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A review by april_does_feral_sometimes
All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer
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.