Child 44

The notion that everyone is guilty of something pervades many of the world's cultures. It is the shadow side of having ideals. Wherever one fails to live up to an ideal, even if it is not realistic or taken seriously, one is thought of, at least intellectually, as having failed to be their best. Some cultures are interested in only the most serious physical crimes; they care little about philosophy, so long as citizens get along peaceably. Others focus their attention on philosophical ideals, believing that proper thinking, and by this I mean idealised thinking, will be the salvation of every other area of life. Which leads us to the premise Tom Rob Smith's debut novel, Child 44:

There cannot be a serial killer loose in Stalin's Russia because ideal Russian society cannot produce such a monster--and to admit such a thing, even in the quiet of one's heart, is treason. And yet, there is a serial killer loose in Stalin's Russia.

At first, Agent Leo Demidov, a former war hero, now a privileged agent with the MGB, is incapable of imagining such a thing. In his world, crimes are solved by selecting the guilty suspect, apprehending them, and torturing them into a confession. The system is one hundred percent successful until Leo faces the realization that it isn't. His slow awakening leads him to reevaluate all he has believed, and as he grows and is able to take in new ideas, he comes to see that he has misread much of his former life, including his most meaningful relationships.

It is only after his identity, and the security it brought him, has collapsed that Leo able to recognise that a horrifying series of crimes has been, and is still being, commited. And yet, even as he realizes this and begins his attempts to solve it, he must face the reality that his country has no mechanism in place to help him catch such a criminal, and its very ideals protect against the creation of such a system or investigation.

As Leo loses his faith and attempts to create an identify he can be proud of, his actions draw the scrutiny of those who'd like to take his job (and his wife), and he must race to solve the mystery and find the killer before he is discovered, imprisoned, or perhaps even killed.

The story is based on a series of real killings, which happened in a later day Russia. Setting the story in Stalin's era, and changing the motivation of the killer, creates a fascinating arena in which to showcase a man's inner awakening. Leo's journey, from dedicated son of the state to desperate fugitive with a mission, doesn't miss a step. Excellent characterization conjures up a world that is piece by piece dissembled, until it hangs, dark, oppressive and threatening to collapse, while a small light shines brighter and brighter against that darkness.