Lenin's Roller Coaster

Jack McColl #3

by David Downing

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?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Espionage, Russia, Historical

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 7, 2017

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book took awhile to get going and felt the ending was rushed hence why only giving the book this rating. the book itself is based in 1917 Russia after the second revolution as the war goes on the intelligence services change their priorities.

[Liviu · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of boring and couldn't care less about either of the main characters; having Bolshevik leaders as even partially 'good guys" tops it off; not a 1 star as on occasion it reminded me of the superb ww2 series of the author' still, such a hugely disappointing series...
will check volume 4 just for completion

[Imran Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the first two books in Downing's Jack McColl series I was excited to read Lenin's Roller Coaster, number three in the series. Unfortunately, this novel did not live up to my expectations.

There wasn't enough suspense to make this a page turner. It seemed the author wanted to 'humanize' the characters. Indeed, at times the book was too heavily skewed towards romance rather than its expected genre of thriller / spy novel.

To be sure, Lenin's Roller Coaster is not difficult to read. It simply doesn't match the standards of the first two McColl novels.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Russian Revolution erupted in 1917, it was by no means clear that Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks would come into power. Even after Lenin and his allies seized the reins of government in Moscow and Leningrad late in the year, the Communist Party’s control of the country was deeply in doubt. The party was indebted to a shaky coalition partner, the Left Revolutionary Socialists. Royalist forces, later dubbed the Whites, were forming armies led by former czarist officers and rapidly regaining territory. A Czech army of 50-100,000 men was operating in tandem with the Whites. And the Western Allies—British, French, and Americans—were invading the country from the north. Chaos reigned in Russia.

In the midst of this fluid and uncertain situation, Jack McColl, a Scot employed by the nascent Secret Service (MI6), enters the country on a mission to help undermine the Bolsheviks. Meanwhile, his unlikely lover, Irish-American journalist Caitlin Handley, is in Russia reporting on the Revolution. Caitlin is a radical with friends among the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. This is the premise on which Lenin’s Roller Coaster is based. It’s the third novel in David Downing’s series featuring Jack and Caitlin.

Somehow, in an earlier book in the series, the two fell in love in the midst of a Secret Service operation in Ireland. There, they were on different sides, too. In fact, Jack was responsible for the death of Caitlin’s younger brother, Colm, who “had been hanged in the Tower of London two years earlier, after taking part in an Irish Republican plot to sabotage the transporting of British troops to France. McColl had caught and arrested him, albeit after offering to let him escape.” Improbably, Caitlin is well aware of Jack’s role in Colm’s death and fell in love with him, anyway.

Mansfield Cumming (the original “C” of MI6) has sent Jack to Russia with vague orders to connect with other agents already in place there. Cumming explains, “Our job is to shore up what’s left of the Eastern Front and prevent the Germans and Turks from exploiting the Russian collapse.”

Lenin’s Roller Coaster relates Jack and Caitlin’s experiences as they make their way to Moscow with painful slowness. Jack enters from the south, through Iran. Caitlin’s route takes her to Vladivostok on Russia’s easternmost coast, then westward on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Both trips take many weeks and expose the lovers to repeated danger. While Downing’s description of the Russian Revolution as it unfolded across the vast expanse of the country is fascinating from an historical standpoint, the slow progression of the plot is tedious. The book works well as historical fiction, not so well as a thriller.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story didn't do much to captivate me but the historical detail was illuminating.

[Lorin Cary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an historical novel, and Downing explains at the end his take on that genre. It's an excellent explanation which fits the story he's crafted that takes places during the first year of the Russian revolution. Jack McColl is a Scotsman and a British secret agent and Caitlin Hanley is an Irish-American journalist and supporter of the Bolsheviks. And of course they are in love. The novel follows them in separate chapters as Jack gets to Russia and as Caitlin works to record history-in-the-making and then to become part of it. Downing captures the context beautifully, the fragility of the regime in that first year, as myriad forces work to crush the revolution, and as the terror-to-come showed some ragged edges. It's a powerful story, and an excellent read.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
The story is good, but the writing is mostly pedantic. Especially in the Caitlin parts. I found Caitlin to be an unsympathetic character. Hero-worshiping, rather shallow, unable to see any nuances in the political situations and in her "heroic" acquaintances' stances and activities. Given her personality (extreme: all or nothing at all), I really can't see her relationship with Jack having made it this far. Though, admittedly, I didn't read the two books that preceded this in the series.

Jack McColl is a bit of a mystery. How did he become so amazingly proficient in so very many languages? I love the MacGyver-like ability he has to rig and fix just about anything, in order to: get away, save the boy (or girl), fool the enemy, bluff the situation, forage some sustenance, or melt into the local crowd.

[Martha Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, not quite a 4, but still a good read. Going to start Downing's John Russell series as I find WWII more interesting than WWI.

[Bernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenin’s Rollercoaster
This is the third instalment Jack McColl and Caitlin Hanley series written by David Downing. This time the protagonist are in Russia after the fall of the short-lived Kerensky government. The Bolsheviks under Lenin have come to power. There are however many factions who are fighting each other within Russia. Some want peace with the Germans others want to fight on. The supporters of the Czar the White Russians want the old order restored. This forms the backdrop to the adventures of Jack McColl and Caitlin Hanley.
The background really highlight a time when there as optimism and the thought that the Russian revolution would yield a utopian workers’ paradise. As the story progresses the idyll is slipping away. The Bolsheviks execute the Czar and his family and the state security apparatus is emerging. The terror that follows the spring of hope is more than just rumour. Our heroes Jack and Caitlin are traversing the Russian landscape separately he a spy she a journalist. Narrow escapes and shady characters are the order of the day. Their adventures are always crisscrossing but separate. In some ways it is two stories in one. A wonderful way to have glimpse of this turbulent time in history.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third book in the Jack McColl series kicks off in 1917 and follows the formula of the first two, in which sections alternate between British intelligence agency McColl, and his long-distance lover, American journalist Caitlin Hanley. While there are narrative threads, and action scenes, and close calls, what this series really seems to want to do is put the reader ringside for various historical episodes, some famous, some not. If you liked the first two in the series (and you do have to read this series in order), you'll probably like this one as well.

The focus here is on the Russian Revolution, and giving one a sense of all the different factions and power struggles at play. It does a reasonably good job at conveying the confusing political power struggles that were taking place over the vast Russian territory, but I found myself more interested in seeking out a good history of the events, than continuing to read about the heroes fictional movements. My favorite parts were when McColl is messing around in Central Asia, but that's all more of a sideline to the main events. One thing that does come across quite well is why those seeking justice and equality would be drawn to the revolution, and not pick up on the early clues of what it would turn into.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

finished this one yesterday round about seven seventeen pee em...the 16th of february 2018, what was it, thursday? yeah, thursday. good read, i liked it...barely. three stars. or maybe two. it was okay. didn't ring any bells for me maybe because one of the heroes of the story is a socialist, starry-eyed, rose-colored glasses and all. if the story continued she'd been calling stalin uncle joe. there is an afterword from downing and apparently he tried to stay true to history, people, events to a degree. the big ones, this, that, the other. one thing missing, i thought, was any form of "piece"...journalism, from one of the heroes, the woman...there are two, a man and a woman...one a brit spy male and the other an american woman journalist. thought it would be nice to have seen her reportage in person instead of being told...such and such. the opportunity was certainly there, wasn't delivered, no news on the door-step. anyway...some parts of the story were good, more entertaining than others and that is a plus...they both engage in a kind of journey toward a destination and the reader follows along with them.

[Rayrumtum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this 3rd installment in the Jack McColl series. Most of it happens in 1917 Russia after the Bolsheviks have seized power. Many fellow reviewers had problems with it as being too complex or too favorable to the Bolsheviks in their struggle against the Whites. I think much of that is because Russian history at this particular time was extremely complex and Downing caught the complexity. The apparent sympathy for the Bolsheviks was true of many at that particular time as many contemporary observers thought it would unleash a new and better world. Plus the Whites against whom they were pitted were equally vile--especially against Jews. At this time many people/especially artists traveled to Russia to develop art and it was considered an exciting period of free expression. I suspect by the next volume those positive vibes will turn to dust as they have started in that direction towards the end of this one.

[John Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The newest Jack McColl/Caitlin Hanley espionage thriller continues the love affair between the two star crossed lovers. Only this time things are not as it seems. Caitlin has become enthralled by the revolution of 1917. It has become everything she could hope for.
Meanwhile Jack, our dare-doing secret agent fights the secret war which leads him to Russia, only in the opposite direction from Caitlin coming in from the Far East. Only to miss her by months.
Lenin's revolution rolls on in various directions. The Cheka, the Trust and even old Sidney Reilly shows up for a final (?) show down between Jack and Caitlin's relationship.
Downing always does a grand job of his history of the times and although I thought the book was a trilogy it seems that there will be a fourth, which makes me waiting again.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

+McColl is left a home when Caitlin Hanley returns to Russia, but then he ships east with a partner to try to keep the Germans from obtaining essential materials. Caitlin returns to the US and then after covering part of the trial of the IWW leaders in Chicago, she continued on west and returned to Russia via Vladivostok. Train service is often interrupted or stopped all together and the trip to Moscow is not without incident. Meanwhile Jack is making his way through German occupied territory on his way to Kiev and befriends an orphaned boy after his escape from Kiev. Lots of walking, train problems, imprisonment by different groups, a split of the bolsheviks with the LSR, all manner of problems and ethical and other challenges to belief systems. All in all an amazing look inside history in the making.+

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack McColl is a good lead character and his romance with Caitlin Hanley spans time and continents as well as political differences. Jack is a Scot fighting for the British government, while Caitlin is an American of Irish ancestry who follows her socialist dreams to Russia and immerses herself in the Bolshevik revolution. There is one more book in the Jack McColl series and I look forward to seeing how long Caitlin’s idealized vision of socialism lasts in a society turning more and more to repression and coercion to create a new country. In the meantime, Jack is shunned by his former spy agency because his conscience would not allow the White Russian factions to poison the water and food of Moscow. His act averted the death of millions but the WWII allies, including the British, were angry he did not just follow his orders.

[Rich Saskal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This must be a good series, because I intend to finish it out.
Even though there is a lot to quibble with.
The lead characters, with their modern sensibilities, come off more as displaced time travelers than creatures of the World War I era when the series takes place.
And a continuing series of impressive conincidences throws them together repeatedly on a canvas of events that literally spans the globe.
But the plot, and the likability of the characters, is enough to keep me going, particularly
given that the books reflect thorough historical research about interesting events that aren't particularly well-known anymore.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third in the series, and I still don't love it.
The book gives a picture of how precarious the situation in Russia was after the 1917 revolution, with multiple factions and interests. All through the eyes of Jack McColl (English spy, though he mostly has no idea of what his masters actually intend) and Caitlin Harley (American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer.)
But the title suggests we'd see something of Lenin, or at least an overview of what was going on in Russia. It doesn't. This is a view from below, where participants have only a partial and confused view of what is going on.

[Chuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I submitted to the lure of this book's cover. A NOVEL OF ESPIONAGE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR it said. How was I supposed to resist that? I didn't. We are following a British spy on a sabotage mission in Central Asia and his socialist leaning girlfriend who is a journalist covering activities in Bolshevik Russia. I am a lazy reader. Trying, with little help from the author, to keep up with geographic locations I've never heard of before and a cast of thousands, most with Russian names, overwhelmed me and I put it down without finishing it.

[Vontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually finished this book a couple of days ago, but system has challenges properly placing books that weren't in the currently reading list prior to putting in dates. I haven't read the previous two books in this series, which is to be four. I found it hard to get into and keep track of the characters and plot until at least half way through the book. This was likely due to not having time to read a few pages at a time for several days. Interesting time in history, both the Russian revolutions and the First World War. Not sure I will read the next book, don't think I could care enough about the characters by the end of this one.

[Andy Weiler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't know this was the third in a series until I had read a good chunk of it. It stands alone in a certain sense.
I love the idea of the plot. Two different perspectives on the Russian Revolution, a time in history I enjoyed learning about. But, I found to book difficult to get into and it took me a lot longer to complete than a book typically does.
That said, the book had enough to keep me interested. I really enjoyed following along on a map to figure out where Jack McColl was given I don't have a lot of knowledge of the Caucasus region.

[Steve B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radical Irish American journalist, Caitlin Hanley, and British spy, Jack McColl, are caught up in the mayhem of the Russian Revolution. The plot is as complex as was the politics of 1918 Russia. Downing is excellent at painting the scenes whether it is in the street life of Petrograd to a women's rights conference in Moscow to life in a Ukrainian prison to cramped quarters of life on the trans Siberian railway. This is a broad and vibrant fictional account of a tumultuous but idealistic time in Russian history.

[Mary Warnement · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this had come with a map. I have to go to my atlas and look up the modern names of places.

Downing puts us in 1917-1918 and portrays the time as it was. Not the usual WWI novel. We are in RussiaHis characters don't know the Germans won't take Paris. Or that the Bolsheviks will win. He also portrays the chaos of the second revolution and that there were many types of revolutionaries in Russia.

The ending seemed abrupt, and one death especially sad. I look forward to the fourth and finale in this series. For now.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another novel that takes us to an unfamiliar area of the world and a not-so-well known time period, at least for me.
I enjoy the author's use of historical characters along with his fictional ones. The off and on again romance between the two protagonists holds my interest and offers the author a way of expanding the scope of the story without straining the reader's credulity.
I'm looking forward to the fourth (and final?) volume in the series.

[Trilby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Jack McColl novel does not rise to the excellence of Downing's "Station" books. Considering the story is set in Russia during WWI, there is surprisingly little suspense, and the love affair between English Jack and Commie Caitlin is a long-distance, lukewarm affair. I kept thinking of the real-life story of John Reed and Louise Bryant, lovers who saw unspeakable horrors in Russia during the Revolution--and how boring this story is by comparison. And the title? Hmm.

[James Old · Rating 2 out of 5]

This meandering story with a weak plot lacks the wonderful sense of place of much of the author's earlier work. Throughout the book the author seems more concerned with contriving excuses to place the main characters at the scenes of historical events he wants to include than with spending the time needed to develop the characters, setting, and storyline.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a really hard time getting into this. Maybe because literally nothing happened for the first 150 pages - just the two protagonists missing each other and traveling around a lot. It's too bad - it's such an exciting time in history (one of my favorites, actually) - he could have done a lot more with it.

[Michael Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poorest of the four part series so far.
The romantic linkage between Jack and Caitlyn is stretched beyond believable limits, while WWI and the Russian Revolution take precedent.
I don't believe I will read the fourth and final installment, as I have lost interest in the characters and their lives.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I enjoy each book in this series less. My interest in the characters has diminished. Jack is still traveling undercover, missing getting discovered and murdered while the bodies fall around him. And Caitlin ‘s obsession with the regime in Russia is drawn out far too long. I already have the next book in the series but I am not sure when I will read it.

[TheIron Paw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the dreams, failures and chaos of the 1917 revolutions in Russia. While this is a decent espionage/action novel, it seems to me the main theme or reason is to portray what Russia was like during this turbulent time and the contradictory attitudes of the western powers. Our protagonist is no James Bond; he is entirely human. A very worthwhile read.

[Araych · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack McColl #3. Thriller/Adventure Story/ History Lesson. ..... It's winter, 1917. Caitlin and Jack after much travel and travail end up in Russia in the midst of the Bolshevik revolution. Great characters, exciting scenes of espionage and violence and a good deal of detailed information about the workings of Russia's revolution. This is a great series but this one is a bit slower than the preceding 2. Rated 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.