Distracting sounds

Brilliant thriller.
However, the reader repeatedly makes a lot of what I can only describe as 'wet mouth sounds' - i.e audible swallowing of saliva, wetting of lips, slimy mouth smacking at the beginning of a sentence.

Horribly off-putting and difficult to stay immersed in the story when I'm constantly feeling repulsed and uncomfortable. It's something I can only put down to lazy editing as, having a large audible library, this is something I've never encountered - presumably because such sounds get diligently edited out.

Such a shame, makes it a chore to sit through in some parts.

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Gripping stuff

I have read the book and then watched the film - and now enjoyed the audio. What I love about the whole experience is how Tom Rob Smith captures a time in such a way - we feel so immersed in. Now, if we are to understand Russia of today we must see it raw and unformed in the past.

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Loved it.

As I was listening to this book I wanted everybody I spoke to to read it and have now bought a couple of copies to give to friends and family. Narration is great, story is fantastic.

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Outstanding narrative.

This is the best book that I have listen to on Audible for a long time. Despite there being many twists and turns in the plot the story was totally believable. The impression was so similar to an actual historical account that I believed in the plot entirely. Although fiction I feel that I have been given insight to what it was like to live in the Soviet Union of the era.
The narration was well paced and sympathetic to the text.

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1 person found this helpful

Fantastic Story.

I've read the book numerous times and now bought the audio book trilogy. i thoroughly recommend the them. To hear of the lengths these people had to resort to in order to survive, be it famine or the State is humbling. T. R. Smith thank you for introducing me to an insight into 20th Century Russia

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Fantastic thriller!

A very sobering insight into Stalinist Russia and how corruption penetrates every level of society.

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1 person found this helpful

More compelling, thought provoking than enjoyable

Authors want to capture their audience in their first lines, first chapter, and Tom Rob Smith certainly does that. The story opens in 1933. Two starving young children hunt, ensnare an emancipated cat for food, but they were not alone hunting for meat, the older brother is taken, such is the existence of families during the Ukraine famine.
Fast forward twenty years and a series of horrific child murders are taking place but as 'there is no crime' in this totalitarian society, there is no official investigation.
This is a bleak but compelling, all too believable portrayal of life under Starlin's grim regime where 'for the greater good' people live in fear of the state, where no-one is above suspicion, where presumption of guilt not innocence is the norm.

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Suffer Little Children

This made me think long and hard as to why I choose to listen to so many books featuring murder as their theme. I can't say i 'enjoyed' this book, very well written though it is, and it would be a strange person that claimed they were 'entertained' by it. There are so many 'victims' here and we are introduced to them personally before whatever trauma happens to befall them. This is a difficult listen and is not for the faint of heart.

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3 people found this helpful

Excellent brutal human drama

I loved it. I came in cold knowing nothing about these books and downloaded the rest of his work straight after. Motors along without a second wasted and includes some of the best action scenes I’ve read in ages along with crime drama, soviet history exploration and general human drama. The idea of solving a crime when the soviet system means you can’t admit a crime can exist gives a really interesting twist to a neat and perfectly crafted crime thriller. Just buy it’s great

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Difficult, harrowing but excellent.

Excellent story & is all that is mentioned in the title of this review. Covers many aspects of human nature, good and bad & has a wicked twist. Highly recommended.

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