The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

review by Maryom

Daniel's parents have sold up their garden centre business and retired to a remote farm in his mother's native Sweden. For one reason or another, he keeps putting off visiting them, but believes them to be happily settled and enjoying their new life. Then out of the blue he gets a phone call from his father to tell him his mother is ill - in a psychiatric hospital. She's been imagining things, making all sorts of allegations against her new neighbours and eventually it was decided she should be hospitalised for her own good. This is shocking enough news on its own but then Dan gets a phone call from his mother - she's out of the hospital, on her way to London and everything his father said is a lie! As he listens to his mother's side of events, Dan doesn't know who to believe. One of his parents must be lying..but which..

You might have encountered Tom Rob Smith's Soviet Russia based thrillers featuring secret police officer Leo Demidov, the first of which Child 44 is currently being filmed with Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Noomi Rapace. Well, The Farm is a rather different sort of read; a psychological thriller of words rather than action. The tale is told mainly from Dan's mother point of view, from a series of notes that she has ready prepared almost as if giving a lecture. The style is rather formal too and I found the start a little slow so it took me a while to really get involved. His mother has a dreadful tale to tell, but should we believe her? That's the question at the heart of this story; who is telling the truth? As I read, I first believed the mother, then doubted her, went back to believing and so on. As is to be expected with a thriller, the twists and turns are saved till the very end, so, if you're wondering where the story is going, hang on in there.

Maryom's review - 4 stars

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Genre - psychological thriller,  adult fiction,  

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Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith

Cold-Served Revenge
review by Maryom

Leo Demidov, ex-MGB operative, now a factory manager, hasn't left his old instincts behind. His wife and daughters are due to travel to New York for a series of concerts performed by Russians and Americans together and on the eve of their departure, he finds himself on edge, suspicious of what might lie behind the trip and of the behaviour of his younger daughter. As things turn out, his fears weren't without cause and his family is torn apart by events. Not willing to trust the official version of events, Leo schemes to find a way of getting to America to track down whoever has brought tragedy upon his family.

Agent 6 is a compelling thriller combined with moving love story, spanning over 20 years. The story traces the relationship of Leo and Raisa Demidov from its beginning in 1950 (before the novel that introduced these characters, Child 44) through the end of Stalinist Russia to the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the 70s.

Revenge is supposed to be best served cold - if so, then Leo's must be the best there can be! No longer protected and empowered by the MGB Leo is forced into a series of compromises with authority while trying to pursue his own agenda. Although there are tense, nail-biting moments, overall Agent 6 is a long slow-burner of a novel with more emphasis on exploring Leo's state of mind than on action. I did feel that he and his family were real people accidentally caught up in affairs beyond their control and manipulated by the security services of both Russia and America.

Although Agent 6 is the third in a series involving Leo Demidov and his wife Raisa, it's not necessary to have read the earlier novels (I read this before Child 44), the back plot is filled in while not giving away the ending of the earlier books.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Genre - crime, thriller, adult fiction


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Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

No Such Thing As Murder!
review by Maryom

Leo Demidov is an upwardly mobile officer with Russia's secret police. As such he believes the Party line that insists there is no such thing as crime and certainly no such thing as murder - the strange death of a colleague's son must have been a tragic accident. Gradually though, as he hears of more all too similar incidents, he comes to accept the fact that there is a serial killer at large. Neither KGB nor Militia are convinced and Leo finds himself trying to track down the killer while remaining one step ahead of the authorities.

Child 44 is a tense, fast-paced thriller based on real events - how true to life it is though is anyone's guess. I was glad to see that the author had avoided falling in to the cliché of stereotyped characters - the card-carrying Party member or intellectual dissident - and in this respect it reminded me of Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series (Gorky Park, Polar Star.. ) but set at a much earlier date. Although capturing the oppression and distrust of late Stalinist era Russia, Child 44 is primarily a whodunnit - excellently written with a believable, flawed hero and a requisite twist in the tail ending.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Genre - crime, thriller, adult fiction

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