Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith

I enjoyed this book on two levels. The main plot - a thriller about a rogue state security agent on the trail of a serial killer - kept me gripped and made me want to devour it in large chunks until I reached the end, but I ultimately found the resolution a little too neat to provide more than a one-off burst of satisfying escapism. The window that the story provided into life in Russia under Stalin, however, was totally compelling and raised challenging questions that were still going around in my head weeks later. The transformation of the lead character is fascinating, as he gradually changes from a loyal believer, able to ignore obvious inconsistencies in an official report in order to uphold the principle that "there is no crime" in the perfect new communist society, to a rebel on the run in search of the truth, learning how false the foundations of his life have been and starting to experience a genuine relationship between equals for the first time. My favourite parts of this book were its exploration of the distorting effects of an environment of fear and unequal power on everyday relationships, and the believable way that it showed the capacity of ordinary people to make devastating choices when their own or their families' survival depended on it.