Tom Rob Smith

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.

Child 44

Abdul Rehman Ismail

This is by far one of the greatest novels I've read. Every page is so well descriptive and addictive that you just cant stop reading at any point. The story itself is just brilliant. Even though I read it thorougly never could I or anyone have guessed the end of the story itself. A must read.

Skye

Child 44 is an amazing thriller that gives readers a small glimpse into what Communist Russia was really like: the horrors, fear, and paranoia were rampant. However, I do feel like the ending of the book was a bit rushed. You spend the whole time reading thorough details of the plot and characters, only to have the ending rushed and finished before you can draw up a full and clear image in your mind. Regardless, I still recommend this book. I'm eager to see if the other two in this trilogy come close to the intensity of Child 44!

Cariena

Wat een gruwelijk en ontzettend goed boek. Ik was geboeid tot het einde en wilde steeds verder lezen. Het grootste gedeelte van het verhaal was onvoorspelbaar. Echt een aanrader!

Samiha Tasnim

Since Maria had decided to die her cat would have to fend for itself.


Enemies of the Party were not merely saboteurs, spies, and wreckers of industry, but doubters of the Party line, doubters of the society which awaited them.


—It’s my fault.
—What was your fault?
—My brother’s death: I threw a snowball at him. I’d packed it with stones and dirt and grit. Arkady was hurt, it hit him in the head. He ran off. Maybe it made him dizzy, maybe that’s why he couldn’t see the train. The dirt they found in his mouth: that was my fault. I threw it at him.
—Your brother’s death was an accident. There’s no reason for you to feel any guilt. But you did well telling me the truth. Now go back to your parents.
—I haven’t told them about the snowball with dirt and the mud and the stones.
—Perhaps they don’t need to know.
—They’d be so angry. Because that was the last time I ever saw him. Sir, we played nicely most of the time. And we would’ve played nicely again, we would’ve made up, we would’ve been friends again, I’m sure of it. But now I can’t make it up to him, I can’t ever say sorry.


But having a family had made him fearful. He was able to imagine far worse things than his own death.


...not even those who kept this machinery of fear ticking, could be certain that the system they sustained would not one day swallow them too.


My innocence offends you because you wish me to be guilty. You wish me to be guilty because you’ve arrested me.


To stand up for someone was to stitch your fate into the lining of theirs.


Leo had the confirmation he was looking for. Major Kuzmin’s offer was clear. If he denounced his wife he’d have their continued confidence. What had Vasili said? If you survive this scandal you’ll one day berunning the MGB. I’m sure of it. Promotion was a sentence away. The room was silent.
Major Kuzmin leaned forward: —Leo?
Leo stood up, straightened the jacket of his uniform: —My wife is innocent.


They were equals as they had never been equal before. If he wanted to hear about love, the first verse was his to sing.


Did his work have meaning or was it merely a means to survive? There was nothing shameful about trying to survive—it was the occupation of the majority. However, was it enough to live in squalor and not even be rewarded with a sense of pride, not even to be sustained by a sense that what he did served some purpose?


They’d murdered together, deceived together, plotted and planned and lied together. They were criminals, the two of them, them against the world. It was time to consummate this new relationship. If only they could stay here, live here in this exact moment, hidden in the forest, enjoying these feelings forever.


The price of this story was the audience’s innocence.


But she refused to accept that she was going to be the one to get them caught just because she wasn’t strong enough, refused to accept the idea that they’d fail because she was weak.


Everyone has a reason to live. You were hers. But you were mine too. The only difference between us was that I was sure you were alive.


He’d tried to bury the past. And now his brother had murdered his way back into his life.

Britney Ly

I could not put it down for the longest time. Smith has done an amazing job at describing the horrors and lifestyle of communist Russia and it was fascinating as to how people change when placed into life or death situations. As Leo and Raisa go on their expedition to uncover the secrets of Leo's life and the state, their relationship grows stronger and they become a pretty badass couple which I liked. Sometimes this book was hard to get through and sometimes you just want to put the book down and scream at the world. Totally would recommend to somebody who enjoys suspense.

Kerry Gibbons

Had no idea what I was getting into with this book. I picked it based on the cover. I'm fully willing to admit that. It's just as ridiculous a way to judge a book as pretty much any other means.

So I didn't realize this was a mystery/spy novel. I had an inkling it was going to have something to do with communism.

I was not prepared for the level of gore and violence. Much of the book is fairly light and a bit of a through-the-looking-glass view of Soviet Russia. Maybe a bit over-the-top, but kind of great as I don't have much of anything else to compare it to and say that it's just one stereotype after another or anything like that (as some other reviewers have said).

Some of the twists were highly predictable. Others just were not.

Tom Rob Smith does a lovely job of telling the portions of the story that are in a child's voice. The voice actor for the audiobook was stupendous. He gets the full 5 stars absolutely. 

Really, it's a well-crafted mystery that handles the blood & guts rather well and really puts you in the pit of the shithole that is the environment for the book. Do not use it as research material for you essay about typical life in the USSR, though, would be my two cents.

Trevor Berrett

Just finished this very compelling read because it was on the Booker longlist. But, I have to say, I'm not quite sure it belongs there, not because there were others left off (though there were) but because I wonder if this is really literature.

For my complete review:

http://mookse.wordpress.com/2008/08/0...

In Stalin's Soviet Union, crime does not exist. But still millions live in fear. The mere suspicion of disloyalty to the State, the wrong word at the wrong time, can send an innocent person to his execution. Officer Leo Demidov, an idealistic war hero, believes he's building a perfect society. But after witnessing the interrogation of an innocent man, his loyalty begins to waver, and when ordered to investigate his own wife, Raisa, Leo is forced to choose where his heart truly lies. Then the impossible happens. A murderer is on the loose, killing at will, and every belief Leo has ever held is shattered. Denounced by his enemies and exiled from home, with only Raisa by his side, he must risk everything to find a criminal that the State won't admit even exists. On the run, Leo soon discovers the danger isn't from the killer he is trying to catch, but from the country he is trying to protect.

Child 44

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