Tracks through the snow

     Have you ever watched a film and been so involved in the action that when the tension gets too much you've gripped the edge of your seat and shouted "No!"at the screen?  That was exactly my response to the book I've just read. I ought to point out that I almost never read thrillers, I rarely read detective novels, but the two are combined in Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 to quite stunning effect, and if others are as good as this then I shall be a convert to the genre.

   Set in post-war Stalinist Russia, the book's central character is state security officer Leo Demidov, highly-trained, dedicated, loyal to Party objectives. In a regime where, officially, crime does not exist, Leo begins to suspect that the death of a child on Moscow railway tracks was not a tragic accident but a horrific murder. Unable to suppress his doubts, Leo is demoted and exiled to a town in the Urals where another child is found dead in circumstances identical to the first.

    What follows is an intriguing uncovering of the truth on different levels, levels which are apparently constantly shifting. Can Leo trust his wife, Raisa, or is she an enemy of the state? What of his fellow officers - which side are they really on? And as the child killings continue across the country, how can Leo possibly find the murderer?

    Tom Rob Smith draws together all the plot strands skillfully, plausibly, and the result is an assured and deeply engrossing novel. Though its subject-matter  - which is based on real events - is harsh and at times horrifying, it's not gratuitous and is sensitively handled. It is insightful, atmospheric and fascinating in its detail of life under the suppressive regime, but the human story stands out too, and as for suspense, well, there could hardly be more!

Comments

[Harriet]

I had never heard of this writer or his book until today when by chance I read an interview with him in a London free newspaper -- he has sold the film rights and bought himself a flat overlooking the river! And good luck to him I say -- the book sounds intriguing and I shall have a go.

[carol]

Thanks for the recommendation. I shall put this on my "to read" list and be sure to look out for it when it is published here.

[dovegreyreader]

Oh Karen, how could you! I had no plans to go to Russia on my travels just yet but this book arrived and now you've written this!I've got past the boling up of the shoes for dinner on the first page and like you I think I may find it all unputdownable.
In complete contrast and equally unputdownable, I'm also reading The Concert Pianist by Conrad Walker; a gifted piano maestro has a nervous breakdown just as he's about to perform to a packed concert hall, the elite and rarified world of classical music exposed and dissected and I think you might like this. There we're quits:-)

[dovegreyreader]

That should of course be 'boiling' shoes though perhaps boling renders them more palatable? And even worse Conrad WILLIAMS not Walker, sorry.

[Ali]

Hi guys - Believe the Hype as I read it last month and it is UNREAL - links below for more info

Ali

http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/interviews/2008/tr_smith/tr_smith.html

http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2008/02/birth-of-child.html

http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2008/01/from-russia-with-death.html

[Deirdre]

Today I found a copy in the English Language section of a nearby bookstore! This is not my usual reading choice either but I am looking forward to a good read. Thanks for the title.

[adele geras]

The very good-looking Tom Rob Smith is only 28, but that's by the by! The book is quite as exciting as everyone says and I started it yesterday and am having great difficulty putting it down too BUT BUT BUT (non-pedantic readers don't need to go on!) why was a decision taken to have all the speech italicized? And with dashes to boot, instead of normal inverted commas. Go on, tell me I'm old fashioned and un-hip but if it weren't such a thrilling story it would drive me quietly bonkers. Can't remember though when I've read a more dreadfully wonderful first page. The shoes! And what follows. A terrific debut I reckon.