Trapped in the USSR
Trapped in the U.S.S.R. is book 8 of the Race Against Time series written by J. J. Fortune. It is notable for poor characterization, and ludicrous plot involving a teenage boy who has to escape the Russians, but seems more worried that his parents might find out he's away. At one point due to his lack of Russian fluency he has to pretend to be deaf and mute, but keeps talking anyway.
 Front cover of UK edition | |
| Author | J. J. Fortune |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Bill Sienkiewicz (map by Giorgetta Bell McRee) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Race Against Time series |
| Genre | Juvenile |
| Publisher | Dell Publishing (US), Armada (UK) |
Publication date | 1984 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 142 pp (paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-440-99058-0 |
| OCLC | 11475122 |
| Preceded by | The Secret of the Third Watch |
| Followed by | Journey to Atlantis |
Plot summary
Richard Duffy promised Stephen an uneventful week when the latter's parents went for a week-long trip to Clearwater, Florida, for business. Reasoning if they were not home, they would not receive emergency phone calls or visitors asking for help, the uncle-nephew duo went out for dinner. Yet barely a block from their residence, they were surrounded by 4 heavy-set men who forced them into a limousine, driven directly to an airport runway and made to board a waiting plane, bypassing all normal customs, immigration and security channels.
They were flown to Estonia, and transferred to a submarine where a past adversary of Richard, Igor Borisov of the KGB, forced Richard to carry out a secret investigation into a plot by Soviet officials in the highest circle. Igor selected Richard because he could trust few people, and one of his own reliable men had been killed recently.
In order to get himself and Stephen safely home, Richard had to agree, and even had to work with the beautiful Natasha Golovina whom Richard had outmanoeuvred in the past in Paris. To make things worse, Stephen had to mention Michelle LeBlanc whom he met in the previous story Pursuit of the Deadly Diamonds, arousing Natasha's jealousy.
Convinced too that the plot Igor was facing was a threat to his own country and the world as a whole, they undertook feverish trips across the USSR, from Leningrad, to Moscow, to Tashkent, Bratsk, and finally, Odessa. Their assignment was to steal vital documents kept by five men identified as being chief conspirators in the plot.
Non-recurring Characters
- Igor Borisov - General in the KGB, in charge of internal security of the USSR. He was a major when Richard encountered him in the past when Richard salvaged information from a sunken Russian submarine.
- Natasha Golovina - KGB, Paris Section, one of the few staff trusted by Igor. She was assigned to the same mission, to pose as husband and wife with Richard Duffy.
- Ivan Plakhovsky - Described as having the appearance of a clever man, high cheekbones, receding hairline and a neat little beard.
- Grigori Volodkin - Described as expressionless, broad stiff face and hair that stood straight up.
- Feodor Chuvashkov - Described as having Asian eyes and high cheekbones.
- Josip Lavrochev - Described as having thin, intense face, with a mane of slicked black hair, almost-handsome with attractive features and exuding confidence.
- Yuri Donskoi - Described as trying to look professional, carefully trimmed white beard, hearty face, heavy eyeglasses, with eyes suggesting unreliability.
- Viktor Duvinov - Cover for Richard Duffy for the mission, colonel in the KGB.
- Stefan Duvinov - Cover for Stephen Lane, supposed to be rendered deaf and dumb after an accident, and brought by Viktor to medical institutes around the USSR for treatment.
- Olga Zakharovna - Old schoolfriend of Natasha, professor of Literature at a University.
- Korsky - Captain of a hydrofoil in Odessa.
- Calvin Fairborne - Commander of US airforce base in Turkey
Chapter headings
- A Chilly Welcome, Saturday, 7:18 A.M., Baltic Sea
- A Long, Long Walk, Friday, 6:47 P.M., New York City
- Dark Doings, Saturday, 8:03 A.M., Leningrad
- The First Step, Saturday, 8:52 A.M., Leningrad
- Breaking and Entering, Saturday, 9:27 A.M., Leningrad
- The Puzzle Begins, Saturday, 10:36 A.M., Leningrad
- In the Shadow of the Kremlin, Saturday, 1:05 P.M., Moscow
- A House in the Country, Saturday, 11:21 P.M., Moscow
- Go East, Young Man, Sunday, 1:03 A.M., Moscow
- Afternoon of the Knife, Sunday, 3:53 P.M., Tashkent
- Off to Siberia, Sunday, 4:10 P.M., Tashkent
- Trouble in the Taiga, Tuesday, 2:43 A.M., Bratsk
- Up In Smoke, Tuesday, 6:26 A.M., Bratsk
- The Trans-Siberian Railroad, Tuesday, 7:13 A.M., Siberia
- Going Crazy, Thursday, 8:09 A.M., Odessa
- Countdown to Disaster, Thursday, 8:17 P.M., Odessa
- The Deep Black Sea, Thursday, 11:31 P.M., Odessa
- Coming Home — A Little Late, Friday, 9:54 A.M., Turkey