just before I begin, I'm letting you know that i'm not posting reviews or anything about the books in the order that I read them in, I'll be posting about them in any old random order, much the same as my selection when reading them,
ok book number one,
Child44 by Tom Rob Smith, published by Simon and Schuster
and is available from amazon in paperback or hardback or from play.com in paperback or hardback
Child44 is the 1st book by Tom Rob Smith, and in it, he captures the grittyness of the time, the fear of being denounced, be it by your work mates if they wanted your job, by your neighbours if you didnt get on with them, basically in Stalinist Russia -when this book is set, you could be denounced at anytime by anyone famliy member or stranger alike,
The book follows the life of Leo Demidov and his wife Raisa, now I'm not going to give you a blow by blow description of the plot line and risk spoiling what was a very well written and enjoyable book, all I will say is that the author manages to bridge that gap that some authors dont even see, between reader and book, be it the descriptions of the and feeling of paranoia that the book conveys so well, Or the way it grips you and draws you in, If there was a bad thing I had to say about this book its that it wasnt long enough lol either that or I should have paced myself lol rather than reading over the space of a couple of days
Ive not read much cold war fiction, infact I think it would be fair in saying that this is the first one, and even though it can be tough going, its rewarding and ultimatly very satisfying and while you may think you know where the story is going trust me its not where you think.....
child44 is a muder mystery / thriller in the classic sense of the silver screen, its got all that you'd need for a rip roaring family denouncing good time, you've the reluctant hero, his wife and their life all get cast into the wind, and all the time laws are being broken in the quest for the truth -laws which could get you executed or worse you could be sent to the gulags in siberia.
its a murder mystery which is set at a time when murder isnt just illegal and not allowed, its denied being recognised as happening full stop. can Leo Demidov the loyal MGB Officer, save more innocent lives by putting his own life and that of his wife Raisa at risk?
read the book and find out its worth it!
