Child 44
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4.4 • 216 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
DON'T MISS THE NEW TOM ROB SMITH NOVEL, COLD PEOPLE, OUT NOW!
OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD
MOSCOW, 1953.
Under Stalin’s terrifying regime, families live in fear. When the all-powerful State claims there is no such thing as crime, who dares disagree?
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER IN OVER 30 LANGUAGES
An ambitious secret police officer, Leo Demidov believes he’s helping to build the perfect society. But when he uncovers evidence of a killer at large – a threat the state won’t admit exists – Demidov must risk everything, including the lives of those he loves, in order to expose the truth.
A THRILLER UNLIKE ANY YOU HAVE EVER READ
But what if the danger isn’t from the killer he is trying to catch, but from the country he is fighting to protect?
Nominated for seventeen international awards and inspired by a real-life investigation, CHILD 44 is a relentless story of love, hope and bravery in a totalitarian world. From the screenwriter of the acclaimed television series, THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, Child 44 is a chilling and clever crime thriller set in the Stalinist Soviet Union. When a by-the-book security officer named Leo Demidov begins investigating seemingly unrelated disappearances and killings, he starts to question his fundamental beliefs about his country—and the hearts of men. London-based author Tom Rob Smith’s forceful prose pushes forward like an ice-cold wind, propelling this dark and menacing story through jolting twists and turns.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in the Soviet Union in 1953, this stellar debut from British author Smith offers appealing characters, a strong plot and authentic period detail. When war hero Leo Stepanovich Demidov, a rising star in the MGB, the State Security force, is assigned to look into the death of a child, Leo is annoyed, first because this takes him away from a more important case, but, more importantly, because the parents insist the child was murdered. In Stalinist Russia, there's no such thing as murder; the only criminals are those who are enemies of the state. After attempting to curb the violent excesses of his second-in-command, Leo is forced to investigate his own wife, the beautiful Raisa, who's suspected of being an Anglo-American sympathizer. Demoted and exiled from Moscow, Leo stumbles onto more evidence of the child killer. The evocation of the deadly cloud-cuckoo-land of Russia during Stalin's final days will remind many of Gorky Park and Darkness at Noon, but the novel remains Smith's alone, completely original and absolutely satisfying. Rights sold in more than 20 countries.
Customer Reviews
Worth a go..
This was am enjoyable piece. The ending felt a little rushed and frankly outrageous but the build up was well executed. Worth a go.
Stunning!
This book is nothing short of incredible.
It takes place in Stalin's Russia, and really captures the mood of the time. Conspiracy, censorship, and influence are the main themes, and the plot twists are truly magnetic!
Without giving too much away - It finally took one man to discover the world of deceit he was living in, to lead to a massive, country-wide crisis. Twist after twist kept me glued to the pages, and it's rekindled my love for reading.
I've never really been a fan of the historical genre, but this has really made me interested in the topic of communist Russia, immediately, after reading the ending, I had to buy "The Secret Speech", which leads immediately from Stalin to Kruschev.
It's not a usual "big seller", but after reading it, I wonder why it isn't!
Child 44
Total immersion on my part. Excellent story