Child-44

This is a novel by Tom Rob Smith.

Child-44 is a suspense/thriller/general-page-turner-type-book set in Stalinist Russia. However, since the author is English, was born in 1979, and studied creative writing in college, and because I personally know very little about the USSR, I'm not going to say how accurate of a portrayal it is.

I picked it up because Barnes and Noble named it as the best fictional novel of 2008. My own opinion is that it is an above average suspense novel, but still a far reach from anything great.

I'll say one thing that annoyed me though. This book is written in third-person limited, but this "limited" part switches from scene to scene. For one part, the reader may be following the thoughts of the main character, for the next part, it could be the thoughts of his wife, or his boss, or his antagonist. It could be an interesting technique, but the author fails to make it flow smoothly, instead leaving gaping holes and making the reader wonder, "If she is thinking this now, then why was she doing that back there?"

In short, this is not a book you need to go out of your way to read. If you are bored, going to be sitting in waiting rooms a lot, go ahead and check this out, otherwise don't worry about missing out.