Child 44 is the most claustrophobic novel I’ve ever read. It’s set in the Soviet Union in the early 1950s. Secret Police Officer Leo Demidov, former WWII hero, finds his world turned upside down when he tries to investigate a series of murders. The Soviet bureaucracy discourages Leo’s investigation arguing that Soviet life doesn’t have any crime only political transgressions. The stifling webs of corruption and political treachery make Child 44 a very paranoid read. Tom Rob Smith captures the desperation, fear, and cruel looniness of the Soviet state. And, I can’t think of a more beset hero of any novel. Smith piles difficulties on Leo that even Job couldn’t handle! GRADE: B+