Child 44 (Leo Demidov, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 08, 2019 Ashleigh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series-books

Set in the Stalin's Soviet Union, Child 44 follows Leo Demidov, a MGB officer who tends to lean more towards the morally right side of the spectrum. Some of his fellow officers do not. At the beginning of the book, Leo is searching for a spy and has been leading his men towards tracking the man down. Once they locate and interrogate the man, Leo believes the man is innocent but he is apprehended anyway and Leo's loyalty takes a hit. He is then ordered to investigate his own wife and after protes Set in the Stalin's Soviet Union, Child 44 follows Leo Demidov, a MGB officer who tends to lean more towards the morally right side of the spectrum. Some of his fellow officers do not. At the beginning of the book, Leo is searching for a spy and has been leading his men towards tracking the man down. Once they locate and interrogate the man, Leo believes the man is innocent but he is apprehended anyway and Leo's loyalty takes a hit. He is then ordered to investigate his own wife and after protesting her innocence, Leo and Risa are moved from Moscow to Voualsk as punishment.

Meanwhile, bodies of dead children have been showing up around Russia. The authorities do not believe the deaths are connected, and have been finding scapegoats to 'solve' the cases. When Leo comes across a case where an obviously innocent man was convicted of murdering a teenage girl, he decides to investigate the crimes secretly and find out just who is killing these children.

Been meaning to pick this up for a while because it has such a dark premise (and you know your girl loves some dark fiction) but just never gotten around to it. Glad I finally did read it, but it wasn't the amazing book I was hoping for.

So this book reminded me a lot of Fatherland, which I read earlier this year, purely because of the authority and government. Both books have a strong authority presence which is quick to persecute people if it is believed they are traitors or disloyal. Also, both books have a main character who is part of this authority, but not exactly the most devoted member. I know next to nothing about Russian history, excluding my limited knowledge about the Romanovs, so I enjoyed reading more about this period and what it was like living in that society.

It felt like this book was more about the society and time period, than the actual mystery. But the elements of the mystery we got I absolutely loved. Numerous times I gasped out loud while reading this book because of reveals. Reveals such as (view spoiler). Oh, so good.

This was an okay read, but if you're looking for a good mystery thriller, maybe try something else! ...more

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Apr 01, 2023 Maggie Shanley rated it liked it

Shelves: stephen-king-s-recommendations, suggested-for-me

Dark story that made me glad I do not live in Russia, especially under Stalin. Torture, deception, party politics and family drama on top of extreme poverty all cycle around the killing of many children. This is based on a true murderer, but I was interested in the formation of a homicide bureau and may read more about Leo and his family.

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