Loved (and got lost in) the first two thirds of the book. The final thitd, not so much, but I will be chasing down his other books now. Not strictly a thriller, it was a very solid story about a man, his failures and his attempts to live through them in an era of Russian history that I knew little about.As an aside, while I knew that this was Tom Rob Smith's second book, I didn't realise that it was the second of the series when I picked it up, or at any stage while reading (which is the mark of a pretty good story teller). I look forward to going back and reading Agent 66. In this sequel to Child 44, Russia, no longer under Stalin's rule, is thrown into upheaval by Khrushchev's "secret speech" outlining the atrocities committed by Stalin and those reporting to him. One of former MGB agent Leo Demidov's victims seeks her revenge on him causing Leo to pursue one daring mission after another in his endeavor to keep his family together.While Smith's writing is as good as it was in the first book, I found this book slightly lacking. What put Child 44 above other in the thriller drama was the psychological mystery and the well-drawn characters. This book was pretty much just action -- one dire predicament that Leo must escape from after another. The only character that I really found intriguing was Leo's seriously disturbed ward/daughter Zoya ... but she was not in the book all that much. Still, the book was interesting and exciting and I plan continue with the series.
What do You think about Kolyma (2009)?
God, I love these dark, anxiety filled, bleak novels. Can't wait to read the next one!
—qthgirl
not as good as the first one, and had more holes in the story.
—shanyn
I enjoyed this book. I had a tough time getting into the book
—erinmoriarty
