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Lehrter Station (John Russell #5)
WWII has ended… But the danger has just begun for a spy caught between political superpowers.
Book 5 in the John Russell historical thriller series.
Paris, November 1945. John Russell is walking home along the banks of the Seine on a cold and misty evening when Soviet agent Yevgeny Shchepkin falls into step alongside him. Shchepkin tells Russell that the American intelligenc...more
Book 5 in the John Russell historical thriller series.
Paris, November 1945. John Russell is walking home along the banks of the Seine on a cold and misty evening when Soviet agent Yevgeny Shchepkin falls into step alongside him. Shchepkin tells Russell that the American intelligenc...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
May 8th 2012
by Soho Crime
(first published May 1st 2012)
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I have now read five of David Downing's series on John Russell, the Soviet-American spy. In fact I found the books conveyed the atmosphere of Berlin, before, during and after the war rather well. Its is an ambitious series and, rather like Philip Kerr's Bernie Guenther books, there are better constructed tales. I found the penultimate book on Berlin in 1945 the best: the secondary characters notably Russell's son Paul, were well developed. The battle for Berlin is depicted in parts seemingly ins...more
David Downing writes plausible thrillers - something most people won't take as the warmest of compliments, but in this case it certainly is. John Russell, the main character in Downing's 'Lehrter Station' and his four preceding WW2-era novels, is pushing 50 in the most recent installment of the series, and has led a dangerous life as a foreign correspondent in Nazi Germany before the war; from 1939 on, he ends up involved with spy agencies galore - American, British, German, Soviet -, but he is...more
This is the fourth book in the John Russell/Effie Koenin series. It takes place immediately after WWII ends, during the fall and winter of 1945. At the close of the previous book in this series, Russell is reunited with his son, his girlfriend (Effie), along with a few other individuals who are important figures to Russell and Effie, just as the Allies are entering Berlin.
In this book Russell et al are living in London when Russell is called upon to repay an old but significant debt. He's force...more
In this book Russell et al are living in London when Russell is called upon to repay an old but significant debt. He's force...more
This is a fascinating portrait of a society crawling out of chaos. It's not just the buildings and bridges that are reduced to rubble and ruins in post-war Berlin. The Americans are playing all sorts of games, some of them aligning themselves to ex-Nazis and the black market in order to fight the invisible war against the Soviets, whilst others appear to be totally unaware of what life was really like under Hitler's regime. The British are imperialists hanging desperately onto power, the stern t...more
When I spotted this at the library, I couldn't resist -- the latest in a series I fell in love with last year, about journalist/spy John Russell, living in Berlin before and after WWII.
In this book, the Nazis have been defeated, Berlin is a surreal landscape of rubble and occupying armies, and Russell and his girlfriend Effi have returned from exile in London, because the Soviets have their hooks into him for work he did for them previously, and they want him back in the city for work as a doubl...more
This one was tough. The book was definitely not the page turning read the others were, but somehow at the end I felt it was necessary more than enjoyable. It wrapped up several story lines that you might not even remember, but there was closure for all the characters John and Effie crossed in their paths. The problem was, that's really all it was, so it didn't flow like the other books did.
The only other problem with the book wasn't Downing's fault at all. The world is ugly, and full of distast...more
The only other problem with the book wasn't Downing's fault at all. The world is ugly, and full of distast...more
INTRODUCTION: Together with Alan Furst's historical novels about the immediate pre-WW 2 period, David Downing's John Russell novels which start on New Year's day 1939 in Zoo Station and so far cover the period up to New Year's Day 1946 at the end of Lehrter Station are big favorites that combine superb historical fiction - atmosphere, characters - with a dash of intrigue and action. Here is the blurb and more about it below.
"Paris, November 1945. John Russell is walking home along the banks of t...more
Fifth in this series, that has taken our cast of characters from before WW II, through WW II, and now we enter the post-war period. As always, our central focus is what plays out in the grand old city of Berlin, though to give depth and insight to that understanding characters can and will move throughout Europe.
John Russell and his Russian counterpart Shchepkin have both managed to survive all the multilayered espionage and the war itself, and now they find themselves doing a new variant of the...more
John Russell and his Russian counterpart Shchepkin have both managed to survive all the multilayered espionage and the war itself, and now they find themselves doing a new variant of the...more
Lehrter Station is David Downing’s fifth book in his John Russell series, all named after railroad stations in Berlin which each has a special significance to the story.
Set against the devastation of Berlin in 1945, Lehrter Station is a spy story whose characters struggle to reclaim their lives after World War II. The city has been divided into British, American, French and Soviet sectors, and it is becoming clear that the lines are being redrawn with the Soviet Union as the new enemy for the We...more
view all 3 comments
Mar 20, 2013
LaNae
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical_fiction,
thrillers-mystery
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the others, perhaps because the plot line seemed to meander quite a bit. There were a lot of reunions with various characters from previous books, with almost too many threads to follow. John Russell is again a pawn between competing spy agencies, and has become somewhat desensitized to death and killing, if it means his survival.
However, I appreciated the setting of this book. It provided a realistic depiction of life in an occupied post-war, pre-wall Berlin....more
However, I appreciated the setting of this book. It provided a realistic depiction of life in an occupied post-war, pre-wall Berlin....more
I have loved this series from David Downing. It started with pre- world war II English journalist John Russell who is living in Berlin due to his German ex-wife and young son. The series goes through the Nazi take-over, the gradual tightening of freedoms, the persecution of Jews and others, the brainwashing of youth, the underground protesting and the actual war. This book now finds John in London with his love Effi when he is tracked down by a Soviet Agent who helped him get out of war-torn Ber...more
The fifth “John Russell” novel picks up roughly six months after the end of POTSDAM STATION. Back in Berlin after escaping the final conflagration of the Third Reich, journalist John Russell once again is a reluctant spy whose allegiances would seem mixed—the Soviets, Americans, British and Germans all have a claim on him—except that his only true commitment is to his girlfriend Effi, his son & extended family. (My kind of guy!) Post-war Berlin is divided not just into zones held by the war’...more
These may not be the most cunningly plotted spy novels out there, but they're a super compelling depiction of Eastern/Central Europe before, during and now after the war. Downing has kept my interest by choosing, over the course of what are now five books, to divide his point of view between his male and female protagonists. And he gives us a lot of information about the period without too much clunky exposition. (There are a few cumbersome and anachronistic formulations, but on the whole they a...more
Downing is genius at writing an espionage spy thriller that keeps the pages turning faster than I can read them. This is the 5th book featuring John Russell and I certainly hope that it won’t be the last! In this book David Downing continues the story of British journalist John Russell and his German girlfriend Effi Koenen as they return to Berlin after the end of World War II. The war may be over but this doesn’t mean that Berlin is free of the continuing battle for power between the Russians,...more
David Downing has done it again. The continuing saga (and I use saga in a positive, not derogatory way) of John Russell, Effi Koenen begins in London in the fall of 1945. The expats are finding their way around the city and worrying about friends and relatives still in Berlin. Of course, Downing finds a plausible way to get both back to Berlin, where he immerses the characters and the reader in post-war Berlin with all of the Allies vying for position and power.
Downing delivers a convincing, en...more
Downing delivers a convincing, en...more
Lehret Station is the 5th instalment of the John Russell and Effie Koenen Series. Author David Downing really creates an environment that makes you feel that you have stepped back in time. This story is post world war 2 and focuses the personal hardships are exposed. Food shortages, accommodation struggles and finding lost friends and relatives are the prevailing themes of this story. This provides a real sense of the confusion and dislocation in past war Europe. It makes the whole enterprise of...more
In this latest installment, the war is over and we find John Russell - British journalist, American citizen, former Communist - safe with his extended family in London. Russell and his girlfriend Effi are having a hard time adjusting to life outside of Germany, but are glad to be safe.
This safety comes with a price and Russell is contacted by Soviet agent Shchepkin, who lets Russell know that the bill is due. The Soviets want Russell to offer himself as a double agent to the Americans and delive...more
This safety comes with a price and Russell is contacted by Soviet agent Shchepkin, who lets Russell know that the bill is due. The Soviets want Russell to offer himself as a double agent to the Americans and delive...more
Five months after the fall of Berlin, this chronicle of the adventures of John Russell, the Anglo-American journalist, and his paramour, Efffi Koene, the actress, continues. Four previous “Station” novels carried them through the pre-war years in Berlin to Russell’s escape to England. Now, his former Russian spymaster sort of blackmails him into returning to Berlin as a spy for both the Reds and the Americans. To sugarcoat the request, Effi is offered a starring role in a soon-to-be-made motion...more
John Russell and Effi are back in Berlin, which is not the Berlin they loved before the war. it's divided now between the Americans, Russians, French, and British. amid the ruins they renew old acquaintances, they try to find people, mostly Jews, who may or may not have survived the war, and they try to track down Nazis. Russell is working for both the Soviets and the Americans, and trying to stay one step ahead of both. i had trouble putting this down because i was so interested in finding out...more
This book starts as if it is almost like a travelogue, with Russell and Effi returning to Berlin due to pressure on Russell by the NKVD and then embarking on a roundup of the characters that have touched them in the previous books. We learn the fates of most of them. As always the book leaves you wanting to know more and with sufficient space in the narrative for that to be a possibility.
Lehter Station, "A John Russell Thriller", is a delightful change from modern spy thrillers. The characters are human and nultidimensional, struggling with the minutiae of everyday life while enmeshed in the grey areas of Nazism, communism, democracy, and spycraft. David Downing's voice is unique and mesmerizing. I will be looking for the other books in the series.
I wrote a long-ish review here, then one of my dogs decided to check out what I was doing on my laptop and erased it. Trust me, my review was brilliant :-). Here's the summary: liked the book and the series; as other reviewers have noted, there's a lot of wrapping up of plot lines; compares favorably to Furst.
Another great addition to the 'Station' series. The story is set in the context of post-war Berlin and gives a very credible impression of conditions and issues of the time. Not only does the book provide a very good history lesson but the plot is entertaining and full of surprises.
I like Downing's books a lot, but this wasn't his best. It felt rushed in the last part, and it too obviously and overtly tried to tee up a sequel. I like that there will be another book, but this ones just sort of ended abruptly.
Another delightful book in the John Russell/Effi Koenen series. Exquisitely crafted descriptions of Berlin and London after the end of the war. Reunions with old friends, tight plotting, suspense and coffee and cake on Unter den Linden. A gem of a book.
I have always enjoyed this series of novels but as the setting moves into the post-war period, I wonder if there is a sense that the characters thoughts reflect a modern interpretation rather than a contemporary perspective.
I really liked all of Downing's other Station books but this one showed his intense dislike of Americans. I'm tired of the Brits bashing America. We aren't at all close to perfection but neither are the Brits.
The fifth part of David Downing's series about British journalist John Russell and his German girlfriend Effi Koenen is (again) largely set in Berlin, in the last months of 1945. And, just like with the earlier books, the author's research has been flawless: Downing paints an accurate and vivid picture of an annihilated city, in which people struggle to survive anyway they can - and try to come to terms with whatever it is they've done (or neglected to do) in the years before. The plot is not ve...more
Lehrer Station was probably the weakest of Downing's book in the John Russell series. The book wrapped up very quickly in the last 20 pages, but the quick ending set the stage for future novels.
The latest (last?) in David Downing's series about a journalist turned reluctant spy in Berlin during the pre war and war days. This one is in the aftermath of the war. They are an evocative, often brutal depiction of life and death. Well written with good characters and accurate historically. If you enjoyed Phillip Kerr's Bernie Gunther stories you will enjoy these.
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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.
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