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Tom Rob Smith
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Child 44 Paperback – 19 Feb. 2009

by Tom Rob Smith (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 12,856 ratings
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In Stalin's Soviet Union, crime does not exist. But still millions live in fear. The mere suspicion of disloyalty to the State, the wrong word at the wrong time, can send an innocent person to his execution. Officer Leo Demidov, an idealistic war hero, believes he's building a perfect society. But after witnessing the interrogation of an innocent man, his loyalty begins to waver, and when ordered to investigate his own wife, Raisa, Leo is forced to choose where his heart truly lies. Then the impossible happens. A murderer is on the loose, killing at will, and every belief Leo has ever held is shattered. Denounced by his enemies and exiled from home, with only Raisa by his side, he must risk everything to find a criminal that the State won't admit even exists. On the run, Leo soon discovers the danger isn't from the killer he is trying to catch, but from the country he is trying to protect.
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Child 44 Trilogy
  2. Print length
    480 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Pocket Books
  5. Publication date
    19 Feb. 2009
  6. ISBN-10
    1847391591
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1847391599
  8. See all details
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About the Author

Tom Rob Smith is the author of the acclaimed Child 44 trilogy. Child 44 itself was a global publishing sensation, selling over two million copies. It was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize and won the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His most recent novel, The Farm, was a Number One international bestseller. Tom also writes for television and won a Writer's Guild Award for best adapted series and an Emmy and Golden Globe for best limited series with American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books (19 Feb. 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847391591
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847391599
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 12,856 ratings

About the author

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Tom Rob Smith

Tom Rob Smith

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Born in 1979 to a Swedish mother and an English father, Tom Rob Smith's bestselling novels in the Child 44 trilogy were international publishing sensations. Among its many honours, Child 44 won the International Thriller Writer Award for Best First Novel, the Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer, the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the inaugural Desmond Elliot Prize. Child 44 is now a major motion picture starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Gary Oldman.

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
12,856 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

M. Stevens
5.0 out of 5 stars Unsettling but riveting read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2010
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The book commences after the Russian Revolution, with the disappearance of Pavel, who had been out chasing a cat to feed his family. The book then jumps thirty years to post WWII, with the Soviet Union in the grip of Stalin's reign of terror, with everyone scared of the state; partners in life living in fear that their other half will be spying on them on behalf of the state. Amongst this, within the communist "utopia", a serial killer appears to be on the loose, targeting children. In a country where murder simply cannot happen, due to equality, this is refused to be believed as the work of a lone individual.

Enter Leo, a member of the security forces, who due to circumstances, is down-graded to a member of the militia, who essentially becomes a one-man murder squad, staking not only his life, but the life of his wife and parents on his quest to track down the supposed killer.

I found this a real page turner from start to the very end, despite, extremely uncomfortable reading about the way in which the Soviet State treated its inhabitants within the last 100 years. There is a real sense of terror in doing anything which the state may frown upon, whilst the descriptions of the cells in Lubyanka are terriying, as is the camphor oil treatment handed out to certain individuals. Characters are well developed and almost believable, although our hero is a bit of a "Jack Bauer", seemingly undefeatable, despite numerous attempts by the Soviets to bring him down (indeed Smith states that 24 was an inspiration for his writing).

Highly recommended, if you are able to stomach uncomfortable scenes.
2 people found this helpful
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Book 1981
4.0 out of 5 stars Child 44
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2010
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I read this book once before when it was first released, and I was balled over - An experience that was only slightly muted on the second visit. This is an amazing effort for a first book - Sophisticated for a who-done-it, psychological and thorough, the pages turn themselves as we are taken not only through the sick mind of a child-killer, but also through the society of tyrannical post-war Communist Russia. The details of this life are perfect and bear testament to the research Rob Smith must have done, resulting in an authentic, vibrant and convincing tale.

So convincing and vibrant, in fact, that I found myself skimming over some of the more grotesque descriptions of torture and murder - If you have a delicate stomach this might not be the book for you. But these descriptions add to the drama of this gritty story, and further authenticates it by the knowledge that it might not be very far from what actually happened at the time.

The characters are easy to like and easy to recognise, easy on the eye and human enough to allow for some hero-identification. The dashing hero Leo is the perfect bad-guy turned good and his beautiful wife Raisa does a very convincing ice-queen thaw-out.

And in the midst of this desperate scramble for justice and flight from prosecution, is a very sweet, if perhaps a tiny bit rushed, love story.

A few things bothered me; Quite often the narration loses it's flow and becomes a little clumsy and trite. Leo's introspection was sometimes a little boring and overstated what was already clear, and the ending was a little too rushed and a little incongruous compared to the rest of the book - But all minor details which did not stop me from devouring this book in a matter of days.

We have suspense, realism, romance, psychology, a handsome hero, and a breathless chase all neatly together in one very good book which I am willing to bet will be turned into a film in the not too distant future!
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Traffic
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome thriller set in Communist Russia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2012
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I had never read any of this author's books when I picked up Child 44 but it sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a go. It's about a disgraced Russian MGB agent (sort of equivalent to MI5 in the UK - domestic security) who is shipped off to a menial militia job in a small town in the wilderness of Russia after he refuses to denounce his wife as a spy. Once there he starts investigating a series of murders of children in which the MO is always the same; piece of string tied around the child's ankle, completely naked with clothes folded up a little distance away. Mouth full of ground up bark and stomach completely cut out and removed. The Russian government refuse to believe it is the work of one man but simply accuses any person it can get hold of for each murder. The agent becomes the hunted of the government as he hunts the child killer. There is a little twist at the end which becomes obvious as the story draws to its conclusion (deliberately.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel in which it is clear that the author has done his research and well written. I would recommend it to anybody who likes an easy to read thriller particularly if you are interested in stories set in communist Russia in the era of Stalin and Khrushchev.

I just found out that this is the first in a trilogy involving Leo Demidov, the main character, the second being  The Secret Speech and the third being  Agent 6 .

On the strength of how much I liked the first book, Child 44, I have just purchased the final two in the trilogy.

Note on the Kindle version: Great! No proplems whatsoever.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Michael Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping tale fills in the movie
Reviewed in Canada on 14 August 2022
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I found it difficult to put this read down. What a horrible human being , so much killing. Leo and his wife are heroes in my books. Definitely recommend this book to all. Filled in so much that just could not be in the movie it would have to be 5 hours long!!!!!!
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Breusa Pier Giorgio
5.0 out of 5 stars Libro "child 44"
Reviewed in Italy on 28 May 2022
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Letto versione italiana. Ordinato questo in lingua inglese, da regalare. Thriller storico avvincente. Consegna velocissima. Libro giunto in condizioni perfette.
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Mayya Zakharia
5.0 out of 5 stars Parfait
Reviewed in France on 2 September 2020
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Livre en bon état, rapidement parvenu.
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Afelsky
3.0 out of 5 stars Começo ruim mas depois melhora
Reviewed in Brazil on 14 February 2018
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O começo do livro é muito chato, demora a ficar bom de verdade. Se vc passar por esta fase, Depois o mistério fica interessante
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Just Another Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
Reviewed in India on 2 December 2018
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I enjoyed this mystery set in Russia during the 1950's. What a bleak and dark place filled with hopelessness and deception. The characters are complicated and the plot is full of suspense in a world where the main characters have to make hard choices and battle more than one nemesis.I don't want to tell too much about the plot, because there are lots of surprises. I'll just say that all is not as it seems at first, and the twists are not predictable. Mystery lovers and those who like historical fiction should find this book a great read and very thought provoking. I highly recommend Child 44.
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