Culture

Author: Tom Rob Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(4/5)

The Secret Speech is a crime fiction novel by the author of the acclaimed Child 44. In this sequel, we follow the tortured soul of Leo Demidov as he tries to atone for his crimes as a secret policeman under Stalin’s regime of violence and war, as well as protect his troubled mismatch of a family. He constantly searches for this salvation but it is far from clear whether he deserves it. Guilt pervades the plot (which, by the way, is based on real events), drawing parallels to Khrushchev’s historical 1956 public acknowledgment of Stalin’s crimes from which this book gets its title. The declaration prompts violent uprisings in the criminal underworld, and it is into this situation that Smith thrusts the flawed Demidov, who finds himself infiltrating the very network of criminals whom he helped send to torture chambers.
I’m not much of a crime fiction reader, much preferring to stay within the comfortable boundaries of my fantasy novels, but I must say that my first foray into the genre has been nothing less than breathtaking. Smith is a talented writer who underpins his story with riveting attention to detail. Whether we are lurking through the sewers or feeling the chill of frostbite, the atmosphere is rendered with an articulate hand. I am told that this current book holds little of the raw tension of Child 44. If so, I can’t wait to read it. Definitely a favourite.