Child 44 is a thrilling read which is well constructed and written. I personally felt that some parts of the beginning of the book were unnecessary, hence I dropped it a star. I flew through the final 200 pages of the book. I was completely mesmerised by Leo and Raisa's mission to catch the murderer of the poor child victims.

Reading about life in Russia during the time really toyed with my emotions. I felt desperately sad that so many innocent lives were taken for absolutely no reason whatsoever. The facts that were included at the back of the book really hit this home for me.

The main story in this novel is Leo's investigation into the various child murders he has located throughout Russia. After being exiled from Moscow, we follow Leo and his wife, Raisa, as they strive to bring justice to these children. I was sickened by the chapters detailing the murder of hundreds of homosexual men, killed purely because it was easier to blame the murders on these people who lay outside of the ideal.

There are many horrendously vivid and difficult descriptions in this book. However, I do think they work well to really bring home the darkness of the situation. Just imagine that the multiple murder of children is easily ignored, simply because it would make our nation look bad? It's unimaginable.

I did feel that some of the chapters at the beginning of the book were slightly irrelevant and I am thankful that I didn't give up on this one as the ending was brilliant.

My favourite part of this novel was the twist. I literally had no idea that would be coming until Leo was interrogated

and revealed his true name

. For me, up until that point this book was going to be a 3.5* read, but having read almost the entire book with no idea who or what the killer would be, I couldn't deny it a 4* review.

A brilliant read! Will be watching the film tomorrow to see if it has done the book justice!