Tom Rob Smith's book Child 44 is fast paced thriller following the fallen secret police officer Leo Demidov and his wife Raisa as they track down a serial killer, who the government refuses to believe exists in their perfect Communist society. 
 I was introduced to the book through a quick run in with the trailer for a movie with the same name. Intrigued, I put the book on my list to read and finally got around to it. I was not disappointed with the thrills, mystery, and the realistic drama and terror that gripped the country. In the heart of the novel there was a feeling of how all too true this book was in a way. The killer in the book was based on Andrei Chikatilo. 
 As the book opens with the mentions of a hunt for a cat for food and two boys hunting the cat there is a strange curiosity of why this would be written. At first, with the end of the prologue, I felt that I understood with one of the child's screams. Ahh, I could hear the wheels in my head turning this must be the earliest killing. No, I was incorrect in my assessment as I would be throughout the whole novel. However, despite my shock I caught myself imagining giving Smith a high-five for such a delicious plot that I was glad to be incorrect.