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From the Bookshelf of Espionage Aficionados…

Silesian Station (John Russell, #2)

David Downing

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Jul 22, 2019 Scott Head rated it really liked it

Set in Berlin and pre-war Europe, Silesian Station is a very enjoyable spy novel with just enough developed characters to warrant keeping a record. We discover a deepening of the web of obligations in which our hero has found himself in this tale, which is well crafted and carries a lot of visceral scene crafting. It is summer, 1939. Germany is making up reasons to invade Poland, faking news, instigating political shenanigans which all but insure a second great war. It is a very troubled time, b Set in Berlin and pre-war Europe, Silesian Station is a very enjoyable spy novel with just enough developed characters to warrant keeping a record. We discover a deepening of the web of obligations in which our hero has found himself in this tale, which is well crafted and carries a lot of visceral scene crafting. It is summer, 1939. Germany is making up reasons to invade Poland, faking news, instigating political shenanigans which all but insure a second great war. It is a very troubled time, but Berliners continue to keep themselves in denial of the obvious. This theme is carried from the first book, as are many of the characters. This novel takes us a month past the war's commencement, and is one of my favorite periods from which to read historical fiction. There are so many power grabs, deals, allegiances and interests all vying with one another to gain an upper hand in what is obvious to all - a major outbreak of war. Into this tension-filled climate, a spy story is simply right at home.

This is the second 'John Russell' novel, the man is a British citizen journalist working in the Berlin as a journalist, now employed by an American paper as a foreign correspondent. This story opens with a heart-wrenching abduction of a Jewish girl at the railway station the book takes its name from. She will factor into an absolutely brazen, tension-filled operation near the end of the book that satisfies the reader, yet lays a series of possible hooks on which Russell may find himself hanging in the future. He has to contend with Nazi thugs, goons, and high ranking SS jerks, and sometimes they leave him a little worse for wear. But it's all in the job, which he is enduring in order to insure a passage out of Germany for himself and his family, should it come to that.

There is a good sense of uneasiness building in Germany, and with Russel, as he finds himself more deeply embroiled in his spying activities. Using his advantage as a journalist, he continues to feed the Soviets fake info from the Nazis, and to return the favor feeding false info from his Soviet handlers to the Germans. All the while, he's also doing light clandestine errands for the Americans. We don't have much appearance in this book of his native British spooks, but we remember they are there too. He's a man with many irons in the fire, a useful condition for working one wicked agency against another, but one hard to keep sorted out.

Many moody scenes, well-narrated sequences, and believable circumstances. The story ends with some fireworks for sure, leaving the John Russell fan yearning to know wha happens next.

I enjoyed this one more that Zoo Station, the first book in the series was good and very moody. The second continued the story well, and I am now into the third. ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Anthony Nuthall marked it as to-read

Feb 22, 2022 Alberto rated it really liked it

May 14, 2023 David rated it it was amazing

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