SPY THRILLER REVIEW: An American Spy - Olen Stenhauer

Release Date: 20/03/12

SYNOPSIS:

"Milo Weaver is still haunted by his last job. As an expert assassin for the Department of Tourism, an ultra-secret group of super-spooks buried deep in the corridors of the CIA, he fought to keep himself sane in a paranoid and amoral profession. Now, the Department has been destroyed, and with it Weaver's livelihood. Finally he can spend time with his family - without constantly looking over his shoulder and fixing one eye on the exits. Weaver's former boss is not so settled. For Alan Drummond, Tourism was everything. Now, all he wants is to take revenge on the Chinese spymaster that exploded their operations from within. Weaver tries to persuade him to leave sleeping cells lie, but when Drummond disappears from a London hotel room after a serpentine journey through the world's cities, Weaver is sucked back down into his old life. Investigating Drummond's intentions in London throws up more questions than answers. Why was an ex-Tourist in his hotel room that night? Why is homeland security suddenly asking questions? And how are the Chinese connected? Soon, Weaver is sifting through what secrets, lies and misinformation he can extract from the sources he still has on the ground. If his time as a Tourist has taught him anything, it's that nothing and no-one can be trusted - even within the CIA itself..."


REVIEW:

I like a spy thriller that takes me on a ride and whilst this, is the third title by the author to feature lead character Milo Weaver, its my first outing with Olen. What I received for my time was a thriller that grabbed me for a seat of the pants ride with a lead character who was not only gripping but one that almost threatened to break my neck if I left the book too long.

Add to this a story that kept moving with multi-faceted twists and turns, a whole host of problems alongside never being sure what was relevant and what was smoke with mirrors and overall I was in heaven as I turned each page to read what the hero was up to. Finally add to the mix a writing style that grabbed me with solid prose, great dialogue and of course a set of prose that just didn’t let up like the pace and it was a tale all in that was satisfactory.