Beginning Child 44 you will find yourself wrapped in a blanket of Soviet snow and ice, drawn inside a world of intrigue where people torture and kill in the name of their government. Although this crime fiction was shortlisted for a Costa First Novel award, I would say it is closer to guilty pleasure than literary masterpiece.

Although the murderer’s motivation was not entirely convincing to me, it was no worse than what is regularly accepted on crime TV shows these days. There was also a sense at times, particularly during action scenes, that it was being written as a screenplay rather than a novel. Actions are recorded, one after another, without exposition or time spent dwelling on anything other than the movements of the people involved. So it’s not like Ian McEwan’s writing, whereby an action is spun out for pages, recording the inner emotions of characters, creating the scene, and giving weight and meaning to each action. Action scenes fly by in an instant.

However, despite these (possible) flaws, this is still a compelling narrative, a page-turner, full of action and interesting characters. I would heartily recommend it to people who don’t regularly read because of its easy accessibility. ( )

Child 44 is the beautifully structured, suspenseful account of a servant of stalinist Russia investigating a series of child murders. Leo Demidov, a member of the feared state police must confront the inhumanity and injustice of the society he serves: to allege muder is tantamount to questioning the communist system, to question the system is tantamount to protracted suicide. This is a thrilling and gritty novel: thoroughly researched and flawlessly excecuted. Rob Smith is an exciting new author: his writing is disciplined and fresh. ( )

In Stalinist Russia in the early 1950’s crime was unthinkable. The State declared it was a worker’s paradise, crime could not exist in such a paradise. To even suggest it was considered treason, and punishable by imprisonment, transportation or death. Under such a cloak, a serial murderer can carry on his mission with very little interference. Such is the premise of Child 44.

But this book is so much more than a crime novel. We learn what living in Communist Russia meant for millions of people. Fit in, don’t be different, don’t be noticed. Some, like the main character, Leo Demidov tell themselves it’s all for the greater good, that lying, spying, and even torture and murder can all be justified if, in the long run, it helps to secure the State.

When a jealous co-worker accuses Leo’s wife of being a spy, Leo tries to follow the party line, he spies on her, he searches her belongings, but he is morally shaken and comes to realize that this is a flawed system, where innocence means nothing, those with power can bring about the downfall of anyone.

Leo stands by his wife and declares her innocent, but even so they are arrested and interrogated. Leo is demoted from being a Security Ministry Officer, he and his wife are transported to a small factory town. Finding evidence of a serial-killer, Leo is forced to work outside the law to try and bring down this child killer all the while not knowing where to turn or in whom to trust.

That Child 44 is the first novel by Tom Rob Smith is hard to believe. Every word, every sentence is sheer perfection. He captures the bleak futility of everyday life, he describes the food, the clothes, the working conditions so clearly, I found myself repeatedly looking up to ensure myself I wasn’t living under such terrible straits. Even his use of the bone-numbing Russian winter to set the atmosphere for the first half of the book is perfection. I will long remember this beautifully written, multi-layered story. ( )

This is Russia in the early 1950s, the last years of Stalin's life. A monster is on the loose and this heinous criminal is preying on children. The government does not understand or believe in serial killers, this cannot happen in their perfect society, so after each horrific crime, some poor soul is rounded up, tried and executed. The killer continues, unabated, until a young police investigator finally pieces it together but in an unexpected twist the officer's life quickly spins out control and he becomes a fugitive. This is thriller writing at it's very best. You will find yourself turning pages with a giddy mixture of anticipation and fear! ( )

Tom Rob Smith’s unusual debut novel was nominated for a number of awards. He uses the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1950s as the backdrop, and incorporates elements of the real case of serial killer Andrei Chikatilo into the plot.

Leo Demidov, a decorated war hero, is unswervingly loyal to the State. The body of a young boy is found on train tracks in Moscow, and his family is convinced the child was murdered. Leo's superiors order him to ignore this information and, while he obeys, he senses there is more to the case. Action moves quickly: combining elements of jealousy, suspicious paranoia and human survival where reality is defined and enforced by the State. In this atmosphere, Leo is disgraced and exiled to a distant town where more murdered children are discovered.

There are really two books here – one works; and the other doesn’t. The first half of the book deals with living in Stalin's post WW2 tyranny and is very well done, even if a bit wordy. The problem arises when Smith tries to work in a love story among a police procedural-type investigation of the inexplicable murders of a large number of children. The story of Raisa and Leo is too forced and too pat to be interesting and doesn't add anything to the story but length. The bad guy, Vasili, is a cartoonish stereotype of a WW2 Gestapo agent. He does everything but sneer and twirl his moustache. The implausibility of this part of the story and of much of the action increases exponentially as Leo's search heads towards its climax. In the end, things were wrapped up, but not very neatly; questions were left unanswered (the reason behind the method of the murders, for one), and some of the reasoning and solutions seemed convenient rather than likely.

it is clear that Tom Rob Smith can write well and tell a story. But he really needs a good editor. There are about 250 pages of a good mystery novel stuck in the mud of this interminable 450 page book. Having said that, I’ll take a chance on his next offering to see if he’s found one. ( )