What from so many angles seems like violence and betrayal fueled by mere revenge turns out to be each side attempting to turn constantly shifting events to their advantage. Steinhauer plays the story out giving the reader the perspective of a number of characters from Weaver to his former boss Alan Drummond to Chinese spymaster Xin Zhu. But just when you think you are starting to put the pieces together he shuffles the deck and you have re-evaluate your assumptions.

There is an underlying tension in espionage – and thus in spy fiction – in that at root it is the search for truth and yet in pursuing that elusive truth, truth itself – or at least honesty and veracity – are the first causality (cliché perhaps but accurate I think).  An American Spy mirrors this and in fact forces the reader to wrestle with it and “live” in this type of world. You find yourself constantly trying to understand the strategy and motivations of each side while guessing their next steps – in other words, thinking like a spy.  What also becomes clear is how the nature of the trade undermines trust and casts doubt on everything.

Milo starts out trying to act like a “civilian” – dinner with friends and a routine with school and family.  But when your friendly dinner companions are your ex-boss and his wife and all he wants to talk about is the death of 33 agents under his watch, and the destruction of his career, normalcy is by nature elusive.

Steinhauer uses another cliché – the agent who can’t break free – but again to very good use.  But instead of wreaking havoc and gaining revenge on those who forced him to return – ala many action films – Milo instead is caught in an ever-changing web of deceit and seems almost resigned to his death as an acceptable solution.  The more he pursues the safety of those he cares about the more they seem to be in danger.

It is worth pointing out that if you ever hope to make sense of the complicated plot or to understand the back stories of the characters you need to read the first two books.  You can read this by itself but you will lose a lot of depth.

Some early reviews have pointed to the complexity of the plot and the slow start that results.  But as noted above, I believe this grows out of Steinhauer’s attempt to mirror what it is like to be involved in espionage: making decisions based on limited information, constant shifting of motives and angles, and all of this done under great pressure and with ever higher risks.  We start off by approaching the story from different people’s perspective with clues and threads dangled in front of us.  But once this foundation is set, events begin to move very fast and you find yourself racing to the conclusion.  Only then you find that there is one last twist – and one that makes you hope for more books featuring Milo Weaver.

I will admit to a lack of objectivity when it comes to Steinhauer.  I am fan and have been for a long time (having read all of his books and followed his blogging as well).  But I think it is safe to say that if you are interested in spy fiction and not reading Steinhauer you are missing out.  Without getting into the never-ending debate surrounding genre versus literature, I think Steinhauer is an excellent example of the best of genre.

And I think PW’s review captured this element very well:

Steinhauer is particularly good at articulating contemporary spy craft—the mechanics of surveillance and intelligence in the digital age and the depth of paranoia endemic to the trade. In addition, his ability to create characters with genuine emotions and conflicts, coupled with an insightful and often poetic writing style, set him apart in the world of espionage fiction.

Given this it is not surprising that he is garnering comparisons to legends like Le Care and Deighton.  Big shoes to fill but with this excellent trilogy Steinhauer is well on his way.

Publishers Weekly

Disgraced former CIA agent Court “The Gray Man” Gentry (introduced in 2009′s The Gray Man) makes ends meet as an assassin working for clients he cannot trust. Russian arms merchant Sidorenko wants Court to kill Sudan’s President Abboud, arguably the man responsible for the genocide in Darfur. The CIA makes a counteroffer: kidnap Abboud and give him to American officials in exchange for amnesty. Court cannot refuse and treks through Sudan in pursuit of nebulous, ever-changing goals. Every element in this book is familiar, but Court is endearing in his perseverance even as his schemes are undermined by sympathetic victims, misleading information, outright lies, poor planning, betrayal, conflicting agendas, and simple bad luck. What could have been a storm of clichés becomes an action-filled yet touching story of a man whose reason has long ago been subsumed by his work ethic.

Publishers Weekly

Last seen in 2002′s Kings of Many Castles, working-class British spy Charlie Muffin once again proves that experience and intelligence (on the part of both author and hero) are at least as important as flying fists and explosions in this entertaining entry in Freemantle’s long-running series. When a faceless body turns up on the grounds of the British Embassy in Moscow, Charlie’s superiors send him to Russia to solve the mystery: who’s the corpse and why was he left face down, or rather no face down, in the flower garden? Nothing is as it seems as the Russian authorities wrestle with the British over who has jurisdiction, whose agents are the bigger liars, and whose government is the most underhanded. Charlie isn’t much for action, gunplay, and excitement. In fact, his relationship with his Russian intelligence officer wife, Natalie, and daughter Sasha provides most of the overt suspense, but his slow fitting together of all the pieces related to the crime provides genuine interest.

Booklist

Dryden follows up his superb debut, Red to Black (2009), with a riveting sequel. British spy Finn, who uncovered a Russian plan to control Europe’s access to oil and natural gas, is dead, murdered by a KGB-trained Russian criminal. Anna, the beautiful KGB colonel assigned to seduce Finn, but who fell in love with him instead, is in hiding, raising her son, Little Finn. In the post-Bush era, both the U.S. and Britain have realized that Finn was right: Vladimir Putin is an enemy. Now they want Finn’s source, a Kremlin insider known only as Mikhail. MI6 also wants revenge for Finn’s murder. The Russians want Anna for her betrayal. Anna wants to shield Mikhail and keep herself and her son alive. Machinations by all the principals ensue, and Dryden, a longtime student of Russia and the world of intelligence, tosses a new player into the mix: Cougar, a private intelligence company run by Burt Miller, a former CIA spook extraordinaire. The larger-than-life Miller schemes against the CIA, MI6, the Russians, and Cougar’s corporate competitors to hold on to Anna and reel in Mikhail. Red to Black reinvigorated the classic Cold War espionage genre. Moscow Sting—with its clever, devious, conflicted characters; its tension and verisimilitude; and its complex but fully plausible plot—is every bit as good.

This impressive first novel is part coming of age story and part spy story, with a primer on 20th century European history thrown in. History at the most personal, small-picture level. It’s also about redemption, second chances, and what home means.

Booklist had a nice recap/review

Since the events of The Tourist (2009), Milo Weaver has served time in prison, worked in administration, and tried to reconnect with his wife and daughter. But talk therapy is hard when you’re trained to keep secrets. When asked to return to the field, he agrees, although, because of his disgust with the Department of Tourism (a black-ops branch of the CIA), he plans to feed information to his father, Yevgeny Primakov, the “secret ear” of the UN. But his handlers don’t trust him, either, giving him a series of vetting assignments that culminates in an impossible loyalty test: the abduction and murder of a 15-year-old girl. Ironically, Weaver is then tasked with finding a security breach that threatens the very existence of Tourism—and the lives of the Tourists. Seeing his own brutal compatriots as humans, he does his best to save the thing he despises, a conundrum that pretty much sums up the shades of gray that paint this modern-day espionage masterpiece.

The Tourist was impressive, proving that Steinhauer had the ability to leap from the historical setting of his excellent Eastern European quintet to a vividly imagined contemporary landscape. But this is even better, a dazzling, dizzyingly complex world of clandestine warfare that is complicated further by the affairs of the heart. Steinhauer never forgets the human lives at stake, and that, perhaps, is the now-older Weaver’s flaw: he is too human, too attached, to be the perfect spy. His failure to save the girl he was told to kill threads the whole book like barbed wire.

My quick take? It was great – I expected nothing less from Olen of course! -  an intelligent and literary thriller. This one seemed even more focused on the psychological and emotional (Milo’s marriage, what it means to be a Tourist, etc.) even as it explored the complicated world of Post Cold War espionage and foreign affairs.   Just as you think you have a handle on the plot there is a twist at the end that keeps you guessing.  There is a depth to the emotional and moral element however, that gives the spy thriller aspect added heft.  I think I might need to re-read this one to fully appreciate it.

So if you are looking for something to read this summer and for some bizzare reason haven’t yet read Steinhauer I suggest you rectify that as soon as possible.

This may seem a tad pushy but, trust me, I am doing you a favor.

The paperback is out today (and you can buy an ebook as well) so you really have no excuse at this point.

As I said in my review:

What makes Steinhauer different from so many writers of international thrillers is his ability to write a suspenseful espionage plot and yet still have elements of the more literary aspect of novels.  The writing is tight and even graceful at times.  The characters are not cardboard cutouts and Steinhauer delves into their psychological make up and personality for more than just plot plausibility.

And Olen has provided some hand picked music to go with the release. So head over there and get your The Tourist iMix

So stop by your local bookstore or click on the link above and read The Tourist so you are ready when  The Nearest Exit comes out in May.

Booklist review of The Nearest Exit below.

Since the events of The Tourist (2009), Milo Weaver has served time in prison, worked in administration, and tried to reconnect with his wife and daughter. But talk therapy is hard when you’re trained to keep secrets. When asked to return to the field, he agrees, although, because of his disgust with the Department of Tourism (a black-ops branch of the CIA), he plans to feed information to his father, Yevgeny Primakov, the “secret ear” of the UN. But his handlers don’t trust him, either, giving him a series of vetting assignments that culminates in an impossible loyalty test: the abduction and murder of a 15-year-old girl. Ironically, Weaver is then tasked with finding a security breach that threatens the very existence of Tourism—and the lives of the Tourists. Seeing his own brutal compatriots as humans, he does his best to save the thing he despises, a conundrum that pretty much sums up the shades of gray that paint this modern-day espionage masterpiece. The Tourist was impressive, proving that Steinhauer had the ability to leap from the historical setting of his excellent Eastern European quintet to a vividly imagined contemporary landscape. But this is even better, a dazzling, dizzyingly complex world of clandestine warfare that is complicated further by the affairs of the heart. Steinhauer never forgets the human lives at stake, and that, perhaps, is the now-older Weaver’s flaw: he is too human, too attached, to be the perfect spy. His failure to save the girl he was told to kill threads the whole book like barbed wire.  –Keir Graff

It also has the feel of an indictment of Vladimir Putin‘s Russia, and a castigation of the West’s response, in fiction form. Put it all together and it makes for an interesting read; some of it works very well other aspects less well.

Here is a video trailer for the book:

For the more textual among us here is the blurb:

Finn is a veteran MI6 operative stationed in Moscow. In the guise of an amiable trade secretary, he has penetrated deep into the dangerous labyrinth that is Russia under Vladimir Putin to discover some of its darkest secrets, thanks to a high-level source deep within the Kremlin.

The youngest female colonel in the KGB, Anna is the ambitious daughter of one of the former Soviet Union’s elite espionage families. Charged with helping to make Russia strong again under Putin, she is ordered to spy on Finn and discover the identity of his mole.

At the dawn of the new millennium, these adversaries find themselves brought together by an unexpected love that becomes the only truth they can trust. When Finn uncovers a shocking and ingenious plan—hatched in the depths of the Cold War—to control the European continent and shift the balance of world power, he and Anna are thrust into a deadly plot in which friend and foe wear the same face. With time running out, they will race across Europe and risk every-thing—career, reputation, and even their own lives—to expose the terrifying truth.

For my take see below.

I will be honest, this book seemed disjointed to me at times.  But part of that is the fact that I was reading before bed for however long I could last.  This often meant a chapter a night – not really enough to get fully into the flow of the story.

But I also think this is because the book has three threads Dryden is trying to weave together: 1) the espionage thread which is used as a vehicle for 2) the portrait of a Russia that suffocates the stirrings of democracy and heads back toward autocracy and 3) the love story.

When Dryden is focused on Finn’s obsession with “The Plan” – and Russia’s slide back to autocracy/oligarchy -  the book reads like an intelligent thriller with a strong current events focus. As a first time novelist, Dryden’s prose can be a little flat and heavy handed but the premise of a Russia resorting back to its Cold War ways and threatening Europe is plausible and full of tension.

That Dryden has an “axe to grind” – to use a phrase – just adds some oomph to the story.  And the fact that he knows a great deal about the history and circumstances involved only makes the story better and the real life component more disturbing.

But by using the love story as the structure on which to hang the story Dryden too often highlights the weakest part of the story. In fact, Anna and Finn are not that strong as characters and their love story drags the plot down – or at least it did for me.

Finn is easy to understand as someone obsessed with proving his theory right and showing his superiors that they were wrong to doubt him.  And Anna is a familiar character: talented daughter who follows in her father’s footsteps but to find distance not closeness; and who begins to feel trapped in the world she has chosen.  But you don’t feel the connection or romance between Finn and Anna – it is just presented as fact.

And Anna makes for an odd narrator. As noted above, the sections that deal with Finn’s trade craft and the larger plot surrounding The Plan work very well.  There is a complex history and a convoluted money trail to follow; and the larger meaning behind it all. This is just the Cold War updated.

Anna narrates the story from a safe house of sorts in Germany where she is desperately trying to unravel the mystery because Finn has disappeared.  But her trips to the coffee house or into the secret basement to read through Finn’s journals again just slow the story down.

I also found the subplot surrounding the mole/double agent Mikhail confusing and distracting.

But despite this set-up that doesn’t always work the book begins to pick up pace and ratchet up the tension as Finn and Anna race to unravel the last few clues before either the Russians or the British get wise to their actual work and shut it down. The second half of the story is well paced and exciting.

Unfortunately, just as the story really heats up it comes to a disappointing conclusion. Dryden didn’t seem to know exactly how to bring the espionage and love story plots to a neat conclusion so things rise to a climax and then just end; with a tacked on epilogue.

As the above has probably made clear, I am of mixed opinion on this one.  Parts of the story were actually quite interesting and well done; and the premise is a good one (and the problem of Russia all too real).

But all the moving parts don’t seem to come together.  The love story just doesn’t have the passion that the underlying mystery does and Dryden doesn’t pull off blending the two in my mind.

So, worth reading?  Depends on your tastes I suppose.  The Kirkus review mirrored my feelings best so I will give it the last word:

The intrigue is wonderfully twisty, and Dryden paints a terrifying portrait of Putin’s ruthless Russia, but the romance plot is labored and clumsy, as is much of Anna’s characterization. Terrific when it sticks to spycraft and the intricacies of geopolitics. Not so much when it attempts the intricacies of the heart.

I have to admit, I was shocked to find out that National Review editor Rich Lowry had co-written a novel.  I just didn’t picture him as the novel writing type.  Of course, he had the help of literary agent Keith Korman.  But still a surprising project. For thos unfamiliar with the book here is the PW set up:

Unlikely hero Peter Johnson, a mildly buffoonish writer working for the Crusader, a left-wing magazine, is recruited by CIA agent Stewart Banquo for the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist. Banquo figures no one would ever suspect Johnson, known for his drunkenness and willingness to take a bribe, to be working for the CIA. Johnson, who accepts the job for a variety of reasons, heads off to Iran. A series of double crosses lands Johnson in the hands of the Iranians and sets up the rest of the plot involving a chillingly plausible terrorist attack.

And so my curiosity piqued, I decided to give it a read.   Banquo’s Ghosts turned out to be a entertaining thriller with a distinct political style to it.  This part is not surprising.  In many ways Lowry is following in the footsteps of the man he succeeded at NR: William F. Buckley; who wrote a number of espionage thrillers with strong contemporary political undercurrents.

For more see below.

The political aspect of the novel is both a strength and a weakness.  The strength is what one reviewer labeled the works “moral clarity” (the NR review noted the “clarity of vision” as well).  Lowry and Korman have a clear point of view and this gives the book a certain confidence and voice.  And conservatives will of course like the lack of moral ambivalence involved. But it also means that, at times, the story can get lost a little in the book’s didacticism.

At points the authors stop the story to make a point.   Whether they pull this off probably depends on your political compass to some degree.  Like this comment clearly aimed at the security lapses connected to lax immigration enforcement.  After noting the ease with which drug runners cross the border, thus making tracking nuclear material very difficult, a mini-rant:

What no one ascertained for certain was  the identity of these Mexican drug runners or  where they were headed. No matter. The next day  politicians of every stripe continued to celebrate  themselves in their particular ways. Some  postured on the cable shows about the dangers of  transfats in corn chips, while others called for  safer kiddy-kar kid seats. In a fit of statesmanship,  Bangor, Maine, banned smoking in privately  owned cars with children in them. Finally: kids in  Bangor, Maine, were safe from second-hand  smoke.

This would bring a chuckle – or a sad shake of the head – to those who are furstrated by the lack of border security in this country.  Others may find it bland anti-pc rhetoric.  But it is clearly editorial commentary not an integral part of the story. This type of commentary is threaded throughout the novel.

For the most part, however, the commentary doesn’t derail the story nor is it jarring or out of place.  The book has a clear political perspective so the commentary comes with the territory. (I would imagine, however,  if you are the type of person who uses the words “neocon” and “cabal” in the same sentence you might find yourself frequently arguing with Lowry and Korman’s portrayal of Iran, progressive journalists, and much more.)

If there is a problem with tone and style it has more to do with balancing satire and thriller not political opinion with plot.  Lowry and Korman clearly set out to mock a number of elite institutions from the CIA  and the State Department to the liberal media establisment.  But at its root the book is a thriller and the satirical aspects don’t always mesh with thriller aspects (for more see this Forbes review).

But these critiques don’t really make much of an impact if you find the novel an entertaining read.  Sure, the book strains plausibility at times, and its political commentary is rather run of the mill War on Terror supporting anti-liberal media conservatism, but the plot is nevertheless well done and the pacing brisk.  And as noted above, it has a certain voice or tone that works well for this genre.

Conservatives looking for a fun read that takes their perspective seriously, and pokes fun of liberals, will clearly enjoy this one. But I think the partisian jibes are low key enough that most readers from whatever side of the political spectrum will enjoy it for what it is.  With summer coming this makes for a nice beach/airplane read for political junkies of every stripe.

But instead he finds a catharsis of sorts and throws himself into a new case.  Accusations of treason and treachery are once again bringing chaos and destruction to the clandestine services section of the CIA.  A retired and beloved code-breaker has been murdered in a particular gruesome fashion.  And Dalton’s superior, head of clandestine ops, Deacon Cather is under suspicion of being a mole. Meanwhile, Dalton’s old nemesis Kiki Lujac is either dead or at the center of this new conspiracy.

To solve the mystery Dalton will have to survive long enough to find the answers.  Doing so will take him from Venice to Greece, Turkey, and eventually back to Langley. The answers are tied up in the seemingly ancient history of the Cold War, but they will have deadly repercussions if left unchecked.

Fans of Stone and Dalton will enjoy the latest adventure with its typical blend of action, intrigue, violence, and tongue-in-cheek type gallows humor.  The plot is a bit convoluted, but it is an entertaining read and there is a thread of political commentary running throughout for those who understand the debates involved.

More below (including “spoilers”). 

As with all of Stones novels (see here and here), there is a lot going on.  Stone likes to have numerous subplots and side characters.  But when you get down to it there are really only two threads and one over-arching mystery.  The over-arching mystery is whether or not there is a mole in the CIA and, if there is, who?  The key term here is “confusion op” which sets up a sort of twist at the end.

This basic question, however, is not obvious from the start.  Only as as events play out, and details are added piece by piece, do you get to see the question at the heart of the story.  Stone’s love of complicated plot got away from him a bit here.  At times readers can lose track of what the plot really is about.

There are, however, two entertaining story lines that come together to power the story.  One involves Dalton’s search for explanations into two things: the grissly murder of the retired codebreaker in London and the supposed death of Kiki Lujac.  This is really the action thread.  Dalton is his usual calm, cool, and deadly self as he attempts to figure out who us behind things.

One nice side character is Dobri Levka a Latvian soldier of fortune type who gets caught up in Dalton’s investigation.  But just as Dalton is about to clean up this particular mess, Levka makes the unconventional offer of helping Dalton.  Suprised by the quick thinking Dalton accepts.  And Levka turns out to be loyal despite the fact that Dalton killed his uncle (well, he was an angry ugly drunk, says Levka).

Levka adds a playful sense to the story and makes for a good sidekick for Dalton.  The two men’s sense of humor work well together.  And who couldn’t use a little extra muscle who happens to speak a number of languages and knows the terrain?

The second thread involves Lujac and the head of the codebreakers section Briony Keating.  This is the suspense side of the thread.  Stone plays out the relationship between Lujac and Keating for as long as he can all the while slowly filling in the backstory that connects them to the larger mystery.  This aspect is well done.  It really makes you want to keep reading.  And it even provides the final bit of gallows humor at the novel’s end.

Tied into all of this with varying degrees of success are the Venona transcripts and the question of Soviet spies at the highest levels of American government during the Cold War.  The mole question revolves around whether a highly placed aide to President Nixon gave information to the Soviets which allowed them to supply the North Vietnamese and help them retake the South knowing that Watergate would prevent Nixon/Ford from responding with the force that had brought the North to the negotiating table.

The subject of Soviet spies in American government has of course been the subject of a great deal of debate as has the nature of the Vietnam conflict and its conclusion.  Stone is clearly on the side of significant penetration of American government by the Soviets and seems to be arguing, at least through his characters, that this espionage combined with the fatal weakening of Nixon led to the collapse of Vietnam and the devastation that followed. In other words, the military did their part but the civilians did not.

This is not all that surprising 1) a great deal of work has been done in this area since Cold War era records have slowly been opened up and the records have been on the side of the former “McCarthyites” more often than not.  2) Stone has given hints of his Right leaning perspective throughout the series with quips about liberal political leaders, etc.

At times this historiographical element adds a layer of suspense/intrigue but others it seems like a distraction; another layer on an already complex story. I also wonder if readers who know nothing about this history, and the debates surrounding them, will understand what is going on.

As noted above, however, fans of Stone and Dalton will want to read this latest adventure.  And to my mind Stone has gotten better with each book.  Dalton may be a typical unstoppable super-spy but he has a certain style and wit which makes for a nice twist.

And while Stone’s plots are always complex, some might say convoluted, I find them entertaining.  And I found The Venetian Judgment to be the most suspenseful and fast paced of the three.  If you are willing to suspend your disbelief (par for the course in this genre), and don’t mind high levels of violence, this series is certainly worth a read.  As we head into spring and summer, they make great beach and/or airplane reading.

Note: while they are stand alone books in theory, I recommend reading the three books in order.  Dalton and the side characters will make a lot more sense that way.