Union Station
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- ¥2,200
Publisher Description
In this fascinating historical thriller, a British journalist (and former spy) is adrift in McCarthy-era Los Angeles—until his research into a wartime conspiracy brings him face-to-face with the perilous instability of a post-Stalin Berlin.
John Russell, an English journalist who specializes in human-interest pieces, had always been a reluctant spy. It’s a dangerous life—especially when you are tasked with being a double agent for Soviet and American intelligence, in a city as fraught with hazard as Nazi-occupied Berlin. But it’s been years, now, since Russell was finally able to extricate himself from his life of espionage—through a shady deal with a high-ranking Soviet official.
Now it’s 1953, and Russell and his family—his long-time partner, Effi Koenen, a burgeoning star on an American sitcom, and their daughter, Rosa, a young artist on the cusp of adulthood—live a life of relative comfort in Los Angeles. Feeling somewhat adrift, Russell has just begun work on a book investigating American firms that continued doing business with Germany during Nazi occupation. Then he notices someone is tailing him around Los Angeles. Has someone not taken kindly to his research? Or could it be that the deal Russell struck all those years ago has left him with unfinished business?
The answer may lie in Berlin, where John and Effi decide to return for the Third Annual Berlin International Film Festival. Braving the political disorder of a city that was once their home, the two are thrust into a perilous mission to protect the life—and safety—they worked so hard to build.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The sluggish eighth thriller in Downing's Station series featuring journalist John Russell (after Wedding Station) sees the former spy and his wife, actor Effi Koenen, settling down in McCarthy-era Los Angeles after fleeing Europe with their adopted daughter, Rosa. When the family notices they're being followed, Russell wonders if the surveillance is connected to the book he's writing about American companies that worked with the Nazis during the war. Or, perhaps his archnemesis, Laverentiy Beria, has sent Soviet agents to finish him and his family off? Disquieted, Russell and Effi opt to return to Berlin for a film festival where Effi is being honored, only to stumble onto a potential answer to their stateside dilemma: old enemies have not taken kindly to Russell's latest project, and he must revisit his past as a double agent for the Soviets and the Americans to ensure his family's safety. Downing interweaves the main plot with the story of Gerhard Ströhm, a member of the East German Central Committee who watches in despair as the post-Stalin Soviet power struggle threatens to destroy his dream of German socialism. The novel's early sections drag, with little incident or character development to speak of, and though the action picks up considerably in the second half, this installment never quite reaches the level of previous entries. It's a disappointment.
