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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
marissalikestoread's review against another edition
3.0
Intriguing mystery with great pacing, but it lacked a backstory to make me care about the characters. Why had they become spies? How did they train for their jobs?
cbateman's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
andrew_lt's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nhodge253's review against another edition
5.0
If you are fortunate enough to be familiar with Steinhauer, just know that he has outdone himself here by being able to maintain another web of intrigue all within the setting of a conversation between former lovers at dinner. There is a short setup before the dinner and then some flashbacks, but they are all in relation to what is being discussed at the dinner table. If you are kinda like "hmmmmm, I don't know, sounds dull", I was too because the version I read came with an intro from the author that pretty much laid out how his story was going to presented. But trust me, it works. It's a quick read and one you will want to gobble up. Fantastic work.
jameskinsella's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
charles__'s review against another edition
3.0
This it the first story I've read by this author. I had to noodle around to find one not part of a series. By all accounts, this is a 'small' book for the author.
Writing was good. Maybe the story is a tad long at about 300-pages. A large part of the story was dialog, which was as good as the the descriptive prose. Flashbacks and POV changes were well handled. I enjoyed many of the similes the author used most of which were in the Henry voice. They tickled my literary sensibilities. In particular I liked the description of a contract killer as an, "overweight, Willy Loman-like, figure".
There were very few characters-- Henry and Celia both ex-spooks (CIA), and ex-lovers verbally dance around a dinner table throughout the story. Celia is the better wrought character. Supporting characters are standard fare for the genre.
Plot is a basic whodunnit as an espionage/romance mashup. The story flashes back and forth between the present and to Celia and Henry's last time together six years ago in post-cold war Vienna. Henrey and Celia's relationship is spooled-out in relation to their: betrayals, loving loyalty and treason. Although, at a little past midway it became obvious, at least to me who was the traitor. The end was akin to watching an emotional train wreck.
This is a well-written story. Its solidly within the contemporary view of the genre. You'll be at home here, if you like [a:John le Carré|1411964|John le Carré|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234571122p2/1411964.jpg]. However, this story is not quiet as deep as [b:A Legacy of Spies|34496624|A Legacy of Spies|John le Carré|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1495227039s/34496624.jpg|55619118]. Reading this story, I was reminded of Le Carré's Guillam character's lament in that book, What is the long game of espionage was all for at the end? (Note this scene also took place over dinner.) This book is quiet readable and has the advantage of being standalone and short.
Writing was good. Maybe the story is a tad long at about 300-pages. A large part of the story was dialog, which was as good as the the descriptive prose. Flashbacks and POV changes were well handled. I enjoyed many of the similes the author used most of which were in the Henry voice. They tickled my literary sensibilities. In particular I liked the description of a contract killer as an, "overweight, Willy Loman-like, figure".
There were very few characters-- Henry and Celia both ex-spooks (CIA), and ex-lovers verbally dance around a dinner table throughout the story. Celia is the better wrought character. Supporting characters are standard fare for the genre.
Plot is a basic whodunnit as an espionage/romance mashup. The story flashes back and forth between the present and to Celia and Henry's last time together six years ago in post-cold war Vienna. Henrey and Celia's relationship is spooled-out in relation to their: betrayals, loving loyalty and treason. Although, at a little past midway it became obvious, at least to me who was the traitor.
Spoiler
I was always sympathetic to Celia.This is a well-written story. Its solidly within the contemporary view of the genre. You'll be at home here, if you like [a:John le Carré|1411964|John le Carré|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234571122p2/1411964.jpg]. However, this story is not quiet as deep as [b:A Legacy of Spies|34496624|A Legacy of Spies|John le Carré|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1495227039s/34496624.jpg|55619118]. Reading this story, I was reminded of Le Carré's Guillam character's lament in that book, What is the long game of espionage was all for at the end? (Note this scene also took place over dinner.) This book is quiet readable and has the advantage of being standalone and short.
lisbethd's review against another edition
5.0
A cracking read, my first Steinhauer novel and it certainly won't be my last.
Bonus: having now discovered him, I'll be buying the Milo Weaver set for my Le Carre fan but hard-to-buy-for father at Christmas.
Bonus: having now discovered him, I'll be buying the Milo Weaver set for my Le Carre fan but hard-to-buy-for father at Christmas.
april_does_feral_sometimes's review against another edition
4.0
Henry Pelham and Celia Harrison once worked in Vienna, Austria in 2006. They are CIA. They were lovers.
Then, Ilyas Shishani, a Chechen radical who had become an Islamic terrorist, directed the hijacking of an Viennese airplane, although he was not onboard. The terrorists threatened to kill passengers if what they wanted didn't happen. They expected the immediate release of some of their friends in German prisons.
Children are on board the airplane, along with at least 120 people. The tension is unbearable. Then, the CIA receives text messages from inside the jetThen nothing is right.
It is a few years later. Henry wants to interview Celia about the Vienna Airport disaster. Shishani, captured in Afghanistan, has been interrogated in Gitmo and he revealed he had been "aided by a source within the U.S. embassy." Henry wants the assignment, primarily because he still loves Celia, now Celia Favreau, who retired after the fiasco, and she is now living with her husband and children in Carmel-by-the-Sea, in California. He wants to see her. He also has to confront her with the evidence she must be the traitor. He takes a flight to San Francisco.
Celia meets him at a local restaurant. And Henry feels things may not go right again.....
This is a short, spare novella, disguised as a spy novel. I read it in a couple of hours. Not a word is wasted. It is an interesting little tale of betrayal between spies, but the primary enjoyment comes from the author's style. Olen Steinhauer may be a writer of few words, but his observations about people are razor sharp.
A very enjoyable read.
Then, Ilyas Shishani, a Chechen radical who had become an Islamic terrorist, directed the hijacking of an Viennese airplane, although he was not onboard. The terrorists threatened to kill passengers if what they wanted didn't happen. They expected the immediate release of some of their friends in German prisons.
Spoiler
Shishani was Henry's asset years ago, but Henry was no longer his handler because on orders, Henry betrayed Shishani to the Russians a year earlier.Children are on board the airplane, along with at least 120 people. The tension is unbearable. Then, the CIA receives text messages from inside the jet
Spoiler
- a courier who works for them happens to be on the plane. But the glimmer of hope is soon extinguished when texts are received later that don't seem right.It is a few years later. Henry wants to interview Celia about the Vienna Airport disaster. Shishani, captured in Afghanistan, has been interrogated in Gitmo and he revealed he had been "aided by a source within the U.S. embassy." Henry wants the assignment, primarily because he still loves Celia, now Celia Favreau, who retired after the fiasco, and she is now living with her husband and children in Carmel-by-the-Sea, in California. He wants to see her. He also has to confront her with the evidence she must be the traitor. He takes a flight to San Francisco.
Celia meets him at a local restaurant. And Henry feels things may not go right again.....
This is a short, spare novella, disguised as a spy novel. I read it in a couple of hours. Not a word is wasted. It is an interesting little tale of betrayal between spies, but the primary enjoyment comes from the author's style. Olen Steinhauer may be a writer of few words, but his observations about people are razor sharp.
A very enjoyable read.