Book Review – Tom Rob Smith’s “Child 44”
What would scare you more: a serial killer preying on children, or an oppressive government that will send you to the gulags (or execute you) if there’s a hint that you may disagree with its politics?
Combine them both and you get a thrilling murder mystery novel set in 1953 Soviet Russia.
“Child 44” stars Leo Demidov, a hero of the Great Patriotic War and rising star within the State Security Force (MGB). His wife is one of the best looking women in town, and his parents are set living in a spacious apartment. But if your name was on a list, Leo and his men would kick open your door, arrest you in the middle of the night, and haul you off to the local processing center.
But when Leo noticed that children were being killed in a similar manner throughout the countryside, his hunt for the killer meant that there was a flaw in the so-called “perfect” living conditions in Soviet Russia. Crime and serial killers were part of the corrupt Western society, not in the flawless world of Communism.
The world of Soviet Russia was one of fierce loyalty to the Communist Party. Everyone else (whether you actually were against the government or not) was considered to be a traitor and enemy of the State. Depending on how the MGB arresting officer felt, you were either shot on sight or hauled off to the processing center to sign a confession, often after hours of torture. After that was the quick sentencing and trip to a gulag, a brutal prison system that people rarely left alive.
One of the philosophies in Communism is that everybody is equal, no one person is treated differently than another (unless you knew of somebody in a position of power, of course). The government provided your housing and health care. Teachers didn’t learn the names of their students for fear of later having to name them during an interrogation. Standing out in your community was considered a dangerous idea as nearly anything non-standard could result in an MGB investigation. If any member of your family was intentionally killed to prevent an enemy from advancing upon the country, then that was viewed by the State as an acceptable loss.
You never questioned the wisdom of the government. Ever.
In the story, Leo witnesses first hand how the government covered up the brutal death of a young boy. His parents knew that he was murdered, but Leo was ordered to instruct them that their belief was wrong and his real cause of death was being run over by a train. Never mind the evidence or witness. It was an accidental death. Case closed.
But when Leo noticed a second child murdered in a similar fashion, and watched as his MGB superiors forced an innocent person to take the blame and later be executed, Leo saw a flaw in the system. The very system that he so rigorously enforced and had complete faith in was in fact flawed, and his superiors wanted nothing to do with correcting it. Correcting the system meant that you were against the system and therefore a traitor to the Fatherland.
It doesn’t take long for Leo to turn against the system, putting not only his life but the life of his wife and his parents on the line to hunt down and find the killer of children. The story takes a few twists and turns through the Russian countryside as Leo’s world is turned completely upside down, not knowing who he can trust and if MGB agents are waiting around the next bend.
As a whole the murder mystery part of the story isn’t bad. I’m not a huge fan of crime stories myself. What captured my interest was more of the setting of the story rather than a sadistic killer preying on children.
The Soviet Russia of the early 1950s that Smith paints is absolutely vivid and horrific. It’s hard to imagine that such a cold and brutal world did in fact exist. That’s part of what makes this story so gripping. Yes, the setting is very much real, and yes, millions of Russians died under the watch of Joseph Stalin.
Be warned though: the story does get graphic at times when it comes to the subjects of cannibalism and the murder of children.
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These reviews and much more are available at my other website, Chamber of Reviews!