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Child 44

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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.

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About the author

Born in 1979 to a Swedish mother and an English father, Tom Rob Smith's bestselling novels in the Child 44 trilogy were international publishing sensations. Among its many honors, Child 44 won the International Thriller Writer Award for Best First Novel, the Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer, the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the inaugural Desmond Elliot Prize. The film starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Gary Oldman was released in 2015. Tom's most recent novel, The Farm, was a widely acclaimed #1 bestseller and is currently being adapted for film.

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What people think about Child 44

4.1

156

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163

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Reader reviews

Wow! This fast-paced, gripping, crime thriller was extremely hard to put down. From the first page I was hooked. I always enjoy books set in Russia, and this one was no exception. Brutal at times with strong characters, a serial killer, political corruption and twists galore, "Child 44" paints a bleat, frightening picture of communist Russia in the 1950s. A fabulous read!
A gripping and well-paced thriller - albeit gruesome, in which Tom Rob Smith captures the zeitgeist of life in the USSR under Stalin. Officer Leo Demidov has his dreams shattered one after the other in the search for a serial killer.
Stalinist Russia of the 1950s is the setting for the crime thriller, Child 44. Security Ministry Officer Leo Demidov is a good man whose patriotism has led him to commit heinous acts against his fellow citizens "for the greater good" or so he tells himself. Lies, spying on friends and family, manufacturing evidence, even torture and murder are all acceptable as long as they help ensure the survival and security of Stalin's "workers' paradise". When he begins to suspect there is a serial killer on the loose, killing children across Russia, he's ordered to stop investigating. Leo is an idealistic war hero with a deeply held belief in the superiority of his country and the communist way of life. Before long he realizes he's just a cog in the flawed totalitarian regime.

When he refuses to denounce his wife, Raisa, as a traitor, he is demoted and humiliated. Even his parents are punished for his crime. He and Raisa are sent away from Moscow to the wastelands of the newly industrialized city of Voualsk. Here Leo and Raisa must work outside the law to find a killer in a political culture that doesn't even admit they exist, and already wants him dead.

The who-did-it ending disappointed me and made me feel a bit manipulated. But that is my only complaint for this incredibly stark and chilling story. In the end, Stalinist Russia was the real criminal as far as I'm concerned. The author's writing is austere and elegant. Ridley Scott has already bought the film rights, and is working on adapting this book into a movie. I'm on hold at the library for the next book in the trilogy and can't wait to find out what happens next.
When I first found this on the shelf, it had just come out. I was interested in unique crime fiction and this fit the bill.
I am not terribly much interested in historic Russia but the author sucked me into this world with his character. This is one of those books that you really should try. Give it 30 pages and see if you don't also get sucked in!
My only dislike was the ending. The climax was over much too quickly. A technical flaw that hopefully the author will correct in future novels.
In the words of Emily Dickinson, Child 44 is a brilliantly plotted novel that had me feeling "zero at the bone" many times. From its staggering depiction of Stalinist Russia to the blood-chilling meaning behind its title, Tom Rob Smith's book grabbed me by the throat and refused to turn me loose. The devastating things Stalin's government did to the minds and bodies of its people almost beggars belief, and I have to admit that I did read this book in small sips until about the two-thirds mark simply because I wasn't quite in the mood for such a depressing book. The sips may have been small, but they were very frequent because Smith knows how to tell a tale, and once Demidov's investigation hits its stride, there was no way I could put Child 44 down.However, this isn't merely a nose-to-the-window depiction of an era and an absorbing murder mystery. Smith's characterization is superb. Through the course of the book, Leo Demidov loses his innocence and grows up. His wife Raisa later shows depths undreamt of when readers first met her. The differences between city folk and country folk give readers hope for humanity, and there's a little girl named Nadya, who was probably my favorite character in the entire novel.Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 made me say "Wow!" more than once while reading it, and I'm certainly looking forward to continuing Leo's story in the rest of the trilogy.