Book Review: The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith

The Soviet Union 1956: after Stalin's death, a violent regime is beginning to fracture. It leaves behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent. Stalin's successor Krushchev pledges reform. But there are forces at work that are unable to forgive or forget the past.Leo Demidov, former MGB officer, is facing his own turmoil. The two young girls he and his wife Raisa adopted have yet to forgive him for his part in the brutal murder of his parents. They are not alone. Leo, Raisa and their family are in grave danger from someone with a grudge against Leo. Someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance. Leo's desperate, personal mission to save his family will take him from the harsh Siberian Gulags, to the depths of the criminal underworld, to the centre of the Hungarian uprising- and into a hell where redemption is as brittle as glass. 

I'm so glad that I finally got round to reading this book. I thought that Child 44 was one of the best books of 2009 and The Secret Speech is just as good.
Tom Rob Smith's writing style and beautifully crafted plot had me feeling as though I was holding my breath the whole way through. I felt as though, once again, he had captured the oppressive state of living at the time, never being able to relax or know who to trust.
I thought that Leo had been through so much in Child 44 but it is nothing compared to what he has to endure this time. Stalin's death has created a whole new kind of fear, it is now the State and those who carried out their work that are the criminals, criminals desperate to cover up their actions no matter what the consequences for the innocent people who have already experienced so much injustice.
We follow Leo as he fights to get his adopted daughter back. He travels undercover on a prison ship in order to enter one of the Gulags. Tom Rob Smith paints a vivid picture of the awful conditions, it is heightened because you know that these places actually existed, they are not a work of fiction.
I wouldn't want to give the plot away as it is truly excellent. I think that you would get more from this book by reading Child 44 first, it would certainly give you a fuller picture of Leo's character. I would highly recommend The Secret Speech; the plot has a fantastic pace, Tom Rob Smith has clearly done his research and it is extremely difficult to put this book down.

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith is one of the books that I have been meaning to catch up on as I missed it last year. There has been a lot of hype about this book and there was much controversy when it was added to The Man Booker Prize long listing. In some ways I think this put me off a bit but I am so glad that I finally took the time to find out for myself as it is a brilliant book. I shall give you the blurb as the story is quite a complex one so I may not explain it properly:

THE SOVIET UNION, 1953

Stalin's grip is at it's tightest, enforced by the Ministry of State Security- a secret police force whose brutality is no secret at all. Under its regime, people are commanded to believe that crime simply does not exist.
But when the body of a young boy is discovered on train tracks in Moscow, Officer Leo Demidov- a war hero, utterly dedicated to the Ministry- is surprised to hear that the boy's family is convinced it was murder. Leo's superiors order him to ignore this and he is obliged to obey. But something in him knows there is more.
Sensing his doubts, the Ministry threatens Leo, giving him no choice but to turn his back on his once-beloved Party. Disgraced, exiled with his wife Raisa to a town deep in the Ural Mountains, Leo realises that the crime he helped cover up in the capital has happened here too.
The murder of another child.
Risking everything, Leo and Raisa will pursue a horrifying killer- even if doing so makes them enemies of the State...

I knew hardly anything about Stalinist Russia so I was worried that I wouldn't understand, luckily though Mr S did a history degree before deciding to become a doctor so he was able to give me a brief over-view. This book is one of the most gripping that I have read recently, you are instantly transported to the oppressive and desperate state that Russia was in when under Stalin's rule. Lies, secrecy, corruption, double standards and cruelty have infiltrated all parts of society. No-one can be trusted, even those that you love. I think this is what really made me think the most; it must have been horrendous to live under such conditions, constantly watching your back and having your behaviour scrutinised by those all around you.
The character of Leo Demidov is not a simple one, my opinion changed on him throughout the book but that is partly what keeps you reading. Tom Rob Smith keeps the story going at an extremely fast pace and this helps you to identify more with the characters, they had to act quickly and make snap decisions as there would nearly always be someone just behind them.
At the centre of Child 44 is a tale of survival; survival of morals and justice but also survival of thousands of people whose own country turned against them.
In many ways Child 44 is not a nice book to read; there are scenes of torture and brutality but they have not been included merely to shock, they are part of the integral fabric of the story, the author has to show you the lengths that the State will go to in order for people to obey their regime. This is an excellent book and one that I would highly recommend, if you would like to know more about Tom Rob Smith and his new book The Secret Speech which continues Leo's story then visit Simon's blog at Savidge Reads as he did an excellent interview with the author himself.