Child 44Tom Rob Smith
How do you solve a murder when murder doesn’t exist?
That’s the problem encountered by Leo Demidov when he’s forced to investigate “an accident” in which a child’s stomach was removed and his mouth forced with dirt. Demidov’s duty is to convince the victim’s family that making a fuss isn’t worth it; instead, they must accept their son's death was an accident and stop clamoring about a killer on the loose. You see, Demidov’s dealing with Stalinist Russia, and one of the tenets of their socialist philosophy is that crime is a Western phenomenon caused by economic inequality. Therefore, murder cannot exist in their society, which has removed such injustices.
Soon, however, more bodies appear, and it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that so many children – whose bodies are all found the same: stomachs torn open, dirt in mouths, string around ankles – are all the victims of unfortunate accidents. Worse, Russia lacks centralization, so neighboring villages aren’t even aware that a killer is among them.
It’s not long until Demidov, a member of the State Security force, finds himself on the wrong side of the law. True, the claims against him are unfounded, but it’s only a matter of time before someone turns you in for the only true crime in Stalinst Russia: subverting the State. The government cares little if it executes an innocent man, since fear is the oil that keeps everything running smoothly. Soon Demidov and his wife are on the run, struggling to avoid capture and find the killer before another innocent child is lost.
Before beginning Child 44, I was daunted for several reasons. First, the prospect of Russian patronymics struck fear into my heart. As soon as I heard it was set in Russia, I immediately recalled my experience with Dostoevsky, whose characters all seemed to have 1001 names. Nevertheless, I decided to persevere, and I considered myself a daredevil for beginning without paper and pen in hand to keep track of them all. (Wow. Has it come to that? I suppose it has.) Secondly, I was a little put off by the length, since the thickness of the tome indicated way more than its 450 pages.
Both fears were unfounded. I tore through the novel in about a day, unhindered by characters who, for the most part, are called only by their given name. The story is entrancing, and I enjoyed several twists that I didn’t see coming until I was meant to. The serial killer, based on Andrei Chikatilo, was duly fascinating, and Smith’s treatment of Stalinist Russia was both informative and fascinating. Child 44 is not the last of Leo Demidov, and I look forward to seeing him again in future novels.
In a nutshell: Serial killer + interesting history + hot author = Success!
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
That’s the problem encountered by Leo Demidov when he’s forced to investigate “an accident” in which a child’s stomach was removed and his mouth forced with dirt. Demidov’s duty is to convince the victim’s family that making a fuss isn’t worth it; instead, they must accept their son's death was an accident and stop clamoring about a killer on the loose. You see, Demidov’s dealing with Stalinist Russia, and one of the tenets of their socialist philosophy is that crime is a Western phenomenon caused by economic inequality. Therefore, murder cannot exist in their society, which has removed such injustices.
Soon, however, more bodies appear, and it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that so many children – whose bodies are all found the same: stomachs torn open, dirt in mouths, string around ankles – are all the victims of unfortunate accidents. Worse, Russia lacks centralization, so neighboring villages aren’t even aware that a killer is among them.
It’s not long until Demidov, a member of the State Security force, finds himself on the wrong side of the law. True, the claims against him are unfounded, but it’s only a matter of time before someone turns you in for the only true crime in Stalinst Russia: subverting the State. The government cares little if it executes an innocent man, since fear is the oil that keeps everything running smoothly. Soon Demidov and his wife are on the run, struggling to avoid capture and find the killer before another innocent child is lost.
Before beginning Child 44, I was daunted for several reasons. First, the prospect of Russian patronymics struck fear into my heart. As soon as I heard it was set in Russia, I immediately recalled my experience with Dostoevsky, whose characters all seemed to have 1001 names. Nevertheless, I decided to persevere, and I considered myself a daredevil for beginning without paper and pen in hand to keep track of them all. (Wow. Has it come to that? I suppose it has.) Secondly, I was a little put off by the length, since the thickness of the tome indicated way more than its 450 pages.Both fears were unfounded. I tore through the novel in about a day, unhindered by characters who, for the most part, are called only by their given name. The story is entrancing, and I enjoyed several twists that I didn’t see coming until I was meant to. The serial killer, based on Andrei Chikatilo, was duly fascinating, and Smith’s treatment of Stalinist Russia was both informative and fascinating. Child 44 is not the last of Leo Demidov, and I look forward to seeing him again in future novels.
In a nutshell: Serial killer + interesting history + hot author = Success!
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
3 comments:
I'll definitely be checking this book out... Especially since it's author is very quite hot! Ha!
Great review.
This book seems to be everywhere lately. I'm taking that as a sign that I need to read it!
Wow. This one sounds very compelling!
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