"I was skeptical when my brother recommended Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. I don't usually read thrillers, because I often find them poorly-written, formulaic and overly-dramatic. Maybe I've not been choosing the right thrillers. Child 44, Smith's literary debut, is well-researched, inventive, nuanced and intensely readable. Set in 1953 Stalinist Russia and based on true events, the novel follows State Security officer Leo Demidov as he evolves from true believer to skeptic to Gulag-bound enemy of the State. His transformation coincides with his illicit investigation of the grisly deaths of dozens of Soviet children, deaths which Leo suspects are the work of a serial killer, deaths which the State insists should be swept under the rug. Child 44 is one of those books Mass Transit commuters might want to save for reading at home... or risk missing their stop."
Publisher Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date 2011-12-13
Section Fiction / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions / Emily P.
Format Paperback
ISBN 9780446572767
In a country ruled by fear, no one is innocent.
Stalin's Soviet Union is an official paradise, where citizens live free from crime and fear only one thing: the all-powerful state. Defending this system is idealistic security officer Leo Demidov, a war hero who believes in the iron fist of the law. But when a murderer starts to kill at will and Leo dares to investigate, the State's obedient servant finds himself demoted and exiled. Now, with only his wife at his side, Leo must fight to uncover shocking truths about a killer-and a country where "crime" doesn't exist.
