The Nearest Exit: A Novel

Olen Steinhauer

May 2010 · Milo Weaver Book 2 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

Milo Weaver has nowhere to turn but back to the CIA in Olen Steinhauer's brilliant follow-up to the New York Times bestselling espionage novel The Tourist
The Tourist, Steinhauer's first contemporary novel after his awardwinning historical series, was a runaway hit, spending three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and garnering rave reviews from critics.

Now faced with the end of his quiet, settled life, reluctant spy Milo Weaver has no choice but to turn back to his old job as a "tourist." Before he can get back to the CIA's dirty work, he has to prove his loyalty to his new bosses, who know little of Milo's background and less about who is really pulling the strings in the government above the Department of Tourism—or in the outside world, which is beginning to believe the legend of its existence. Milo is suddenly in a dangerous position, between right and wrong, between powerful self-interested men, between patriots and traitors—especially as a man who has nothing left to lose.

Ratings and reviews

After reading the first Milo Weaver book, I quickly jumped into this one. My hope was that the author was finding his footing and laying the groundwork for a compelling spy series and things would pick up with this book. Instead, I found more of the same, loads of lengthy dialogue, repetitiveness, and bits of action followed by page after page of slow-moving story. The story has great potential but seems to always stay just this side of the compelling read that it could be. I'm two for two now on this series that can't seem to cross over into something memorable, something that would make me want to continue on. As it stands, I'm on the fence about the series and its main character, so I think I'll be taking a break before considering the next Milo Weaver story.

In the 1st third of the novel, Steinhauer assembles a tightly woven plot of characters, seemingly unrelated. Throughout the remaining chapters, relationships and motives become clearer, yet conclude with a surprising twist. Don't put this book down for fear you'll lose track of the plot-line. J.P. Miller, Cambridge, MA

This was a thrilling page turner! I enjoyed this and so will you.

About the author

Olen Steinhauer is the author of the bestselling Milo Weaver series, including The Tourist, and a series of widely acclaimed Eastern European crime novels, which include The Bridge of Sighs, The Confession, 36 Yalta Boulevard, Liberation Movements, and Victory Square. He is a two-time Edgar Award finalist and has been shortlisted for the Anthony, the Macavity, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the Barry awards. Raised in Virginia, Steinhauer lives with his family in Budapest, Hungary.