Child 44 by: Tom Rob Smith

This is a book that I have started two or three times, and I have always gotten up to various points in the book, and then got frustrated with it, or side-tracked by something else, or I have just plain lost interest. So this weekend, I finally decided it was time to complete this book. It actually turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable story. Set in Communist Russia, based in a society that by definition should not have any crime -- because the only crime, or any crime that could ever be committed is that committed against the State. The setting itself provides an excellent backdrop for the intensity of the story -- and only adds to the suspense. It takes a unique investigator, in this case Leo, to be able to see the significance of a serial killer within a society, and culture that would deny the killer's very existence.

The characters are well developed, and it is very easy to become engrossed in their lives -- and the story they present. I have really enjoyed how the author has created the difficulties that the State, and the form of government placed on those investigating these horrific crimes. This provides all the suspense of the extremely oppressive Communist regime, combined with the intensity of an investigation into a very prolific serial killer. It is a frightening look into what can happen, when a government will deny the existence of crime, and the atrocities that can occur within that society -- not just the horrors of learning to stop a serial killer, but it also explores the excesses that a government can create within that society, and how those excesses can ultimately lead to the downfall of that governmental body. In the face of so much control -- the ability to control becomes less, and less -- until ultimately, the State has no ability to control the citizens at all. This is a book that presents a great mystery, and the twists of the plot are well thought out, and developed in a manner that keeps the reader guessing through to the end of the story. I would love to recommend this book -- especially for those that love mysteries that are outside the traditional murder mystery construct.