Afternoon everyone- I recently hit 10,000 page views on this blog so thank you so much to anyone who has ever taken the time to browse through some of my posts or read this blog! Today's post (which may be one of two depending on how much I get done today!) is a book review- of the first book in Tom Rob Smith's series about Leo Demidov, an agent for the MGB in the post Stalin Soviet Union.
The book details Leo's fall from grace as he refuses to denounce his wife Raisa. In a society where 'there is no crime,' Leo begins to uncover a gruesome trail of child murders that are being blamed on the homeless, desperate and insane members of society. Leo suspects that they are in fact being carried out by a single person, and despite being disgraced and exiled to a small town a million miles away from his home in Moscow.
The novel opens with a flash back in time to the child hood of two boys, caught in severe famine to the extent that when one of the boys spots a cat- the two are sent to capture it and bring it home for their mother. However, one of the boys is apparently killed and the younger son runs home to his Mother empty handed. The book then jumps forward to post Stalin S.U where Leo Demidov is being sent to deal with the parents of a young boy who they believe has been murdered. Leo is ordered to hush them up, and is given a report that states that the boy was merely killed by a train.
The novel then progresses at lightning speed as Leo is forced to denounce his wife, which he refuses to do- the couple, whose marriage is falling apart, are then sent to a tiny town where Leo is demoted to being a mere member of the police- which in a society with no crime, are extremely unnecessary, poorly paid and in general a disgrace. He finds a child killed in a similar fashion to the young boy in Moscow, and begins a hunt that then leads him to find more than 50 similar crimes, hidden across the country. The young boy from Moscow, whose family Leo first dealt with- proves to be Child 44 (hence the title!)
This book is really, really cool- it has just the right mix of criminal minds creepy-ness, mixed with James Bond style action and a hero who is far, far from perfect- but is still kind of endearing anyway. I absolutely loved it, and it was recommended to me by a male friend so I know that it will appeal to any boys who may be reading this.
I've developed a keen interest in books set around early-mid 1900's Russia and Germany, and this is one of the best novels I've read in ages. It's so fast paced, and it truly keeps you hooked from the first to the last page and without giving away any more than I already have- the twist at the end is so unbelievably cool (a little far fetched but also far from impossible) and it actually had me going 'OH, OH MY GOD!' which is unusual. I definitely did not see the ending coming.
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There are another two books in the series, and while it's proving hard from me to find the second book- The Secret Speech, I am in possession of the third novel, Agent 66. In addition, there's a film based on Child 44 in the pipeline with Tom Hardy playing Leo, which I only discovered when I did my research for this post. That is definitely a film I will be going to see.
Characters- 5/5
Plot- 5/5 (I would give this more, honestly.)
Overall- 5/5
I'll be back with a post really soon, perhaps even tonight if you're all lucky. Thank you again for 10,000 hits!
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