Lenin's Roller Coaster

By: David Downing

Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie

The third Jack McColl espionage thriller by David Downing (also the author of the WWII Station series) brings together two lovers in Bolshevik Russia.

Winter 1917: As a generation of Europe's young men perish on the Eastern and Western fronts, British spy Jack McColl is assigned a sabotage mission deep in Central Asia, where German influence is strong. As he quickly realizes, the mission only becomes more dangerous the closer he gets to its heart. Meanwhile, the woman he loves, Irish-American suffragette journalist Caitlin Hanley, is in Bolshevik Russia, thrilled to have the chance to cover the Revolution.

Caitlin knows Moscow is where she is meant to be during this historic event - even if she is putting her own life at risk to bear witness. But four years of bloody war have taken their toll on all of Europe, and Jack and Caitlin's relationship may become another casualty. Caitlin's political convictions have always been for progress, feminism, and socialism - often diametrically opposed to the conservative goals of the British Empire Jack serves. Up until now Jack and Caitlin have managed to set aside their allegiances and stay faithful to each other, but the stakes of their affair have risen too high. Can a revolutionary love a spy? And if she does, will it cost one of them their lives?

©2017 David Downing (P)2017 Recorded Books

this series has pleased less with each book

I was unhappy with the previous book's setup of going from Jack's story to Caitlin's story. While this setup keeps the storyline in a sort of chronological order, it struck me as disjunct. This book amplified my unhappy feelings of the book's setup. I would have enjoyed the book much more if it had simply followed Jack. While I am interested in the feminine politics that concern Caitlin, her character just does not resonate with me. neither does Jack's character for that matter, but I find myself more willing to suspend my sense of disbelief with Jack's actions. By employing separate plots, and bouncing back and forth between them, the book felt much too episodic to me and di not strike me as a whole, let alone a well-conceived whole.
The rating gets bumped a notch simply for taking me as a reader to places and events that I have not run across in my reading. I find myself caring less about the characters as the books progress forward.

Downing's clunker

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story line stretches credulity, and the characters are tired.

Would you ever listen to anything by David Downing again?

I enjoyed the 'Station' series, and have listened to the two previous books in this series. This is the weakest.