This begins a World War I spy series where, as a luxury car salesman, Jack McColl has perfect cover for travelling the world and so is ideally placed for spying in China, India, Ireland and no doubt plenty of other places as the series develops. The start is a bit slow. Jack has a relationship with a girl with Irish connections which was supposed to be a passing fling but develops and is in danger of threatening his double life. As I’ve said, a slow start but start you should for Downing is a fine author who will no doubt deliver some great books about Jack McColl for he has already written magnificent World War II spy books, The Station series, starring John Russell.
This is the first in a new series from this accomplished writer, perfect for fans of Wilbur Smith or Frederick Forsyth.
'In the elite company of literary spy masters Alan Furst and Philip Kerr' Washington Post
'Remarkable ... Downing is one of the brightest lights in the shadowy world of historical spy fiction' Birmingham Post
'A superb sequence of spy novels comes to an end . . . Like its predecessors, Masaryk Station offers tight, intelligent plots full of moral ambiguities and a cast of shadowy characters for whom deception is as natural as breathing. The clammy atmosphere of espionage is wonderfully conveyed.' Marcel Berlins in The Times
'The author not only creates intrigue but, over the course of six engrossing novels chronicles the shifting conscience of his main character. His descriptions ring true, not only in moments of crisis and action but of the quotidian days between: prewar negotiations, threats and reprieves, false alarms, dashed hopes, everyday pleasures, encroaching dread . . . Almost epic in scope, Downing's "Station" cycle creates a fictional universe rich with a historian's expertise but rendered with literary style and heart.' Wall Street Journal on the Station series
'Excellent ... Downing's strength is his fleshing out of the tense and often dangerous nature of everyday life in a totalitarian state' The Times
Author
About David Downing
David Downing is the author of a political thriller, two alternative histories and a number of books on military and political history and other subjects as diverse as Neil Young and Russian Football.
