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by Tom Rob Smith

ISBN: 0446402389
Author: Tom Rob Smith
Language: English
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April 29, 2008)
Pages: 448
Category: Genre Fiction
Subcategory: Literature
Rating: 4.2
Votes: 915
Size Fb2: 1239 kb
Size ePub: 1670 kb
Size Djvu: 1574 kb
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Tom Rob Smith Genre Fiction English

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Part of Leo Demidov series by Tom Rob Smith. Except as permitted under the .

Part of Leo Demidov series by Tom Rob Smith. Grand Central Publishing. Hachette Book Group USA. 237 Park Avenue. Visit our Web site at ww. .

International bestselling author Tom Rob Smith graduated from Cambridge University in 2001 and lives in London. His novels in the Child 44 trilogy were New York Times bestsellers and international publishing sensations. Among its many honors, Child 44 won the ITW 2009 Thriller Award for Best First Novel, The Strand Magazine 2008 Critics Award for Best First Novel, the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Series: The Child 44 Trilogy (Book 1). Paperback: 480 pages

Child 44, Tom Rob Smith Child 44 (published in 2008) is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith. This is the first novel in a trilogy featuring former MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union. This novel, the first in a trilogy, takes inspiration from the crimes of Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, the Butcher of Rostov, and the Red Ripper. Chikatilo was convicted of and executed for committing 52 murders Child 44, Tom Rob Smith Child 44 (published in 2008) is a thriller novel by British writer Tom.

Tom Rob Smith (born 1979) is an English author, screenwriter and producer. The son of a Swedish mother and an English father, both antiques dealers, Smith was born and raised in South London. He went to school at Dulwich College between the years of 1987 and 1997. Following his graduation from St John's College, Cambridge, in 2001, he received the Harper Wood Studentship for English Poetry and Literature and continued his Creative Writing studies for a year at Parvin University, in Italy.

Stalinism provides Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 the backdrop for a gripping detective story, says Angus Macqueen. Tom Rob Smith's debut borrows something from both these authors, but Robert Harris's Fatherland is perhaps the best comparison. Just as Harris used a detective to unpick the true nature of Nazi totalitarianism, so Smith uses a murder mystery to explore Stalinism.

Child 44, page 26. part of Leo Demidov Series. If he discovered that there were no similar cases, no other murdered children, then he could be sure that the brutal punishments he’d been instrumental in bringing about had been fair, just, and appropriate

Child 44, page 26. If he discovered that there were no similar cases, no other murdered children, then he could be sure that the brutal punishments he’d been instrumental in bringing about had been fair, just, and appropriate.

A propulsive, relentless page-turner.A terrifying evocation of a paranoid world where no one can be trusted.A surprising, unexpected story of love and family, of hope and resilience.CHILD 44 is a thriller unlike any you have ever read."There is no crime."Stalin's Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals. But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov. A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated. 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, his world turned upside down, and every belief he's ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family 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. Exiled from his home, with only his wife, Raisa, remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists.Tom Rob Smith graduated from Cambridge in 2001 and lives in London. Child 44 is his first novel.

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I first saw the movie based on Child 44. Intrigued, I wanted to read the book. So glad I did--great story, lots of suspense, a real page turner. I enjoy historical fiction, because I want to learn something new as I'm enjoying a story. I was born before Stalin's death and grew up during the Cold War, a very fearful time I well remember as a child. Most students of history know about the horrid days of Stalin's USSR--but to really understand the terror, it takes a book that tells a story of realistic characters that flesh out what those times were really like. Child 44 is a book that does that well. I'll be purchasing the other two books in the series, knowing that the era of Nikita Khrushchev has begun at the end of Child 44. Highly recommend!!!

Xtani

Child 44 is a book I never would have picked up on my own. It's this month's book club selection. When I began reading it, I had no knowledge of what I might be getting into or even what the book was about. The first chapter turned my stomach, painting a picture of starvation, bitter cold and fear in 1933 Russia. Honestly, I thought I was headed for a twisted version of The Hunger Games.

But I hung in there. The story fast forwards twenty years. Leo is a rising star in the MGB, the state security force. He's assigned to look into the death of child, whose family insists he was murdered. The communist state brushes the child's death off as an accident. Leo is a war hero, who loves his country, is loyal and follows the state party line. His wife Raisa, is a teacher who goes along with the state as a way to survive. When Leo discovers that a serial killer is on the loose, he and Raisa go against the state and set out to find the criminal.

Child 44 is full of twists and turns. It's a page turner, so be prepared. What struck me the most however, is the range of emotion that this story could evoke. The evil torture of the government on its citizens disgusted me. The cunning of a killer toward children made me cringe. And the tenderness of the love story between Leo and Raisa, brought tears to my eyes.

What a book can make me feel is the gauge I use to rate a story. After the first ten pages, I never thought I could make it through this book. Since it's so rare that I don't finish a book, I kept going. Child 44 is a wonderfully written thriller. The story's "Ah Hah" moment is perfectly placed, releasing some of the tension, but not revealing all the answers the reader is anxious to learn. Mr. Smith's writing style is superb. The subject matter, Stalinist Russia, is a tough one especially for someone like me, who has always lived in a free society. Child 44 opened my eyes to the reality of life in a communist state in the 1950's.

And that's what I love about book club. I'm forced to go outside my comfort zone and learn something new, which is a good thing.

GoodLike

This book perfectly captures the paranoia and propaganda of counties controlled by communist parties, such as Russia and PR China.

I was surprised by the many similarities of these two countries. Even today, I still hear people say that they missed Chairman Mao's time, because of the low crime rate. What a joke!

I was born after all of the dark days of China and was raised by my grandparents. So many surviving stories told by my grandparents during their struggle under the controls of Mao's China. For instance, the stories about being unable to trust anyone, including your direct family members. My grandma had been asked to denounce my grandfather directly by the communist party officer after my grandfather was arrested for the crime of being an anti revolutionary. His name was cleared a few years before I was born which was in 70's.

If you want to understand the emotional struggles of these times, read the book.

If you want to read a good thriller about a serial killer, read this book as well.

Highly recommend!

Anicasalar

I know I write a lot of positive reviews. I rarely write a review if I didn’t like a book, or didn’t finish it. If the story entertained me, and the writing was decent, I’ll give a book at least three stars, sometimes four. Rarely, however, do I come across a book like this one: eloquently written, fascinating, expertly paced, with a well-researched setting, and believably flawed, yet heroic characters. I picked this book up because the library’s mystery book club is reading it for February’s meeting. I looked at the number of pages, and figured I’d better start it early in the month, so I could finish it in time. Then I raced through it. Finished it in about three days. I read a hundred pages at a whack, at least, sometimes more.
The setting is a story in itself: newly communist Russia under Stalin’s rule (1930’s through 50’s). The government proclaimed that the crime rate was exceptionally low, so it had to be. The police decide that a child’s death is accidental, even though his mouth has been filled with something resembling dirt, and his stomach has been surgically removed. The father is MGB (Moscow police), and he insists his four-year-old son, Arkady, was murdered, but the other officers close the case, labeling it an accidental death. The child was playing by the railroad tracks and must have been hit by a train. “Efficiency was far more important than the truth.”
Leo, a detective, and the main character, goes along to get along. He understands and complies with the code. The job of detecting consists of chasing down a suspect and torturing him into confessing.
Due to the state’s insistence that there is an exceptionally low crime rate, and the efficiency with which any crimes are solved and criminals punished, several child murders are “solved”, and not connected. Arkady’s is an accident, another murder is blamed on a disabled teenager, another on a homosexual. People are rounded up, and either imprisoned or executed.
There’s a serial killer on the loose, and he’s murdering children at an alarming rate. Even if the state wasn’t in denial about his rampage, these cases would be difficult to solve in a world with no technology, but the fact that law enforcement is not allowed to use common sense and even rudimentary detection techniques makes the apprehension of this killer impossible. Until…
Enter Leo and his wife, Raisa, an elementary school teacher. That’s all I’m going to write about the plot, except that it’s ingenious and captivating. I already ordered the other two books in the trilogy.