Known for his John Russell espionage series set in World War II Berlin (
Masaryk Station), Downing begins a new historical series featuring Scottish car salesman Jack McColl. McColl's affinity for languages and a job that takes him around the globe make it possible for him to covertly collect intelligence for His Majesty's Navy. It's 1913, and the world is on the brink of war, escalating McColl's spy duties and danger quotient. He makes his way from China to the United States and Mexico, then back to Europe as he chases German spies and their conspirators and falls in love with Caitlin Hanley, a spirited Irish American journalist, whose brother may be involved in a plot against the British. Now McColl will have to choose between love and country as he arrives in Ireland and tries to stop an explosive plan that could cost many lives.
VERDICT Fans of Downing's previous spy tales will not be disappointed with this excellent series launch that is full of rich historical and cultural details, revealed as his protagonist learns the espionage business on the eve of World War I. [Previewed in Editors' Spring Picks, LJ 2/15/13, p. 28.]
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