Milo Weaver wanted out of the CIA. Some of the jobs he had to do really got to him. He simply got tired of living a life full of lies. But, he gets drawn back in after the death of assassin leading Milo to begin an investigation of a colleague.

Milo thought he dealt with secrets and lies before. Now, however, he finds that he must dig into some very old cases. This means that he must go undercover yet again. There goes his identity.

Reading a novel about the CIA is something new to me. I chose to grab this series from NetGalley and was able to read all three books, and look forward to the last book in the series coming up next year, The Last Tourist.

The characters, plot and scenarios are truly complicated. Thankfully for me, I had the next two books in the series and read them in order. This helped me to find a place in Milo's world. Also, I was able to imagine myself in an action movie while reading the book. This helped to make the rather unbelievable drama and danger seem not so unlikely.

The Tourist proved to be an excellent spy thriller, and now I have yet another genre to seek out.

Although this was a spy book, I didn't find that there was enough action to keep me hooked so I ended up reading this book over a period of weeks rather than my usual couple of days.. Maybe due to this delay in reading the book I was often confused as to what was going on and it was hard to keep up with the changes.

Fantastic book, I could not put it down.  Can't wait to read the next book in this series!!  I would highly recommend this book!!

The first book in a CIA thriller series by Olen Steinhauer.  A series can live or die based on the efforts an author puts into the development of the characters and back story in the first book.  The Tourist is an excellent example of what I look for in a book.  The main character is a "tourist", an agent with no local attachments until his actions bring him too close to death.  He's now married with a settled life that he protects fiercely.  But, as circumstances often do, he must risk his present life to protect the future.  A great lead in story that leaves plenty of room for more tension packed adventures.

I like the writing style of the author and always find it to be an enjoyable read. I would recommend this book.

When I initially started reading the Tourist, I was a little skeptical. Milo Weaver, a drug dependent CIA employee who works in the secret society known as the Tourists. A secretive, black ops style group of international intelligence officers, Tourists live a rough, hectic life. Living strung out on drugs is a common occurrence. Had the story continued on with a drug dependent protagonist I probably would’ve have lost interest, fortunately, the story went in another direction. Milo Weaver retires from Tourism and becomes a family man, marrying Tina Crowe and raising their daughter. Milo still works in intelligence, and it isn’t long before the Department of Tourism comes calling. Milo soon becomes involved in a complex web of setups and lies. The storyline picked up in the middle and became a very twisty complex mystery/ suspense story. This is a really solid spy story. A complex storyline with lots of intrigue and international mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I was slightly disappointed in the ending, but since Milo Weaver is an ongoing character, he will be back.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this book.  Main reason?  It was just tedious - the one thing that a "spy thriller" should not be.  More and more "plot twists" kept being tossed in, but none of them seemed to have any real point, and it was never clear why the author threw them in.  It really seemed that the real point of the book was to get to the big plot twist near the end - fine, but this could have been a much better book, with the same plot twist, if you cut out about half of the book leading up to it.

I enjoyed this spy novel. It was not a stunt filled, chase, car crash, hanging from helicopters, surviving an attack by 5 men and rabid dogs kind of book, but a more cerebral exploration of loyalties, crosses and double crosses, and good guys who are really bad guys kind of novel.  It was exciting enough though and  kept me involved throughout.   Now I'm starting on the next book in the series, (The Nearest Exit) and intend to read the third also.  Many thanks to NetGalley, Olen Steinhauer, and St. Martin's Press for providing ARC copies of all three books.

Milo is an undercover agent with no home, no identity and only known as a tourist with the CIA. This book was well written, fast paced and gripping- hard to put down!  There are many twists and turns that keep you guessing. I am excited to read the next two books in the series. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

First published in 2010; reissued by Minotaur Books on November 7, 2019

The Tourist was first published in 2010. I try to read as many reputably published spy novels as I can find, but 2010 was a bad year in my reading life. Several years later, I read and enjoyed a more recent novel by Olen Steinhauer, but I didn’t make it back to the trilogy that began with The Tourist. Fortunately, Minotaur is reissuing trade paperback editions of the Tourist novels and has made them available for review, presumably to promote the publication of a fourth Tourist novel next year. I am grateful for the opportunity to catch up on some spy novels that I didn’t know I’d missed.

Charles Alexander is an American spy. More specifically, he is a Tourist, a CIA agent who travels abroad and makes deadly mischief (as opposed to the Travel Agents who stay in America to facilitate the Tourists). His real name is not Charles Alexander, but he’s used that name for two years.

Taking a break from pondering suicide, Charles goes to Slovenia in search of a station chief who disappeared with a pile of money. The chief was supposed to give the pile to an informant in exchange for the location of a Bosnian war criminal whose capture would put a feather in the American cap. Charles’ contact, who works for the chief, is Angela Yates. Charles quickly finds evidence suggesting that the station chief, despite his long and loyal service, is both a thief and a murderer. After tracking the station chief to Venice, events take a wrong and violent turn, convincing Charles it is time to change his life.

Six years later, Charles is Milo Weaver, a man with a wife and daughter. He has promised to stay home as much as he can. Milo has been tracking an assassin known as The Tiger, who crossed his path in Venice. An encounter with The Tiger takes a strange turn that causes Milo to be suspected of a crime.

Soon after that meeting, Milo travels to Paris to set up Angela Yates, who might or might not be passing secrets to the Chinese. The plot threads involving Yates, the Chinese, the Tiger, and the Tiger’s client quickly entangle. After some nicely written action scenes, Milo finds discovers that lies he told about his past are disrupting his career and marriage. If help is to arrive, it will come from an unexpected source. By the end of the novel, Milo is something of a mess.

Despite being the opening novel of a trilogy, the story is self-contained. The Tourist combines thoughtful character development with a credible, intriguing plot. The novel moves briskly, not because it is action-filled (although it has some adrenalin-boosting scenes), but because the story and characters are so interesting that the reader is motivated to learn what happens next. In fact, The Tourist motivated me to move on to the second novel of the trilogy, which I will do with pleasure.

RECOMMENDED

Very well written, fast paced and immediately gripping. Perfect read for fans of I Am Pilgrim! I cannot wait to read the rest in the series.

I received the first three novels in this series from Netgalley and the publisher, and I’m so glad I started the series. Book 1 was great and I do highly recommend it to readers who enjoy espionage/spy/thriller types. I’m hook and will finish the next two from Netgalley, and definitely get the final book, number 4, coming out in 2020. Loved this book from beginning to end.

Great book really enjoyed the read, absolutely  possible these things could happen.  Gripping and keeps you guessing.. Look forward to the next book in the series

Milo Weaver is retired. He has left the life of CIA "Tourist" behind.  Right.....everytime you think your'e out, they pull you back in.  Milo Weaver is a multi layered intriguing character. I appreciated the depth of his character profile.  The Tourist kept my interest. There were enough twists and turns to keep me reading.  Mr. Steinhauer did an excellent job of keeping the feeling topical and current.  As in any thriller, there are times when suspending belief is best, but that's one of the reasons I like thrillers.  Based on this book, I will pick up the succeeding books in the Milo Weaver series. 3.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

This book has it all, Spies, lies and love. An exciting book with so many twists it will keep you wanting more. An amazing book that will have you guessing until the very end. An excellent read.

A very interesting book to be sure. The cover really caught my eye, and I'm glad Netgalley sent me an email recommending these books. An above average mystery thriller in new locales, with interesting characters and a good plot.

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The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer is an espionage novel set in the early 2000s. The novel involves the fictional “tourism” department of the CIA and it is the first book in the Milo Weaver series.

Milo Weaver got himself a desk job with the CIA, leaving behind his field position as a “tourist”, an undercover agent in a secret department within a secret organization. But you never really “leave” the tourism department, when old cases start to float Milo realizes he has to go undercover again.

Going undercover takes a heavy toll on Milo’s marriage and family. Milo’s wife and daughter had had enough, and he keeps them in the dark for their own protection.

I always enjoy a good espionage book and The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer is no exception. It is fast, well written with twists galore.

The job of an undercover agent takes a toll not only on Milo Weaver, but on his family as well. Keeping secrets from his wife and daughter does not bode well with them and we are privy to their private conversations, and even the therapy sessions between husband and wife. This aspect makes the story, albeit fictional, more realistic and we come to see the characters as flawed humans doing their best to stay afloat, save their marriage and family.

Even though there is action in this book, it’s not a shoot’em up, kiss-kiss-bang-bang type of story. The plot centers around loyalties being tested in a world where you can trust no one, and no one trusts you.

This novel is the full package though, it is compelling, articulate and the struggle of Milo to balance his difficult, secretive, work with the important part of his life, his family, really comes across.  The novel is marketed as a Milo Weaver series, but this is a standalone novel, even though there are more to come.

This novel is definitely in league with the top echelon of espionage novels. The good guys aren’t really “good”, the bad guys aren’t really “bad” and they’re all in the same line of work.

This was okay.  Milo is a spy who leaves the business.  He is drawn back into the business to try and find an assassin code named Tiger.  I could not get into the story even though the book was well written.  There seem to be a lot of introspection with the characters.  I will read the next two I was given them for an honest review.  Maybe the story will grab in the next one.  I would try it; you might enjoy it.  A lot of people did.  It just did not grab me.  I voluntarily reviewed this book.

Milo Weaver is the star of the book. He was an operative for the CIA, a "tourist" who is now retired. His life settled down and he's married, living a fairly conventional life.

He's been called upon to do one last job and this takes us into the seedy life of hired killers and political intrigue. It's interesting enough to keep me reading and look forward to the next book in the trilogy.  These books have been compared to the works of John LeCarre and Graham Greene but Steinhauer was more enjoyable for me to read.  If you enjoy thrillers and espionage yu'll like this book.

I recency read the director of the Borne Identity is collaborating to make a move based on Milo Weaver and Olen Steinhauer's books.  That's a movie I will definitely want to see.

Much thanks to <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/">Netgalley</a>. This book was published in March  2009 but I am just discovering it through NetGalley.   Opinions are mine and I was not compensated.   More about <a href="http://www.olensteinhauer.com/">Olen Steinhauer HERE</a>

This is the first book by the author that I have read and is the first in a series. This is a spy novel that is somewhat predictable with a lot of cliches located throughout the book. While the book is somewhat interesting it is one that the reader can easily walk away from for a while and then circle back to - it is not a page turner. I found it interesting that is was a New York Times bestseller meaning that the book must of either resonated with a number of readers or had a very captivating public relations push. I would not continue with the other two books in the series except that I have committed to reading them through Net Galley. Hopefully, they will be an improvement and if not, I will slog my way through them over the next few months mixing in more interesting reading.

I received a free Kindle ARC courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would provide an honest review and post it on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.