give it a second chance and I am so glad I did. While it is not perfect, and some of the situations the characters are put in are far fetched, the story itself is very engrossing. The characters are well developed and the history of Stalin´s Russia is fascinating. If you are looking for a fast and easy read, I would recommend this book.¤

3) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. I don´t bother with reading fiction much; it usually takes too long. I checked this book out on a whim, and I was glad I did.

I´m an American born in 1972, so I have no idea what it must have been like to live in Communist Russia. If even half the things in this book are accurate depictions of everyday life during that era, I could never live there. Mr. Smith, almost from the get-go, makes the fear and paranoia of that era almost palpable; most decisions are based not out of any desire beyond living to see the next day, and the paralyzing inability for independent action boggles the mind. It is these things, more than anything else, that make this book worth reading.

I hope this gets made into a movie, because I would certainly see it.¤

4) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. Impossible to put down. I´ve given the book to five people who have had the same reaction. Bought the book for my husbands Kindle he had the same reaction. I won´t mention any plot facts as each action leads to another element of the story. A must read for historical fiction or simple mystery lovers.¤

5) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. I really enjoyed this book and I hope Mr. Smith writes more soon. If you liked this book then you will like the book Snow Wolf by Glenn Meade. It´s a spy novel written in the mid 1990´s--one of my favorite books. The two books are very similar in some ways even though one is basically a crime novel and the other a spy thriller.¤

6) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. 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.

¤

7) Hardcover Book Child 44 by Grand Central Publishing. 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¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 15-Nov-2008, 04464023899780446402385, 290-650-520-500-670-150-890-261-8

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