English author Tom Rob Smith burst onto the literary scene in 2008 with his debut novel, Child 44 ( ), which was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and won the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award.
The Story: It is 1956, and a more broad-minded Russia has emerged from the tumultuous days following Stalin's death, prompting his former opponents-the secret police, judges, and others who carried out his orders-to bay for the blood of his collaborators. Guilt-ridden Ministry of State Security agent Leo Demidov, appointed to a special homicide unit after tracking down a serial killer in Child 44, seeks solace in his family, including his long-suffering wife Raisa and adopted daughters Zoya and Elena, but someone has other plans for him. When fellow agents begin turning up dead, the Kremlin turns a blind eye, and Leo finds himself at the center of a dark and twisted plot for revenge.
Grand Central Publishing. 416 pages. $24.99. ISBN: 9780446402408
Minneapolis Star Tribune
"In this, the sequel, he has accomplished what few writers have been able to pull off-an expertly crafted story as powerful and addictive as its predecessor. ... The author's keen understanding of Soviet society and his knowledge of the criminal gangs that operated in a kind of parallel world give the story the gripping realism that is the hallmark of his writing." Michael J. Bonafield
Miami Herald
"The Secret Speech does not quite match Child 44's breathtaking audacity or relentless pacing, but Smith continues to provide fascinating history lessons, a strikingly original setting and quality storytelling. ... Based on real events, The Secret Speech is jam-packed with action-the near-sinking of a prison ship, a violent takeover at a Kolyma gulag, and a rebellion in Hungary-and Smith explores pertinent questions of revenge, morality and responsibility." Connie Ogle
NY Times Book Review
"[The] diabolical plan for a day of reckoning drives the narrative engine but is the weakest part of an otherwise remarkable novel. ... If this book never quite achieves the propulsive urgency of Smith's first novel, he more than makes up for it with a broadening of moral scope and thematic richness." Dennis Lehane
USA Today
"Smith's story evolves into an explosive thriller-fueled by blind love, fear of rejection and two death-defying journeys that could lead to Demidov's redemption-or not. ... In The Secret Speech, Smith writes with finesse and authority about the post-Stalinist era, the undeterred passion of people crushed by the Soviet juggernaut and the survival of family loyalties at any cost." Carol Memmott
Independent (UK)
"Leo and Raisa have become measurably flattened as characters, reduced to a series of impulses: but-I-love-him; not-without-my-child; I-will-have-my-revenge. ... Who cares, though? Tom Rob Smith has created another insanely exciting story, while making you feel you're learning a bit of history along the way." Suzi Feay
San Antonio Exp-News
"Smith has spun another rocket-fire page-flipper, full of treachery and intrigue and heroic characters. Belief must occasionally be suspended as Leo, for example, fights off entire Russian armies. But the good news is, as in Child 44, Smith's meticulous research shines through on nearly every page, as he re-creates Soviet-era Moscow and Budapest of the tragic 1956 Revolution." Steve Bennett
Los Angeles Times
"The author brings back Leo Demidov, the hero from last year's Child 44, but with far less satisfying results in this labored would-be thriller. ... Smith remains a fiendishly intricate plotter, but this is a routine thriller crammed so full of reversals that the life is squeezed out of the characters." Michael Harris
Critical Summary
Compared to the critical acclaim showered on its predecessor, Child 44, The Secret Speech drew mixed reviews from critics. While the Minneapolis Star Tribune alone proclaimed Smith's sophomore effort equal to his debut, other critics still considered it entertaining and thought-provoking in its questioning of the nature of exoneration and redemption. The power of Smith's writing lies in his ability to ground sensational plot developments in rich historical and cultural detail, gleaned from extensive research. His gift for immersing readers deep within Cold War-era Moscow and Siberia propels the plot as much as his chase scenes and action sequences. Though it may not possess the psychological tension or strong, convincing characters of Child 44, Speech is still an "insanely exciting story" (Independent).
Cited by the Critics
Gorky Park | Martin Cruz Smith (1981): Critics identified this literary thriller as another worthy crime novel set in the Soviet Union. When three corpses turn up in a Moscow amusement park-each missing its face and fingers-Chief Homicide Investigator Arkady Renko finds himself, in his quest for truth, pitted against the KGB, the FBI, and the dangerously dissident woman he loves.