Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Child 44 (Leo Demidov #1)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 18,671 ratings · 2,382 reviews

In Stalin’s Soviet Union, crime does not exist. But still millions live in fear. The mere suspicion to the State, the wrong word at the 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 ord...more

Paperback, 470 pages

Published 2009 by Pocket Books UK (first published January 1st 2008)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

I Like Serial Killers

109th out of 415 books — 553 voters

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Land of Ice and Snow

52nd out of 87 books — 39 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 03, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Report: In the Socialist Worker's Paradise that is Stalin's 1953 Russia, There Is No Crime. (Sorry, I know that all the caps are like having your lashes tweezed, but this is the Soviet Union we're talking about, and everything is A Slogan.) The proletariat is blissfully free of the Capitalist Curse Called Crime.

They're more afraid of the State than they are each other. With good reason. There are traitors, informants, everywhere. Even in your own bed, you are never saf...more Rating: 4* of five

The Book Report: In the Socialist Worker's Paradise that is Stalin's 1953 Russia, There Is No Crime. (Sorry, I know that all the caps are like having your lashes tweezed, but this is the Soviet Union we're talking about, and everything is A Slogan.) The proletariat is blissfully free of the Capitalist Curse Called Crime.

They're more afraid of the State than they are each other. With good reason. There are traitors, informants, everywhere. Even in your own bed, you are never safe from the danger of being outed as a bad Socialist with the least, most offhand criticism of the Paradise. And death comes, whether quickly or slowly, to those whom the Cthulhu of the State Security apparatus notices.

Leo Demidov, then, shouldn't have a job as a criminal investigator. In fact, he doesn't. He's a well-rewarded apparatchik who, in the course of interrogating his fellow citizens, notices a disturbing pattern of murders...which do not officially exist...taking place with no effort, or a completely inadequate effort, being made to see the forest for the trees. Leo's life changes, from privileged servant of the regime to lone wolf investigator to vengeful assassin, over the course of the story. His solution to the crimes being committed is chilling in its outlines and satisfying in its conclusion.

My Review: I don't believe I've ever read so much text in italics before, and I don't think I've ever read a thriller with so little direct action before, either. The dialogue, what little there is of it, is italicized; there are few places where anyone addresses anyone else for more than a sentence or two. Husband Leo and wife Raisa have one--that's all, one--intimate conversation, which is a new low count in my thriller reading.

But what a wallop this book packs! I can't imagine the agonies of researching and writing such a grisly book, given that most writers are sensitive flowers whose emotional lives are very much up on the surface of their lives.

Tom Rob Smith wrote this awful book about awful people doing awful things in an awful country to amuse and entertain us. He succeeds in this, though sometimes I wanted to wash my eyes out with Clorox. The main character, Leo, is a nasty apparatchik in the State Security forces under Stalin. He's a man who has put his sense of rightness, fairness and justice into the hands of vile, unworthy leaders, and turned off his moral compass. The reasons that it turns back on, and the results of Leo's single-minded pursuit of a child murderer, are...gosh...they're *right* and yet, given the 400pp we've spent being plunged into foul, icy sewage, again and again, they're weak tea.

Leo's past leads him to a future that I can't call bright, but at least he's able to do the right thing sometimes. I don't think this book is for everyone, but I think it's really, really interesting and quite exciting and well worth the attention of the non-squeamish.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.(less)

like 33 likes · see review

Oct 29, 2012 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Steve aka Sckenda by: Richard

Shelves: russia, thriller, friend-recommendations, individualism, mystery

“Trust but check. Check on those we trust.”

Child 44 describes the journey of a man who surrenders his dogmatic belief in the State and suffers his way back into faith in the individual. Leo Demidov thought his feeling for individuals was dead even though some doubt “sat dormant in the pit of his stomach like an undigested seed pod.” Leo undergoes a re-education about people along with his wife, Raisa.

As a reward for his service to the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, Leo is a rankin...more

like 43 likes · see review

Jan 05, 2009 Zinta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If it weren't for the Soviet Union and the blood lust of the Russian communists, I would not exist. My parents were World War II refugees, on the run for their lives from Soviet-occupied Latvia. They arrived in the United States at about the same time, immigrants with nothing but what they wore on their backs, with the most skeletal English language skills. Had they not spotted each other across the room of immigrants and felt drawn one to the other, well, that would have been an entirely differ...more If it weren't for the Soviet Union and the blood lust of the Russian communists, I would not exist. My parents were World War II refugees, on the run for their lives from Soviet-occupied Latvia. They arrived in the United States at about the same time, immigrants with nothing but what they wore on their backs, with the most skeletal English language skills. Had they not spotted each other across the room of immigrants and felt drawn one to the other, well, that would have been an entirely different story, and without me in it.

Even so, you won't hear gratitude from me. My existence does not by any measure outweigh the brutalities of Soviet power. A large percentage of the Latvian population was deported, tortured and executed under the communist regime. My life cannot measure up to such suffering of the multitudes. In later years, I traveled several times to the Soviet Union to see for myself this world that had so often been described to me, yet nonetheless remained and remains nearly incomprehensible. The experience of my travels behind the Iron Curtain is a memory that will never leave me. These are the memories and impressions returned to me with the reading of Tom Rob Smith's debut novel, Child 44.

Tom Rob Smith has taken his premise for Child 44 from the true story of Russian serial murderer, Andrei Chikatilo, who murdered over 50 women and children in Russia during the 1980s. Although Smith has set his story in an earlier time period, the 1950s, he has not lost, but only gained levels of intrigue and suspense by choosing the worst years of Soviet oppression. The difference, the author explains, is that in the latter years, someone in open rebellion against the political system might lose an apartment, while in earlier years, it would have meant the loss of life.

The story of Child 44 has the chill of historical and political accuracy. The author is still in his twenties at this writing, yet the combination of his research and already rich life and travel experience have given him the depth of insight required to bring this tale of Soviet horror vividly to life. I had to wonder, in fact, and quite often during my reading, how many readers less aware of Soviet history might construe this as mere fantasy. In too many ways, it is not. The sense of unraveling sanity and logic threaded throughout daily Soviet life is all too real: Black is declared white and white, black. What you see, you are told, is not what you see. What you know is not to be known. Deny everything. And in saving your own life, choose who will die among your loved ones.

Leo Demidov is a key character, the communist detective pursuing the killer who cannot be named. The first insanity is that the Soviet government denies the existence of crime in its so-called utopian state. If life is perfection, why would anyone commit a crime? Crime, they claim, is an outgrowth of a capitalist society. And then, a crime so gruesome as to kill a child, ripping open his belly to expose his insides, stuffing his open mouth with bark and gravel. Yet such dead and tortured children's bodies appear throughout Soviet Russia, and despite the growing threat to his own safety, Demidov is determined to stop the child murderer. He cannot question witnesses, however, when there is no official crime to witness. He cannot conduct investigations when there is no official crime to investigate. To stop these murders, Demidov must become himself a criminal against the state. Such is Stalin's workers' paradise ...

The stakes grow ever higher, as Demidov's loyalty to the state is tested when his wife is accused of being a spy. In spite of her innocence, Demidov is faced with calling the authorities liars by defending his wife--or handing over his innocent wife to be executed but show his loyalty to the state that does no wrong.

A page-turner, indeed, but blood runs even colder when one knows this type of existence was all too real behind the Iron Curtain of the very real Soviet Union. Tom Rob Smith has my respect and admiration for putting into words what makes so little sense to the rational mind. I suggest supplemental reading in the form of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago for the true history of this nightmarish world.

~Zinta Aistars for The Smoking Poet, Summer 2008 Issue (less)

like 82 likes · see review

Apr 17, 2012 Dem rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, recommended

Child 44 is one of those books that only come along once in awhile and when it does it makes you exclaim out loud. This novel draws you into the story, the characters are very well drawn and the plot is excellent, one of those book that you just cant put down, I loved this thriller/murder mystery book, it is set in the Soviet Union during Stalin's rule and is loosely based on real life killer Andrei Chikatilo and follows the story through the eyes of Leo Dimidov, the government agent who is tryi...more

like 16 likes · see review

Jan 01, 2009 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-fiction, russia, suspense-thriller, four-star-fiction, miss-trees

Quite an impressive first novel. Contains elements of a lot of different genres. A little historical, a mystery, a little horror, and some suspense/thriller.

Apparently there really was a serial killer in Russia in the 1980s that was similar to this fictional one. The author placed the story back in the 1950s instead, right around the time of Stalin's death. Early in the book I thought the author gave an excellent feel for the way it is to live in a closed society. People in Stalinist Russia co...more

like 5 likes · see review

Jul 01, 2008 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, read-in-2008

Child 44 is a novel that's hard to figure out where to place on the bookshelf. It's a political thriller, a murder mystery and a horror story all in one. Combining those elements alone would have been enough, but first-time novelist Tom Rob Smith takes is further, setting his story around the time of the death of Stalin in the former Soviet Union. Smith recreates the atmosphere of paranoia, doubt and suspicion of the time and place with ease, adding an extra layer of tension to his story.

On the...more Child 44 is a novel that's hard to figure out where to place on the bookshelf. It's a political thriller, a murder mystery and a horror story all in one. Combining those elements alone would have been enough, but first-time novelist Tom Rob Smith takes is further, setting his story around the time of the death of Stalin in the former Soviet Union. Smith recreates the atmosphere of paranoia, doubt and suspicion of the time and place with ease, adding an extra layer of tension to his story.

On the surface, a story about someone serial killing small children would be brutal and horrifying enough. But add in that under the Soviet system that the government was creating a worker's paradise in which crime can't and shouldn't exist and you get a further twist on the serial hunter genre. If there is no crime, then surely such brutal crimes can't be occurring, adding to the complications as our hero, Leo, investigates the killings.

And it's not that Leo doesn't have more than a few obstacles in his way. He starts the novel as high-ranking official in the MGB, a rising star whose job it is to find all those who are oppose Mother Russia. Along the way, he's had successes and has made enemies, including one who sets him up. Leo is forced to choose between betraying his wife, who is accused of being a spy, to save his own skin or siding with her. Leo makes the choice and his entire world shatters. He's humilated publically, his family's status is removed and he finds out that his romantic notions of his marriage are an illusion. Demoted and sent to a remote region as the lowest of the low in the police, Leo comes across evidence that an earlier crime he investigated may tie into killings in the region. Leo risks everything to investigate the crime.

Smith's novel is compelling and page-turning. Smith is an aspiring screen-writer and there are moments in the story that he paints scenes in a movie-like way. But to dismiss the novel as one of those "ready to be adapted for a movie" would be a mistake. Smith's ability to re-create Russia in the time of Stalin is compelling as are the characters of Leo and his family. There are horrors here and not just those committed by the serial killer. Leo is certainly no innocent victim and yet, you will find yourself rooting for him as the pages go on. (He's not the most likeable character when you first meet him).

A great debut by Smith and I can see why this has already been optioned for a big-screen adaption. But I will recommend that this is one of those cases where you will definitely want to read the book first.
(less)

like 20 likes · see review

Aug 04, 2008 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How do you stop a serial killer operating in a State where one of the fundamental pillars is that crime does not exist? Set in Stalin's Soviet Union, Child 44 - part political thriller, part murder mystery, and part horror story - is the gripping exploration of that very question.

Leo Demidov is a high-ranking MGB officer who has dedicated his adult life to rooting out enemies of the State, and in the process is responsible for sending innumerable innocent citizens to the Gulags or marking them f...more How do you stop a serial killer operating in a State where one of the fundamental pillars is that crime does not exist? Set in Stalin's Soviet Union, Child 44 - part political thriller, part murder mystery, and part horror story - is the gripping exploration of that very question.

Leo Demidov is a high-ranking MGB officer who has dedicated his adult life to rooting out enemies of the State, and in the process is responsible for sending innumerable innocent citizens to the Gulags or marking them for execution. A loyal member of the Party, it never occurs to Leo that these people may be innocent until one particular arrest and subsequent interrogation causes him to call everything he once believed into question.

With this one crack, the foundation of Leo's life as a rich, powerful and respected State Security Officer begins to crumble. No longer certain of his work, his confidence weakens and all past cases become shadowed in doubt, in particular that of little Arkady Andreev, the son of one of Leo's MGB subordinates, whose mangled, lifeless body had been found discarded along the railroad tracks. Despite eyewitness evidence suggesting the boy was brutally murdered, Leo - working in a system that cannot acknowledge the crime's existence because to do so would suggest an imperfect society - labeled the boy's death an accident.

Leo's paradigm shift also makes him vulnerable to an ambitious enemy in the MGB, a man who manages to undermine Leo's credibility so much that he suffers a severe demotion and is forced to abandon a life of relative luxury in Moscow with his beautiful wife for a hovel in the depressed, rural village of Voualsk. It is here that Leo, now a low-ranking member of the militia, discovers that little Arkady's murder may not be an isolated incident, but rather the work of a very prolific serial killer. Conducting their own secret investigation, Leo and his wife soon discover that as many as 44 children may have fallen victim to a man the State refuses to admit exists. No longer willing to safely toe the company line, the Demidovs set out to find the killer and stop him themselves, despite the fact that doing so makes them political dissidents and prime candidates for the Gulags or worse.

Typically not my thing, I usually pass on political thrillers, but Child 44 was one of those titles that I couldn't seem to escape, so I was naturally curious to see if it was deserving of all the hype. And after tearing through all 400+ pages in a matter of days, I'd say yes, indeed it is. While it's true that Smith's simple prose won't exactly blow your mind, the compelling story he weaves makes for one gripping read. Although a beast in size, it can be tackled fairly quickly, and the entire time I was reading I couldn't help but think it would make for one terrific movie. (Turns out I'm not the only one who thought this. Ridley Scott committed to direct the film before the book was even published.) The novel does have its flaws, however. My enjoyment was lessened by a late twist that felt far too neat considering the complexity of the plot that had unfolded up to that point, and as I've already mentioned Smith's simple sentences are nothing to gush over. But hey - they can't all be high art, people. As far as most literary thrillers go, it's far better than most.

In sum, it may not win any awards, but Child 44 is an incredibly ambitious debut from an author to watch and one terrific read. Highly recommended.

(less)

like 10 likes · see review

Mar 16, 2008 Shea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Absolutely amazing for both a debut novel and a mystery/thriller type novel. I find that novels written in this genre (especially the big hitters like James Patterson, Vince Flynn, and sometimes John Grisham...none of which I read on a regular basis) are thrown together haphazardly without any real attention to detail or the basic necessities for putting together a really good story. When I initially started reading Child 44, I did not expect to find what I did. Since this was an Advanced Reader...more Absolutely amazing for both a debut novel and a mystery/thriller type novel. I find that novels written in this genre (especially the big hitters like James Patterson, Vince Flynn, and sometimes John Grisham...none of which I read on a regular basis) are thrown together haphazardly without any real attention to detail or the basic necessities for putting together a really good story. When I initially started reading Child 44, I did not expect to find what I did. Since this was an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of a novel not due out until May, I'm very interested to see how it will sell.

Child 44 is set in Soviet Russia during the Stalinist period. Initially, Tom Rob Smith jumps from scene to scene introducing characters that seem completely unrelated. After a few scene changes, Smith arrives to a character that he sticks with through the rest of the novel. Leo Demidov, a high-ranking official in the state's security/military force, carries out his duties like every other high-ranking officer: arrest, detain, interrogate, torture...don't ask questions. Anyone who is placed on the state's list of arrestees is guilty. Very little crime exists, and the little that does exist is caused by the remnants of the period before the Revolution. Unsolved crimes (including murder) are unacceptable and attack the very fabric of the state.

When a rash of unsolved killings start plaguing towns along one of Russia's main railroad lines, Leo becomes suspicious of the "suspects" that have "confessed" to each separate crime. Namely, each killing is done in the exact same, overly methodical manner suggesting a serial killer is on the loose. However, acknowledgment of that fact would fly in the face of the State's claims, and anyone foolish enough to do so are taking their lives into their own hands. Leo's suspicions pit him directly against the State and the killer responsible for the ever-growing number of murders.

With an obvious Orwellian influence, Smith crafts a novel in the mystery/thriller tradition that is extremely interesting, fun to read, and one that you will not be able to put down until you've finished reading it. I definitely recommend checking this one out when it is released in May.(less)

like 10 likes · see review

Jun 06, 2008 Mike added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: can I work a Yakov Smirnoff joke in here?

Shelves: abandoned

I think I made it to child 4 or 5.

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 is an investigator in '50s-era Russia who is faced with a serial killer, even though party doctrine has it that Russia does not have crime let alone serial killers) was intriguing but so quickly, conventionally worked through....more

like 7 likes · see review

Apr 16, 2013 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: published-2008, ukraine, series, spring-2013, fraudio, recreational-drugs, serial-killer, debut, slavic, gorefest, lifestyles-deathstyles, mystery-thriller, historical-fiction, families

Had binned this but after such glowing reviews by trusted friends it is back on the shelves

g drive audio

Read by . . : Dennis Boutsikaris
Publisher . : Hachette Audio (2008)
ISBN . . . .: ISBN-10: 160024159X ISBN-13: 9781600241598

#87 TBR Busting 2013

like 6 likes · see review

Jan 27, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just found out my 13 year old son and a school friend have both just read this one ! Not on the school reading list I hasten to add but it appears to be the 'in book' to read. Bill said it was 'really good'.

Well now I'm going to have to read it to :
1. See if I agree and
2. Find out what my son has been reading !

Well I enjoyed this tale of political intrigue, murder & suspense. It was an easy read but with such depth and atmosphere that you could actually feel the fear and paranoia of the cha...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jan 18, 2012 Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, romanzo-storico

Nell'unione sovietica di Stalin, il crimine non può esistere. Dunque non può esserci anche un distretto di polizia che se ne occupa; i delitti semplicemente non avvengono. Ora però dei bambini cominciano a morire. Contro le istituzioni in cui ha sempre creduto e difeso e che lo hanno trasformato come uomo, Leo decide lo stesso di investigare contro tutti, anche con chi gli sta vicino.

Una bellissima sorpresa questo libro di Tom Rob Smith, un grande esordio da cui sarà tratto un film che sperò co...more

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 07, 2008 Will Byrnes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Smith offers a look into the Soviet Union of 1953, a dark, desperate place in which the state had become a manifestation of Stalin’s paranoia. The ideological need of the state to present the communist ideal as an actualized reality impaired its ability, its willingness to address bad things when they happened, for surely, in this workers’ paradise, such things would never happen. Things like serial killers, things like crime of any sort. Thus all crime is ideological and all criminals are enemi...more

like 9 likes · see review

Jul 28, 2008 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don't really know what to say about 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. The protagonist, Leo, finds himself stuck between trying to do what is right and his job--not uncommon for this sort of story--but the story takes place in Soviet Russia.

The first half of the story flesh...more

like 6 likes · see review

May 26, 2008 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, all-time-best

Child 44 is the tale of Leo Demidov, a top official working under Stalin's Russian Soviet regime in the 1950s. All is well in his career, until the day the body of a murdered child is found on the railway tracks- and Leo is asked to cover it up...

This is literally the best book I've read all year. Absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't put it down. I don't usually wax this lyrical about a book, but until this book I had never really read crime, and this got me into it big-time. You see, after readin...more

like 7 likes · see review

Jan 20, 2013 Eyehavenofilter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One if the best and most disturbing books I've ever read. Leo Demidov is our intrepid hero de jour, existing during the Stalinist era in Russia. Doing his due diligence as an officer of the government, and troupe believer, that if some hapless human is arrested its because he is guilty, for only the guilty would put them selves in the situation to be arrested.
But his world is turned upside down when he is sent to close the case of the death of the son of a friend of his, due to an " accident",...more

like 2 likes · see review

May 30, 2008 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was decently written, and a compelling story, but I got the feeling I was reading a screenplay. It was as if the author couldn't be bothered to fully flesh-out a scene, so he's just say "and then they all started shooting and people got killed." Seemed sort of lazy.....

like 8 likes · see review

Jun 15, 2008 Arthur Mitchell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meh. After all the hype, I was a little disappointed. Martin Cruz Smith does the Russian cop thing much better. The 'bad guys' in the book are impossibly lucky. Come to think of it the 'good guys' are, too.

like 3 likes · see review

Feb 22, 2009 La Petite Américaine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: guilty-pleasures, kicked_ass

Well, well, well. Now here's a thriller with a nice twist: a serial killer is on the loose in Stalinist Russia. Except that in Stalinist Russia there is no such thing as crime. Well, except for political crimes like reading banned litterature, looking at someone the wrong way, "plotting" against the state by working too close to a Western embassy, making a drunken joke about Stalin, etc. But murder? No, comrade. Not unless Siberia suddenly sounds good to you.

What you end up with is a fast-paced...more

like 11 likes · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Actual rating: 2.5 stars.

A very readable mystery-thriller set in the Soviet Union at the end of the Stalin era, the heyday of purges and the gulag. The protagonist, Leo, an MGB officer, winds up on the receiving end (in Soviet Union, office politics eats you) and is demoted to a low-level militia (regular police) job in a manufacturing town some distance from Moscow. While there he begins to chase down a serial killer who has been murdering children. Since there is no crime in the workers' parad...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 21, 2012 Eileen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, own, read-2012, favorites, recommendations, inspired-by-rob

Most people when they hear that a book is about Russia, Stalin's regime and secret agents think that the book will be complicated and boring. On the contrary this debut of Tom Rob Smith is a phenomenal crime thriller that is well written, easy to read, with a lot of action, fast paced, it grabs you immediately and you're not able to put it down until the very last page. As a reader you can feel the fear and desperation of the characters and the author gives you great insight about how it must ha...more Most people when they hear that a book is about Russia, Stalin's regime and secret agents think that the book will be complicated and boring. On the contrary this debut of Tom Rob Smith is a phenomenal crime thriller that is well written, easy to read, with a lot of action, fast paced, it grabs you immediately and you're not able to put it down until the very last page. As a reader you can feel the fear and desperation of the characters and the author gives you great insight about how it must have been to live in the Soviet Union in this certain period of time.
Although thrillers are not my favorite genre, I think this is a phenomenal book that is a little bit gory, but nothing I couldn't cope with and deserves without a doubt a five star rating.

The author has been inspired by a real story about a mass murderer called Andrei Chikatilo or the Butcher of Rostov who killed 52 women and children in the 80's. He took this story and placed it in the 50's in Stalinist Russia. In a time that people were dying from hunger, they lived in constant fear of arrest and did just about anything to survive even if they had to betray their own family members. One of Stalin's rules: "I can remember your name I can denounce you."

The main character is Leo Demidov who is handsome, a war hero and an ambitious secret police officer. He has spent his career arresting anyone who steps out of line and believes in the system, but his world suddenly turns upside down when the son of one of his colleagues gets killed. Is it an accident or murder? Crime doesn't occur in the Soviet society and Leo is ordered by his superior to cover this up, but suddenly he has this seed of doubt deep deep inside of him and he starts to question the system, he changes and wants justice, but the price is ridiculously high and he wonders if it's all worth it. Especially when he finds out that there's a serial killer at work there's no stopping him. He is surrounded by paranoia, fear and distrust. He doesn't even know if he can trust his own wife, Raisa, who married him out of fear and loathes him. Can they work together or will she denounce him or will he have to denounce her? Everything is possible and many lives are at stake.

Throughout the book I learned to love and admire Leo who is going through some major changes and is out there on his own against the system. In the beginning of the book the relationship between Leo and his wife is as good as non-existent, but it's very interesting to read how that changes and I was truly moved when they finally started to connect, communicate and fall in love. The connection and closeness between Leo and his parents is a complete different story that made me cry. It's unbelievable....... but I'm not going to give away spoilers.....

The ending is an emotional one and very surprising. Although this book is a story on it's own, you are left with this curiosity about the two sequels that I will read for sure.

I know that there are plans to make a movie based on this book and I think it'll be awesome. Looking forward to seeing it and keeping my fingers crossed for the main leading man.

(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 21, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, action, russian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is a fast read. It was less work to me because I just enjoyed it from front to back. The writer had such great ability to tie separate stories together and in describing the world of Russia during Stalin' rule. Although I got carried away and became more paranoid, it was just lovely.

This is a story about Stalin's Russian and of Leo, a top military official who fell from grace. He was an excellent worker, initially successful, and had helped his parents achieve a better & more comf...more This book is a fast read. It was less work to me because I just enjoyed it from front to back. The writer had such great ability to tie separate stories together and in describing the world of Russia during Stalin' rule. Although I got carried away and became more paranoid, it was just lovely.

This is a story about Stalin's Russian and of Leo, a top military official who fell from grace. He was an excellent worker, initially successful, and had helped his parents achieve a better & more comfortable life. But by some twist of fate, their lives changed. The story also involves a child serial killer who happened to be Leo's little brother (from his blurry past).

Leo as a child had been very trustworthy and reliable. His real mother depended on him. He had a little brother named Andrei but he was clumsy and couldn't see well. Their mother favored Leo over Andrei. There was hunger in their community that people would eat anything (rats, cats, bones, etc.). One night, their mother sent Leo away to find food and his brother came along. They saw a cat. Leo was about to get it when instead, he was the one who was taken away by a man with a hungry wife and a dying son. The man brought Leo home to feed to his son but it was too late, as the son was already dead. There was no use to cook Leo, so they took Leo as their son instead. That's how it started. Leo grew up and became successful and provided for his second parents.This was unclear to Leo until the later part of the story.

Leo and his wife were banished to a remote town. There, a child serial killer had threatened the safety and security of the community. To cut the story short, the sick little brother killed the children to draw Leo's attention. He would kill the children in a familiar way Leo was taken away so he would be reminded of what happened to him in the past. The sick little brother was obsessed about him. As a front, he had a family; a wife & a daughter. He also had this really scary evil room (maybe a standard for serial killers where they keep their achievements).

(less)

like 1 like · see review

Aug 15, 2008 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: guys

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-thriller, guy-lit

What I enjoyed most about this book was the picture of Stalin's Russia. The sense that the community, the State, is the most important aspect of life and keeping up its image was of upmost importance for citizens. Families, jobs, housing, are all not products of love and enjoyment, but carefully selected accessories in the picture of a perfect life. The success of this utopian socialist society waring against greedy capitalist individuals is more important than individual life. This creates a ne...more

like 2 likes · see review

Jul 09, 2008 Jen Padgett Bohle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jen by: my mom, media buzz

In Child 44, Tom Rob Smith has created a dystopian novel akin to Orwell's 1984 or Atwood's Handmaid's tale, except that, unfortunately, The Stalinist Soviet Union is not a fictional vision (well, and Atwood writes better). Smith's novel is seductive and magnetic because its two central concerns, the Draconian and absurd nature of Stalin's policies and the protagonist's search for a macabre serial killer, intersect to form more reversals of fortune and fate than even Britney Spears could dream of...more In Child 44, Tom Rob Smith has created a dystopian novel akin to Orwell's 1984 or Atwood's Handmaid's tale, except that, unfortunately, The Stalinist Soviet Union is not a fictional vision (well, and Atwood writes better). Smith's novel is seductive and magnetic because its two central concerns, the Draconian and absurd nature of Stalin's policies and the protagonist's search for a macabre serial killer, intersect to form more reversals of fortune and fate than even Britney Spears could dream of. While these fluctuations create suspense and ultimately a well-deserved catharsis, they also detract from the brutal realism that seemed to be at least one of Smith's aims. Some incidents just seemed too primed and ready for a Hollywood stunt double. (And I believe Smith conceived of this as a screenplay first).

The end is, not to spoil too much, a cheery, feel-good crowd pleaser that allows one to end the novel without despair and thus, seems to lighten the impact and negate the descriptions of Orwellian nightmare world. My suspension of disbelief simply will not extend to dozens of merciless killings for virtually nothing, while the protagonist, who is perceived as the government's most wanted throughout the second half of the novel, is spared.

The prose is simple and a little unremarkable, but at many points, the author's ingenuity in planting clues about the killer and people's political alignment make up for this. The characters and their relationships lack subtlety, and Smith mostly seems to direct readers: these are the good guys and these are the bad guys, something like the Indiana Jones approach to communists. Leo, of course, as the protagonist, is the exception, but Smith doesn't manage to penetrate his psyche quite enough, nor that of his wife.

This might be a masterpiece of suspense and perhaps of the so-called blockbuster fiction, but I'm not ready to brand this a literary masterpiece. Child 44 will be a brilliant movie.

Despite the shortcomings --- enjoy this novel as a solid, intriguing, plot-driven historical mystery. I haven't stayed up all night in quite some time to finish a book, but Child 44 wouldn't let go. (less)

like 3 likes · see review

Jun 10, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russia-ussr, general-crime-fiction-and-mystery, mystery, booker-prize-longlist

Set at the end of Stalin's regime in the Soviet Union, Child 44 is one of the most compelling mysteries I've ever read. Other writers should take note: this is the way a good mystery should be written. You're given enough clues, and you even find out later who the killer is, BUT -- you are still riveted and on the edge of your chair because of the atmosphere of suspense that the author has created. I listened to it on an audio CD, but am buying a hard copy for my husband to read and probably to...more Set at the end of Stalin's regime in the Soviet Union, Child 44 is one of the most compelling mysteries I've ever read. Other writers should take note: this is the way a good mystery should be written. You're given enough clues, and you even find out later who the killer is, BUT -- you are still riveted and on the edge of your chair because of the atmosphere of suspense that the author has created. I listened to it on an audio CD, but am buying a hard copy for my husband to read and probably to reread at some time in the future. I hear movie rumors -- I'll be the first in line when it comes out.

Leo Demidov is a young, high-ranking officer in the MGB, the Soviet Ministry of State Security. Leo is used to putting people away, earmarking them for execution, even though sometimes he knows that they are innocent. He can't help it ... he's caught up in the mechanism of the paranoid Soviet state. At one point he is called on regarding the murder of a child, and in his own arrogant way (and because the state does not want attention called to it) he dismisses the child's death as an accident. But when Leo is forced to make a choice that he knows he cannot make, he is exiled into the Urals to serve in the militia. While there, he comes across a similar murder to the one in Moscow -- and suddenly Leo knows that he was wrong. In fact, there are a series of murders all with the same MO -- and the former state security man now has only one focus: to catch this child killer. There are those, however, who do not want Leo to discover the truth and try to block him at every juncture.

I absolutely will not say more about this book, but it is incredibly well written and the suspense doesn't let up. As noted, I listened to this in my car -- even with the higher price of gas it was worth it to find more things I needed to drive to just to listen to this book. The characters are well drawn, the paranoid atmosphere of the former USSR is captured quite well, and the story isn't just another serial killer murder novel out on the local bookstore shelves. It is unique and the reading experience quite enjoyable.

Personally, I think anyone who likes a good mystery will like this one, but I also feel that if you're in search of a good, well-written novel of suspense that this one fits the bill perfectly. If you're interested in Stalin's USSR, you'll like this one as well.

One of the best I've read in a long time. I hope the author's next effort is forthcoming. (less)

like 4 likes · see review

Mar 31, 2009 Bensmomma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, historical-fiction, audiobooks

This thriller/mystery set in Stalinist Russia starts out clearly in the "just what makes the serial killer tick" genre, but becomes deeper and more interesting as it goes along up until about the 85% point - the characters develop and become more complex (is Leo good? bad? what about Raisa? what about the General?).

But the crisis and denouement are WAY too tidy, and seem motivated less by what the author really believes might have happened and more by a massive desire to set up lucrative sequel...more

like 2 likes · see review

Dec 30, 2008 Brigid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ideally, I'd give the book 4.5 stars if Goodreads included that in their rating system. Child 44 was a little slow to begin, and I actually put down the book for about a week. My mistake. It was a very engaging read that laid bare the paranoia and fear associated with Stalinist Russia. If anything, this book gave me a one heck of a history lesson. What was most interesting was the author's ability to mix many genres: I didn't feel like this was only a mystery/suspense novel, but a very interesti...more

like 3 likes · see review

Sep 28, 2011 Aia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read

Quite predictable and the ending felt a little too Hollywood, but it was a suspenseful chilling read. Tom Rob Smith writes in a way that turns words to images, painting the claustrophobic atmosphere of 1950s Soviet Russia in the colors of paranoia, betrayal, deceit, contrasted with that of faith, trust and love. Built on a curious premise, developed at an irresistible pace and filled with twists that are not quite unexpected but shocking nonetheless, "Child 44" is an absorbing and rewarding book...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 02, 2011 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked it. As much as you can like a novel about a serial child killer in soviet Russia. The setting was bleak but it was engaging and interesting.... reminded me a wee tiny bit of Stieg Larsson's trilogy. Worth a read if you want to be really grateful for your current life/style as well as catch up on a bit of history.

like 1 like · see review

Jan 31, 2009 Colin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: junk-food-lit

Meh. Promotional book I got from Borders. Thriller set in Stalinist (and immediately post-Stalinist) Soviet Union. Not bad, but not great, certainly.

like 3 likes · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Movie News - Casting for the characters...	1	17	May 08, 2013 02:09am
THE LISTS: Novel 2 100%	1	6	Jan 08, 2013 04:13pm
THE LISTS: Novel 2 90%	1	2	Jan 08, 2013 03:17pm
THE LISTS: Novel 2 80%	1	1	Jan 08, 2013 02:52pm
THE LISTS: Novel 2 70%	1	1	Jan 08, 2013 02:30pm
THE LISTS: Novel 2 60%	1	1	Jan 08, 2013 02:27pm

combine
Other Editions (72)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

2 comments

Add a comment

Genres

Mystery

282 users

Historical Fiction

281 users

Thriller

227 users

Mystery > Crime

148 users

Cultural > Russia

114 users

Suspense

49 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

45 users

Book Club

40 users

Adventure

22 users

Mystery > Detective

18 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Tom Rob Smith

Tom Rob Smith (born 1979) is an English writer. The son of a Swedish mother and an English father, Smith was raised in London where he lives today. After graduating from Cambridge University in 2001, he completed his studies in Italy, studying creative writing for a year. After these studies, he worked as a scriptwriter.

His first novel, Child 44, about a series of child murders in Stalinist Russia...more

More about Tom Rob Smith...

Books by Tom Rob Smith

Child 44 and The Secret Speech: Digital Omnibus Edition

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Child 44

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Child 44

“His hate wasn't professional; it was an obsession, a fixation, as if unrequited love had grown awful, twisted into something ugly.” — 3 people liked it

“To stand up for someone was to stitch your fate into the lining of theirs.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Child 44
avg rating	preview: Child 44 Goodreads rating: 4.00 (18671 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4040988-child-44?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347583506l/4040988.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4040988-child-44?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith[/url]

Child 44 (Leo Demidov #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website