Child 44

By: Tom Rob Smith

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Thriller and Suspense, 2009

Thriller Award Winner, Best First Novel, 2009

It is a society that is, officially, a paradise. Superior to the decadent West, Stalin's Soviet Union is a haven for its citizens, 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 even admit exists.

©2008 Tom Rob Smith (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Child 44 is a remarkable debut novel - inventive, edgy and relentlessly gripping from the first page to the last." (Scott Turow)

Wait to start listening until you have time...

...or you won't be doing what needs done. Stark, intense and adult themed but not vulgar or profane. I loved the complex characters set in history that was new and beautifully shown.

Very "Les Miserable: like....

A great read! Well thought out with a deep plot and interesting characters. Should be required reading for anyone who who thinks the United States should continue on it's current Socialist path...... Enjoy, Comrades;)

Child 44 (Unabridged)

I have been a member of Audible since 2007. I read this book in November of 2008. I now have over 400 books in my audible library and this book remains undefeated as one of my top five listens.

I chose this book because I love mysteries and thrillers but it turned out to be so much more than that.

This book is so enlightening as to the reality of what living in a depressed society is like. I was growing up in America as a child of the same age as the characters in this book and none of us ever had a clue how lucky we are and what freedom really means.
I feel that anyone that does not appreciate how fortunate we are to live in this free country of ours should read this book.

A chilling thriller

I’m not normally a big fan of crime novels, but I enjoy atypical settings. Child 44 takes place in the Soviet Union of the early 1950s, a time when state repression is at its worst, and even the smallest misstep in one’s work assignments or daily life can be construed as treason. State agent Leo Demidov has spent his career tracking down alleged enemies of the people, but when he encounters a gruesome series of child murders, it is made clear to him that there is nothing to investigate. Violent crime simply Does Not Happen in the Soviet Union, a place where the needs of citizens are met. Then, Leo’s own loyalty is put to a harsh test, and he realizes that many of his convictions have been illusions. Soon, only one way remains to redeem himself as a true servant of his country: to stop the murderer. But at what cost?

At its best, Child 44 is a gripping, page-turner of a book. Tom Rob Smith doesn’t spare readers the horror of a paranoid government apparatus that never admits error, and is more concerned about finding scapegoats for crimes than solving them. Early chapters convey the terrible choice citizens must make when faced with state scrutiny: betray a friend or colleague, or risk being seen as an accomplice to whatever wrong that person eventually confesses to (and they all confess). There is the constant danger of being denounced by a rival, and there are all the truths that go unspoken and unrealized even in intimate relationships. Once the action in the story gets going, it continues at a harrowing pace, with Leo and his wife only inches from the machine’s blades, not sure if they can trust each other.

However, it becomes pretty obvious that this is the first novel of a young writer. The characters are thinly written and their motives and emotions not altogether convincing. For the first half, I enjoyed the tension of the story and just accepted characters’ actions, but things feel more and more contrived as the book continues. I just didn’t buy the rationale of the killer or the endgame with this party -- it didn’t feel like the author had done much research into how psychological pathologies really work, and there were a few too many convenient coincidences.

Still, Child 44 is a brisk, stay-in-your-seat read, and uses its setting well. If all the glowing user reviews on audible are an indication, the writing’s probably better than the average crime thriller (again, not my genre). Audio narrator Dennis Boutsikaris does a good job with Russian accents. However, for my money, there are recent novels that are set in totalitarian countries and written with more lyricism and skill; two that come to mind are The Orphan Master’s Son (North Korea) and City of Thieves (WWII Russia). Not that these books were necessarily realistic, but I enjoyed them.

Irresistible listening

The narration is top notch and the story ...while a difficult listen at times..always was compelling. I found myself sitting in the driveway way too long not wanting to leave the story.

Inventive - Engaging

Loved the Soviet era setting, well-defined characters, and engaging mystery. Most original in a very good way. I'm not usually a 'mystery' type, however, this book more than delivered the goods. It has earned a spot high on my "recommended" list.

Thrilling and a great history lesson

First, this book is a great suspense novel. Second it depicts life under Stalin, a period of time known as the "great terror" extremely well. Well worth the price of admission.

Brutal

Not the most uplifting story -- nearly everything that happens is brutal and depressing. Nevertheless, it was informative ... great insight into what it was like to live in Stalinist Russia. And the narration was great. I highly recommend this one.

My gosh, what a ride.

Gut grab start to finish. Most unlikely premise the capstone of this story. Don't miss it.

A new author

Annie McKenzie


Loved This book. My husband and listened to this book together and were almost immediately
hooked. We had never listened to any other books by this author, so were going into the book with only the review and the sample. None of our friends had ever read the book or knew about the author. We both thought we were going to like the book, although it was not the kind of book my husband usually likes. He likes non-fiction, historical books, and although I enjoy those type of books also, I do enjoy a well written crime, thriller books, however those books need a good narrator for me to really like them. This book was extremely well written and the narrator was one of the best we had ever heard. We later found out this was the author's first book but we will most certainly be on the look out for the next book by this author. If you want an excellent crime type book,give this one a listen, we don't think you will be disappointed.