Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, Grand Central Publishing, fiction, 439 pp., $24.99

Child 44 is a thriller with a capital ‘t’, a relentlessly suspenseful book with unimaginable plot twists and a breathtaking pace. Putting it down to get some sleep was a hardship. Leo Demidov is an officer in the Soviet intelligence system in Stalin’s Russia. He is demoted and humiliated by a professional rival. Demidov learns that a serial killer is operating in a wide area, killing children and gutting them, but in Stalin’s world, there is no crime and anyone who suggests otherwise is a traitor, but Demidov, a former war hero, is converted to simple humanity and decency after a suspected spy he apprehended is tortured and killed despite his obvious innocence. There is the plot and there are sub-plots, one involving Demidov being ordered to investigate his fearless and beautiful wife, Raisa, as a spy. Smith captures the bleakness and the grim realties of life in Russia, the deprivation, the paranoia and the hideous and prevailing injustice of the times. This is Smith’s debut novel. He is 28 years-old, and his work is absolutely remarkable. Movie rights have been obtained by Ridley Scott.

 

 

 

Standing up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times by Amy Goodman and David Goodman, Hyperion, non-fiction, 250 pp., $23.95

The Goodmans, brother and sister, do not write for the politically feint of heart, but rather for those whose reactions to political injustice and the abuse of power are visceral. Their primary appeal, of course, is to a liberal audience, but since both liberals and conservatives alike are paying nearly five dollars for a gallon of home heating oil, they may garner a larger audience as a result. In this book, the Goodmans describe people who are speaking back to power. For example, they tell the shocking story of four Connecticut librarians who were ordered by federal agents to hand over information about library use in connection with the war on terror. The librarians, however, were gagged from speaking about the issue even to their own colleagues and families. They fought back. There are other fine examples of courage here, and my favorite is the case of NASA scientist James Hansen, the country’s premier expert on global warming whom the government attempted to censor and silence. His is an amazing story of dedication to the planet and to the truth. This is not a pretty picture of the home of the brave and the land of the free, but it is hopeful nonetheless for the determination of a few who refuse to accept that wrong is right by governmental decree.

 

 

 

Putin’s Labyrinth by Steve Le Vine, Random House, non-fiction, 194 pp., $26

This is a riveting look at today’s Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Putin who came to power in 2000 and remains in power despite the election of Dmitri Medvedev as president. Once again oil and the vast clout its possession represents appear to have reshaped Russia into a country that refuses to be denied power and prestige by the West.  It is also the story of murdered journalists, foremost among them anti-Putin crusader Anna Politkovskaya who was shot in her apartment house elevator on Putin’s birthday. It is the story of Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned to death using nuclear material. Le Vine is the chief foreign affairs writer for Business Week. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, the New York Times and other notable publications. He spent part of his career posted in the Soviet Union. Le Vine posits that hostilities between Russia and the U.S. are heating up again which is reason enough to become familiar with Putin’s Russia. Le Vine’s book is the place to begin.

 

 

 

While They Slept: An Inquiry into the Murder of a Family by Kathryn Harrison, Random House, non-fiction, 285 pp., $25

Painstakingly researched and profoundly insightful, this book examines the murder of a family, its causes and effects. In the middle of the night on an April day in 1984, Billy Gilley beat and killed his parents and younger sister using a baseball bat. He and his sister Jody remained. “We’re free,” he told Jody. The Gilleys were a dysfunctional family and the children had been abused for all of their lives, but Jody wasn’t like Billy. She wanted more from her life than what she’d had. She testified against him in court, and went on to college and a successful career. Harrison, who had experienced parental abuse, looked as much at her experience as she did at the Gilleys’, and the result may be construed as overlapping cautionary  tales of the effects of the abuse of children on their adult lives. This book is beautifully written and quite shockingly honest in its approach to some truly awful things.

 

 

 

Dead Silver by Neil Mc Mahon, Harper Collins, mystery, 274 pp., $24.95

This is a terrific whodunit set in the wilds of Montana. It is the second in a series, after Lone Creek and featuring divorced former journalist Hugh Davornen and his sidekick, Madbird, a canny Native American with an edge like a buzz saw. Hugh lives in a cabin on 20 isolated acres bequeathed to him by his dad, and makes his living as a carpenter and partner to Madbird. An old friend from school, the lovely and successful Renee, is in town for the funeral of her father who was suspected of murdering his second wife 12 years ago. Renee wants Hugh to clear her father’s name. To make an investigative start, Hugh and Madbird are forced to clean Renee’s dad’s carriage house, once lovely but now invaded by pack rats. You’ll learn more about these rodents than you need to, but it’s interesting stuff for sure. Dead Silver is solid gold entertainment.

 

 

 

The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America by Louis P. Masur, Bloomsbury Press, non-fiction, 224 pp., $24.95

On April 5, 1976, photographer Stanley Forman took a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of a young white man viciously attempting to strike a black man with a flagpole, the American flag still hanging on it. It is a remarkable confrontation that took place during Boston’s busing crisis. Masur examines the busing issue, its violent aftermath, and the reactions of the Boston media and politicians in an entirely accessible and fascinating book.

 

 

 

 

I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming, Thomas Dunne Books, cozy mystery, 322 pp., $24.95

After last year’s All Mortal Flesh, it was hard to imagine that this series could get any better, but it has. In this sixth entry in the Rev. Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries, the author has gone full throttle with a wickedly delicious sense of humor and a killer plot. Migrant workers are being killed, and a city gang has come to the country. A Catholic nun enlists Clare’s aid to protect poor workers caught up in something too big. If you’ve never read a mystery series before, read this one.

Clare Fergusson is an Episcopal priest in the small town of Miller’s Kill, New York where Russ Van Alstyne is the married police chief. The two fall in love but behave decently and with conscience. Fergusson invariably becomes embroiled in police investigations. She is a wonderful character, an Army pilot, gourmet cook, dedicated priest, and a woman whose courage is breathtaking. The ending will leave readers in a high state of anticipation for next year’s installment. This series is outstanding.

 

 

 

Killing Bridezilla by Laura Levine, Kensington, cozy mystery, 256 pp., $22

Jaine Austen of LA is a freelance writer whose proudest professional achievement to date has been writing catchy ads for plumbers, but the girl has a knack for solving crimes.  In this seventh hilarious installment, an old high school classmate asks Jaine to rewrite Romeo and Juliet for her wedding ceremony. This bride is so obnoxious, she asked her future mother-in-law to have a facial mole removed for the nuptials. The bride, however, is murdered, and Jaine says ‘I do’ to finding out who killed Bridezilla. Very very funny.

 

 

 

 

Skin Deep by Gary Braver, Forge, medical thriller, 448 pp., $25.95

The author of this taut and well constructed, unputdownable thriller will be signing copies of his book at our local Borders on Aug. 2 at 11:00 a.m. Gary Braver is a professor of English at Northeastern, and his book, of course, is set in Boston.