On My Nightstand - Child 44

Child 44 (436) by – Tom Rob Smith
Format: Borrowed book

On the back cover:

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 innocent into the Gulags of to their executions.  Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force.  And no MGD officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic the 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 the 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 believe 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 – mush less a serial killer – is in the midst.  Exiled from his home, with only his wife remaining as his side, Leo must find and stop a criminal that the State won’t even admit exists.

My thoughts:

I really liked this book.

As you know, I like historical fiction and this book is set in the mid-50’s in Russia; a place and time that I have never read about, I found it fascinating.

I also thought the book was really well written, we were kept guessing about certian things throughout.  Smith did a great job in letting the reader understand how different a time it was; where human life is some ways had the same importance that it has today, but for the most part back then it was nothing to kill someone.

Anyway, I thought it was a great book and well worth the read.

My rating: 4 ½ out of 5.