Smith: Child 44
Smith: Child 44
MGB officer Leo is a man who never questions the Party Line. He arrests whomever he is told to arrest. He dismisses the horrific death of a young boy because he is told to, because he believes the Party stance that there can be no murder in Communist Russia. Leo is the perfect soldier of the regime.
But suddenly his confidence that everything he does serves a great good is shaken. He is forced to watch a man he knows to be innocent be brutally tortured. And then he is told to arrest his own wife.
Leo understands how the State works: Trust and check, but check particularly on those we trust. He faces a stark choice: his wife or his life.
And still the killings of children continue…
Check availability on East Renfrewshire Libraries’ catalogue.
This was Eaglesham Reading Group’s book for October.It was a fast paced thriller with the terrifying backdrop of Stalinist Russia in the 1950s.We were divided on our opinion of the book, some of us enjoying the roller coaster ride and others finding it a little hard to believe,especially the ending.Read it and judge for yourself.