Zoo Station

John Russell is a British expat in Germany in 1939. Although conditions are worsening for many in Hitler’s Germany and it seems like Europe is heading for another war, Russell is loath to leave Germany because of his young son, who lives with Russell’s ex-wife and her new husband. Russell also has a German lover he’d rather not leave behind. Russell is approached by a Soviet agent with a request to write a series of articles about life in Nazi Germany. Soon the British have requests for him, too. He walks a fine line trying to keep the Soviets and the British happy without getting into trouble with the Nazis.

The book has a strong sense of place. It explores the growing danger for German Jews in 1939, with Russell assisting a show more Jewish family to whom he’s been giving English lessons. It also explores the dangers faced by other groups targeted by the Nazis – homosexuals and persons with disabilities. Russell is a bit of an antihero. He’s not a moral crusader on a mission to rescue Jews and defeat the Nazis, but he does his part to help those who need it within his circle of friends and acquaintances. show less

This thriller set in Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of the Second World War, is very well written. The description of the tensions and ordinary life in the capital are exceedingly convincingly realised and the central character, the English journalist John Russell and his German girlfriend Effi, likeable and well rounded. Russell's half German son, Paul, the product of his former marriage to Ilse, is also a well drawn and realistically likeable child, not a cipher like children quite often are in novels. The plot contains a great selection of grim and horrible incidents, but does meander a little occasionally and the ending was abrupt. This is certainly an impressive first book in this series and I was pleased that the next four show more were available to download for 99p each. show less

A brilliant evocation of 1939 Berlin, pre-war but with war clouds gathering. Meticulously researched as English journalist John Russell is recruited to spy on the Nazis for the Russians but finds it useful to share information with the British as he tries to help a Jewish family. I can't wait to read the rest of the "Station" series.

The first book in an ongoing series featuring an English journalist, John Russell, living and working in pre-WWII Germany. He has a young son, Paul, from a failed marriage to a German woman. Like all boys his age, Paul is a member of the Hitler Youth but he still gets to see him on a regular basis. Russell is also very involved with Effi, a German actress and with everything pointing towards a forthcoming war he doesn't want to provoke the ire of the administration which would lose him his job and to face probable deportation which would cause him to lose contact with those he loves. That's why he's loath to get involved when an American colleague asks for his help on a story that may shed light on the Nazi brutality but as he's only show more acting as an interpreter for an interview with a nurse who has some vital information he reluctantly agrees. Later, when his colleague is found dead by apparent suicide, Russell's conscience is pricked into taking action of his own. He's also been approached by an agent of the Russian NKVD to write a series of positive articles on the Nazi regime to help soften up the Soviet people to accept a non-aggression pact with Germany. As he'll probably need all the help he can get to remain in the country in future Russell agrees to write the articles. As if this wasn't enough, Russell also teaches English and he's just been asked to help a Jewish family as they prepare to emigrate to England. What could possibly go wrong?

This is very much an opening book for a series with the first half of this story more involved with setting the scene and atmosphere of the times and laying out the groundwork for future instalments. Despite the slow build-up it's not a dull read as there was enough going on to keep me enthralled in the action. Very similar in this respect to Alan Furst's series of espionage novels which I've also enjoyed immensely (the ones I've read so far that is). It's a very well written character study set amidst rising tensions with a credible lead who has to make some tough decisions in order to keep his head above water and still be able to remain in the place he wants to be. Definitely a series that I intend to continue with in the future. show less

“ a world more full of weeping than you can understand.”
-Yeats

John Russell is a British freelance journalist living in Berlin. The year is 1939 and war is rapidly approaching. He has been there for fifteen years. His girlfriend is German and his son, from a previous marriage also lives in the city.
One fine day a Soviet agent corners him and asks him to do a few assignments for them. He agrees and soon uncovers various Nazi atrocities and finds himself in some very dangerous waters, especially when the Brits, Americans and the Gestapo want a piece of him too.
This is a low-key thriller, more of a slow burn than a conflagration. Nicely written, with a likable lead and some fine dry humor: “If the Eskimos had fifty words for snow, the show more Nazis probably had fifty for dried blood.”
This is the 1st in a series and I am looking forward to the next. show less

In Nazi controlled Germany one spent much of their time keeping their head down and trying not to draw any attention to themselves. In [Zoo Station] David Downing captures this claustrophobic feeling as he tells the story of Anglo-American journalist John Russell, living and working in Berlin, held there by emotional ties. He has a German girlfriend he doesn’t wish to leave and a half-German son who means the world to him. Being a divorced father means he gets to spend very little time with his son, but if he left or was expelled he would have to leave his son behind.

What then does he do when he stumbles on an enormous story, one that the rest of the world really should see to get a true picture of how far the Nazi regime is willing show more to go to keep their bloodlines pure. Another journalist has already been killed over this story, and the hunt is on for the letters and documents that would reveal their plans. At the same time John agrees to teach English to a couple of Jewish girls whose parents are trying desperately to get the family, or at least the children out of Germany. When the father is accused of a crime and the mother is refused a Visa, how can a man of conscience not get involved?

David Downing manages to tell a well paced, complex story that draws the reader along, quietly building the tension as the increasingly murderous nature of this regime is revealed. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and we know what is going to eventually happen, but this is a masterful look at a repressed and frightened people under the control of a government that ruled by terror, unfortunately these people looked the other way and did not want to become involved until it was suddenly too late. show less

This is an excellent period piece. It does prewar [late 38/early 39] Berlin excellently while also wandering through other parts of Germany, Poland and Prague. Indeed the only historical howler is a British intelligence officer telling the POV character [he is scarcely a hero] that the UK will fight over Poland because they cannot let Hitler get further ahead in armaments. In fact Hitler had gotten a 3-4 year head start but the Anglo-French were in the process of catching up. Adolph's best window of opportunity was 1939 into the first half of 1940. By the autumn of 1940 the window starts to close and by the end of 1941 it is gone [this presumes Paris doesn't fall so the French program is finished]. However the author's howler is what show more most of the pop histories say so he doesn't lose the one star for that. However while this is a lovely costume dram / period piece it works much less well as a piece of fiction. There are too many plot threads, too many secondary characters and the ending is more than a trifle too deus ex machina pat. Still kudos for making a workable ending. Many writers would have simply let it hang. The book was good enough that I ordered the next volume from Amazon but I do hope the author refines his story telling as the series goes on. It just never quite works as a thriller or a spy story or a police procedural [perhaps because it seems never to quite decide exactly what it is]. show less