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Michelle F's Reviews > Child 44
Child 44 (Leo Demidov, #1)
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Michelle F's review
bookshelves: historical, location-literature, lofty-tower-bc, muuuuuurderrrrr, mystery, myworksillegal-butatleastitshonest, recommended, reviewed
Jun 04, 2022
bookshelves: historical, location-literature, lofty-tower-bc, muuuuuurderrrrr, mystery, myworksillegal-butatleastitshonest, recommended, reviewed
An accomplished mystery that blends organically with its chosen setting, Child 44 is a genuinely gripping read.
My buddy-reader and I have our own little TBR, and this has been on it for at least a year. We finally started it in January of 2022 and were having amazing discussions about it... mainly because it's one of the few books where we haven't been grumpy about skill and style. Child 44 is well crafted, no debate, and that left us wide open to focus on the story itself.
But then Russia loudly took center stage as current real-life villains, and suddenly this historical suspense novel set in Stalin's Soviet Union felt like...too much. Not bad, just a doubling down of atrocity that made it hard to escape the realities of our world right now. So, we took a step back and moved on to rabidly judging the skill and style of Sanderson and set Child 44 aside.
I picked at it off and on, by myself, until the mystery got its feet under it and started gaining momentum.
There's been a string of children killed across a region, and MGB agent LEO Demidov begins making connections between the incidents. In a country where the state has decreed that its citizens are happy and murder doesn't exist, trying to catch a killer is more dangerous than you know.
Smith uses the setting expertly, highlighting the atmosphere of oppression, fear, and distrust while Leo must face his crisis of conscience. During a time when people had to turn on neighbours and even family to ensure their own survival, the book is an exciting exploration of which moral lines are uncrossable.
Also fascinating was the examination of Leo and Raisa's marriage and how it evolves.
There are a few logic leaps in the investigation, and the somewhat broadcasted 'twist' was far-fetched without a bit more supporting set-up, but overall this was really good. Well written, fast-moving, but with enough attention to the human side of things. I'd recommend this widely.
My buddy-reader and I have our own little TBR, and this has been on it for at least a year. We finally started it in January of 2022 and were having amazing discussions about it... mainly because it's one of the few books where we haven't been grumpy about skill and style. Child 44 is well crafted, no debate, and that left us wide open to focus on the story itself.
But then Russia loudly took center stage as current real-life villains, and suddenly this historical suspense novel set in Stalin's Soviet Union felt like...too much. Not bad, just a doubling down of atrocity that made it hard to escape the realities of our world right now. So, we took a step back and moved on to rabidly judging the skill and style of Sanderson and set Child 44 aside.
I picked at it off and on, by myself, until the mystery got its feet under it and started gaining momentum.
There's been a string of children killed across a region, and MGB agent LEO Demidov begins making connections between the incidents. In a country where the state has decreed that its citizens are happy and murder doesn't exist, trying to catch a killer is more dangerous than you know.
Smith uses the setting expertly, highlighting the atmosphere of oppression, fear, and distrust while Leo must face his crisis of conscience. During a time when people had to turn on neighbours and even family to ensure their own survival, the book is an exciting exploration of which moral lines are uncrossable.
Also fascinating was the examination of Leo and Raisa's marriage and how it evolves.
There are a few logic leaps in the investigation, and the somewhat broadcasted 'twist' was far-fetched without a bit more supporting set-up, but overall this was really good. Well written, fast-moving, but with enough attention to the human side of things. I'd recommend this widely.
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Reading Progress
January, 2022
–
Started Reading
March, 2022
–
Finished Reading
June 4, 2022
– Shelved
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Baba
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rated it 4 stars
Jun 04, 2022 09:17AM
Fab review Michelle F, so interesting hearing about your reading journey on this book!
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Wonderful review Michelle! I enjoyed this one too. Every chapter was a new surprise or turn. #2 is also good, but not as much. #3 was disappointing.
A thoughtful review Michelle, thank you! I read this in my pre-GR days and had the same strong impressions at the time.
Baba wrote: "Fab review Michelle F, so interesting hearing about your reading journey on this book!"Thank you, Baba! I suppose that reading mostly fantasy/sci-fi lets me draw parallels from a distance. Historical fiction combined with current events is so much more tangible.
Federico wrote: "Wonderful review Michelle! I enjoyed this one too. Every chapter was a new surprise or turn. #2 is also good, but not as much. #3 was disappointing."Oh that’s good to know. I’ve read the blurbs about the second and third books but they weren’t catching me. This first book feels really complete on its own.
Thanks Federico!
Alan wrote: "A thoughtful review Michelle, thank you! I read this in my pre-GR days and had the same strong impressions at the time."It’s really well done, isn’t it? Now I’m wondering if the movie is worthwhile? Thank you Alan.
Great review, and if you get a chance, you SHOULD watch the movie with Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Gary Oldman (great cast!). Sadly, I was disappointed with the sequel, but don't go by me...BTW, I love your book categories, although I thought "someterrifyspacemonkeysgotloose" would be more like my "damn dirty apes" shelf, haha.
Michelle F wrote: "It’s really well done, isn’t it? Now I’m wondering if the movie is worthwhile?"I only vaguely remember the Child 44 movie and I don't think it quite captured all of the atmosphere of the book, although it has great actors such as Gary Oldman. There is a GR question about that and most of the answers agree. https://www.goodreads.com/questions/6...
I remember the movie Citizen X about the real-life case to be a stronger movie. Probably due to Stephen Rea being a better typecast as the downtrodden Soviet detective.
The movie doesn't make it justice one bit. This book is a 9. The movie is barely a 6. Acceptable at best.
Philip wrote: "Great review, and if you get a chance, you SHOULD watch the movie with Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Gary Oldman (great cast!). Sadly, I was disappointed with the sequel, but don't go by me...BTW, ..."
That does sound like an amazing cast!
Hahaha shelves are fun. And you’re right, those two shelves definitely line up, we’re just quoting different sci-fi shows.
Thank you, Philip:)
Alan wrote: "Michelle F wrote: "It’s really well done, isn’t it? Now I’m wondering if the movie is worthwhile?"I only vaguely remember the Child 44 movie and I don't think it quite captured all of the atmosph..."
Interesting! Perhaps I will check out Citizen X! Thanks Alan.
Federico wrote: "The movie doesn't make it justice one bit. This book is a 9. The movie is barely a 6. Acceptable at best."It’s definitely hard to do justice to a strong book. I think us readers are often hard to please!
Great review, Michelle! I vaguely recall watching the movie and nit being too impressed by it — I must have not known there was a book it was based on.
Nataliya wrote: "Great review, Michelle! I vaguely recall watching the movie and nit being too impressed by it — I must have not known there was a book it was based on."Thanks! I definitely recommend the book. I’ve gotten mixed reviews on the movie, so I’ll probably have to watch it to find out.
Great review, Michelle! sounds like an interesting read! Glad you enjoyed! :)
Great review, Michelle! Glad you enjoyed this one despite the far-fetched and slightly underdeveloped twist. I can imagine how it would feel reading a book set in this setting with what's going on in the world right now!
