false 2161733 21 It is a society that is, officially, a haven for its citizens. Superior to the decadent West, Stalin's Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs: education, health care, security. In exchange, all that is required is their hard work, and their loyalty and faith to the Soviet State. Leo Demidov knows this better than most. A rising, prominent officer in the State Security force, Leo is a former war hero whose only ambition is to serve his country. To defend this workers' paradise--and to guarantee a secure life for his parents, and for his wife, Raisa--Leo has spent his career guarding against threats to the State. Ideological crimes--crimes of thought, crimes of disloyalty, crimes against the revolution--are forcefully suppressed, without question. And 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, all but sentenced to death. The only way to salvage what remains of his life 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. To save his life and the lives of his family, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the security forces with only Raisa remaining at his side, to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists. 2167258 book 1 4 2008 Child 44 total:2275|5:625|4:1018|3:494|2:109|1:29| 2275 8926 3629 720 5 13 false false Fri May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 13 16:44:57 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 05 00:38:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 6 false false Fri Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 07:16:51 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 08:23:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Thu Jun 12 14:33:43 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 18:16:38 -0700 2008
Leo Dem...more...]]> 4 4 false false Sun Mar 16 10:54:21 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 11 10:45:38 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 16 10:53:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 3 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 20:38:05 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 04:46:53 -0700 2008
No, not really. As they used to say in Soviet Russia, I keed, I keed.

I was mostly just unhooked here, not gripped by context, protagonist, or plot. It was all fine enough, but.... meh. It did irritate me a little that the conceit (the hero...more...]]> 3 5 false false Mon Oct 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 03 03:20:37 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 07 00:35:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 3 false true Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 19 21:27:57 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 21:02:00 -0700 2008 Child 44. I liked the book, and I liked Dennis Boutsikaris's reading of the audiobook. The setting and circumstances resulting from the setting distinguishes this suspense/adventure/catch-the-killer fluff from other such mysteries. It was interesting fluff. ...more...]]> 5 3 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon May 26 05:16:58 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 05:24:00 -0700 2008
This is literally the best book I've rea...more...]]> 2 2 false false Fri May 30 15:21:28 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 15:23:16 -0700 2008 3 2 false false Sun Jun 15 17:49:46 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 17:50:24 -0700 2008 5 3 false false Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 00:12:22 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 01:57:29 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jul 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 08:50:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 13:38:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 06:01:52 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 18:18:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Dec 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 18:41:21 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 08:51:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 13:16:24 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 13:18:14 -0800 2009 5 1 false false Sun Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 19 19:05:33 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 19 19:11:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 11:54:57 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 12:13:30 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 11 21:30:43 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 21:31:25 -0800 2009
The story is set against the backdrop of Stalinist Russia where the presu...more...]]> 4 0 false true Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 12:36:08 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 12:36:28 -0700 2009
Its starts in post revolution russia and a village is facing starvation. Two children, pavel and andrei, see a cat and set off hunting it for their tea. Just as they are about to catch it, Pavel is taken by a man.
...more...]]> 4 0 false true Fri Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 11:51:53 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 12:28:45 -0700 2009 more...]]>