Praise for "Masaryk Station ""Epic in scope, Mr. Downing's "Station" cycle creates a fictional universe rich with a historian's expertise but rendered with literary style and heart.""--The Wall Street Journal" "Downing adroitly elucidates the morass that was post-World War II geopolitics without dumbing it down... One can only marvel at his talent for infusing such a rangy cast of characters with nuance and soul." "--The New York Times Book Review" "This is a brilliant finale to one of spydom's best series. If you haven't read all the others, get them first and enjoy the whole feast." "--The Globe and Mail" "Downing is one of a trio of exceptional writers (Philip Kerr and Alan Furst being the other two) who have managed to re-create a time and place when much of the world seemed to have gone temporarily mad.""--The Denver Post" "Downing's outstanding evocation of the times (as masterly as that found in Alan Furst's novels or Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series), thematic complexity (as rich as that of John le Carre), and the wide assortment of fully rendered characters provide as much or more pleasure than the plot, where disparate threads are tied together in satisfying and unexpected ways."--"Library Journal, "STARRED Review "Downing returns with another taut tale of espionage as World War II shades deeper into the Cold War and good guys get harder to tell from bad.... Downing writes with a sure grasp of the way bad situations become worse; he's a master of heightened tension and the sweat-bedewed upper lip... The local color and cigarette smoke are thick, and so is the plot, with fine MacGuffins, a truly red herring or two, and even a man in the boot to keep things interesting.""--Kirkus Reviews" "If your reaction is anything like mine, you'll want to continue through the entire series.""--Books & Culture""The Station books are without a doubt some of the finest espionage novelsy

David Downing grew up in suburban London. He is the author of five previous books in the John Russell series, "Zoo Station, Silesian Station, Stettin Station," "Potsdam Station," and "Lehrter Station." He lives with his wife, an American acupuncturist, in Guildford, England.