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)

Serial killer in 1950's Russia...

Good story, if accurate made me glad to be an American. Great, realistic narration. Evil and struggle throughout that was painful to listen to at times but luckily survival in the end.

Life in the USSR

This was an outstanding book, filled with the twists and turns that you'd expect from a thriller novel. What was truly outstanding, however, was the description of the USSR under Stalinist rule. It was an incredible, albeit horrifying, description of life in a police state. The performance was also outstanding. Boutsikaris did great justice to the various characters in the book.

Good

Starts slowly and finally picks up. It is a little frustrating but worth the read.

Amazing

This book was heart breaking but impossible to put down. Remarkable story and very well read! A must for anyone who likes to be at the edge of their seat.

Great book that makes humans focus

This sorry was very hard to listen to for the first 1/3rd since it went against everything I believe in. However, as the story grew so did the characters making this book a THRILL to listen to. It has a fantastic over arching plot with a wonderful mini sub plot. I would highly recommend this book!

The Beginning of Light

Even though the story is dated, Stalin era and after his death, it is still a powerful story with many insights into the mind set in the Soviet Union.

The story of the murders was fascinating and well done. I throughly enjoyed the listening experience.

GREAT child murder book!

Wonderfully written, ESPECIALLY if you like detailed accounting of young child murders! I gave it 5 stars because nobody reads the 1 star reviews. Don't buy it, it'll make you sick. Not really sure how someoone could make this stuff up?!

entertaining from the start

this audible book held my attention from start to finish. the narration was fantastic throughout the entire story.

Excellent, but not for the faint of heart

This is a remarkably well-written book that is a cut above typical detective genre fiction. It is hard to take though, between the graphic depiction of starvation among Russian peasants, the thorough exploration of the oppressiveness of the Soviet system, and the basic plot of a serial killer murdering dozens of children. The audio sample provided by Audible is a good representative excerpt.

The emotion that I most often felt throughout "Child 44" was sadness. Admittedly this is not what I normally feel or want to feel when enjoying a mystery or a thriller, and yet I recommend "Child 44" enthusiastically. The narration by Dennis Boutsikaris is superb. Upon finishing "Child 44," I purchased two other titles by Tom Rob Smith.

Difficult start but really pulls you in

I was concerned when I started listening to this book. Quite a slow start, then all of a sudden, you can't put it down.

I love historical novels that seem to put you right into the time and place. My favourites are Up Country and Pillars of the World. It also looks at serial killers in the context of the Post Stalinist Soviet Union.

The narrator had an East European accent which created the right context. The story developement and twists in the book were incredible.