Tom Rob Smith, Child 44

Crime isn't really considered to be a highbrow genre, and I am also guilty of looking down on it, I think it's partly because there is a lot of really crap crime-fiction out there (Martina Cole, I'm looking at you).

Popular authors tend to bash them out, sticking to a tried and tested formula, which enables the reader to solve the crime before they've even completed the first chapter. Good crime-fiction though is truly impressive, the ability to spin a tangled plot and eke out clues and suspense is a rare and beautiful thing.

With Child 44, Tom Rob Smith gives crime-fiction a decent attempt, and manages to deliver on some fronts.

The Plot: 1933 Russia, near dead from starvation Pavel hunts in the nearby woods desperate for a meal, absorbed in his task he is unaware that he is also been hunted. 1953 Moscow, Leo is an investigator for the MGB, it his job to root out dissidents and enemies of the state, a task he performs ruthlessly and without question. When a colleges' son is found dead, Leo is sent to remind the grieving parents that murder does not officially exist in the Soviet Union. However, Leo's loyalty to the party and the country is tested when his own wife is investigated for crimes against the state. The bodies of mutilated children are discovered, and Leo begins to question is blind obedience and his role in the MGB.  

Rating: 3.5/5