A review by mepitts
The Cairo Affair by Olen Steinhauer

3.0

This book has SOME things going for it: the benefits of careful research and what seems to be a detailed knowledge of spy craft and Middle Eastern history. Unfortunately it meanders all OVER the place with too many characters and too much time travel. Further, with the exception of contract spy John Calhoun and Egyptian spy Omar Halawi, the characters are either amoral or actively immoral and it’s not attractive to listen to their dark, self-serving thoughts or to get too concerned about whether they live or die. This book was too long, too cynical to endure. Not recommended.