Child 44

If life in Stalinist Russia seems hard to imagine, then reading CHILD 44 will only make it even more difficult to fathom. Smith's debut novel is the chilling story of Leo Demidov, a "true believer" and war hero who simply wants to serve his country. Faced with the reality that a serial killer of children is on the loose, Leo is conflicted, and eventually demoted and exiled. Leo never gives up his search for the truth, however, with astounding results. Dennis Boutsikaris's nuanced delivery, especially his deftly varied tones, adds significantly to the book's allure and, perhaps, makes this audio version more intense than mere written words. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from March 3, 2008
Set in the Soviet Union in 1953, this stellar debut from British author Smith offers appealing characters, a strong plot and authentic period detail. When war hero Leo Stepanovich Demidov, a rising star in the MGB, the State Security force, is assigned to look into the death of a child, Leo is annoyed, first because this takes him away from a more important case, but, more importantly, because the parents insist the child was murdered. In Stalinist Russia, there's no such thing as murder; the only criminals are those who are enemies of the state. After attempting to curb the violent excesses of his second-in-command, Leo is forced to investigate his own wife, the beautiful Raisa, who's suspected of being an Anglo-American sympathizer. Demoted and exiled from Moscow, Leo stumbles onto more evidence of the child killer. The evocation of the deadly cloud-cuckoo-land of Russia during Stalin's final days will remind many of Gorky Park
and Darkness at Noon
, but the novel remains Smith's alone, completely original and absolutely satisfying. Rights sold in more than 20 countries.