Thriller

This is my second Steinhauer novel. Complex and interesting plot (very complex sometimes). I do recommend the book. It reminded me a bit of some Jason Bourne novels by Robert Ludlum, but with a slightly less breakneck pace. I'll read more Steinhauer, but I'll take a break first. ( )

http://pro-libertate.net/20160717/300-read-nearest-exit ( )

Not quite as good as it's predecessor, but still a fun romp of a spy novel. Read most of it on an eight hour plane ride. ( )

An exciting, complex spy novel about a super-secret arm of the CIA, the Dept of Tourism, that is only a rumor even to them, although it seems to be better known outside the US. It's made up of tourists, who wander around the world doing whatever they're told, often killing people without ever knowing why.

But Milo Weaver is no ordinary spook; he has a wife and daughter, and a different outlook on life and death, so he tries to get out field work, and works behind a desk for while, until he is needed and can't refuse. Quitting is not easy, especially if your knowledge is deemed a liability - or family obligations force you to remain. In the last book, he got accused of killing an adversary and was suspected in the death of another tourist, a good friend. He was finally cleared, but not everyone believed he was innocent, so to get back into field work, he needed to prove himself by doing a few jobs. One was to kill a young girl, who apparently did nothing wrong, and he broke the rules by questioning the reason for it. This assignment was the main thrust of the book, and we get to know the agents that are involved. Nothing is as simple as it seems, neither for the characters nor the reader. In the end, most of the characters are shown to be human, with typical human motives, complex but understandable.

One character besides Milo was unexpectedly interesting from the beginning, and likable in her fearfulness. She was an obese German secret service administrator, who was dedicated to finding the truth even when the rest of her department wanted her to stop.

And the ending - both unexpected and expected in a way, but unusual nonetheless. ( )