The Last Tourist was my first adventure into Milo Weaver’s world. To say it is complex and dangerous is an understatement. It is a tough, gritty, flight into the night type of international novel that has many facets, not a light read that you can pick up and enjoy reading a few pages at a time. I found myself retracing and rereading previous pages to fully understand what was happening.

Although this is a stand-alone book I believe I missed a lot of the nuances and interactions between the characters because I had not read the previous books in the series. That being said, the writing is excellent, the timeline is current, and the conspiracy may very well be the description of current events taking place right now.

This novel would be best read after reading the previous three books in the series to better understand the characters and events.

This is the fourth book in the Milo Weaver series. I have read the previous books in the series. As in the other books, this one is so full of twists and turns that it will have you not wanting to put it down.
Are you in the mood for a spy thriller? This is the book for you!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a enjoyable read. Once I had finished I was interested in reading more along this story line. I had not realized this was the third or so in the series! I'll still go read the others.

This is written by an experienced author, and any of his books are probably a good bet. This one is quite good as well, but is not a quick, easy read (takes some concentration). Fans of the author will probably like this, as well as others who like thought-provoking books.

I really appreciate the ARC!!

A great return to the world of Milo Weaver, updated by today headlines. I am a great admirer of the Tourist trilogy and this book is a magnificent addition to the series. Greatly recommended!

The Last Tourist by Olen Steinhauer is not your average beach read that you can pick up and discard at your convenience. Instead, The Last Tourist is a plot twisting, complex story that pulls the reader in from the beginning and simply doesn't let go. So if you are in the mood to dive deep into a spy thriller that seems to demand as much from the reader as it gives...then this is the book for you to read! I can say this would make an incredible movie as it really did keep me entertained and engaged. When is the last time you have really been that involved in a story?

Definitely high on my list of books for 2020, The Last Tourist stuns and satisfies with its twisty plot directions and provokes thoughts about breaking the rules. I have not read the other books in the series by Olen Steinhauer, but I can tell you that now I want to! Excellent writing, although it does get a little political which those who are great fans of Trump may not like. I could have done without the politics, but they are tightly woven into and through the story- sometimes light and sometimes not.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Olen Steinhauer, and St Martin's press for allowing me to request and read this digital advanced reader copy. I really enjoyed this book and my mind will not stop thinking about it! As always, my opinions are my own.

Yet again, I am left stunned, breathless, exhausted, awed and gasping, For me, Steinhauer is the undisputed master of the espionage genre. While Clancy may be the greatest story teller, Steinhauer is the Hitchcock of the medium. The scope, intricacy, and twists of the plot will make your brain hurt, in a good way. The growth and continuing of the characters will leave avid followers satisfied. I highly recommend this book.

"The Last Tourist" was a fitting end to the Milo Weaver series. The book is set in late 2018/2019, ten years after the last book. Milo is running the "Library", his father's secret intelligence gathering organization hidden in the UN, but some of the "patrons" are questioning what they receive for their investment. Adding to the trouble, an old friend of Milo's father has reached out to him to help protect a MirGaz accountant who has inadvertently obtained records that suggest some troubling links between a number of international businesses, prominent individuals, and acts of terrorism. This puts Milo, his family, and the "Library" in danger. Moreover, while the Tourism program has been shutdown for years, there are signs that maybe someone has revived it. The CIA is also behaving inappropriately (par for the course).

Instead of a conflict between governments, as was the focus of the previous books, "The Last Tourist" focuses on powerful businesses with international operations and a willingness, if not eagerness, to bend the rules or even breaks the rules in order to advance their own interests, usually to the great detriment of the citizens of developing nations which are seen only as a source of resources and profits.

The story introduces some new and interesting characters (such as CIA analyst, Abdul Ghali, a Sunni Arab whose parents are from Western Sahara), but also brings back a number of the characters from the earlier books (Alan and Penelope, Erika Schwartz, Oskar Leintz, even Xin Zhu; most significantly, Leticia Jones and Milo cross paths and Leticia ends up getting drawn into the mess that Milo has found himself in. However, Leticia has changed a lot in recent years, no longer a focused killer, but someone more concerned with the collateral damage that her actions on behalf of her employers cause and focused on trying to do her part to help right some wrongs. The book makes references to and utilizes a number of real life figures and events -- President Trump, climate change, climate change activists including Greta Thunberg, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Boko Haram and the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, a messaging system with encryption so strong that governments cannot access it (supposedly), anarchist groups, etc. The story is full of plot twists and surprises, with the overarching conspiracy more involved and more sinister than anyone realizes. There are some especially good surprises at the end, including the ending itself. The Last Tourist is well worth reading.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Milo Weaver and friends finally enter the aggressively non-state 21st century, struggling all the way, and it's a bit jarring. After inheriting his father's work, his efforts to keep their activities under the radar seem outright ludicrous--what's the point of a clandestine intelligence agency that everyone seems to know about? What's the use of the gathered intelligence if it's not acted on? Milo, seemingly oblivious to the necessary evolution of his role, finally finds out. It's a good thing his sister and family are there to help him through it. Readers may recognize a few plot points borrowed from other popular sources (e.g. the recent "Jason Bourne"). The author doesn't pin the whole plot on these hinges, but instead weaves them into a larger tapestry around which Milo finally wraps his brain. Once he does, the narrator does a decent job in summary. I would love to have had some of those last details from Milo's own perspective.

Complex, challenging and thoughtful international espionage thriller. As intricate and devious as a grandmaster chess match, yet still exciting and compelling.

This is not a stand-alone read; it is best enjoyed and understood after reading the first three - in order - of the series.

Warning: Trump supporters may bristle at some political observations.

I have to preface my comments by stating this was the first book ready by this author and that I was unfamiliar with Milo Weaver or this genre. With that said, given an audience that enjoys current political fare mixed with an action-packed story employing lots of twists and turns, it will be very successful. While I enjoyed the action, the pacing, the characters, this is not a place where I want to relax and escape to when reading for pleasure. I wish this author great success and am appreciative of his talent.

With best regards,

Olen Steinhauer's penetrating anti-spy espionage book The Tourist was published in 2009; for his March 2020 title, he's chosen THE LAST TOURIST. Like his other titles, this one can be read in several vital ways -- as announcing the last in his "Tourist" books, for instance, or as a label for Milo Weaver himself, struggling stepfather and agency-organized murderer with mega regrets. ... How Milo will resolve the dangerous refocusing around him and whether he and his family can survive it without further deaths or deep wounds -- moral or physical -- is in doubt all the way through. Brace for an ending that clearly concludes the Tourist espionage books. The author never gave you any other expectation, right? But is it also the end of the world, as we know it?

And who are we more similar to: Milo? His sister Alexandra? Or ... Abdul?

#4 in the Milo Weaver/Tourist trilogy. Yes, that’s correct.

The Tourist, The Nearest Exit and An American Spy chronicled Milo Weaver’s career in the blackest of black op departments within the CIA. The Office of Tourism was the sharpest point of America’s clandestine spear. They go in. They kill. They leave.

But a Chinese intelligence officer figured it all out, got his hands on the proverbial roster of Tourists and effectively wiped them all out. All except Milo and his boss. Together, in the aftermath, they have taken over an independent intelligence gathering operation that had been set up by Milo’s father (guess the spy trade runs in his family as Milo’s sister is also involved). This operation is is the subject of The Last Tourist and is called The Library, which provides its clients (selected nation-states that have deep pockets) with high level intelligence that might directly or indirectly affect each country.

The Last Tourist details a vast, complex, and secretive conspiracy and its attempts to wipe out The Library, which is viewed as a threat. Think the Bilderberg Group is something to be feared? They don’t hold a candle to the group dreamed up by Steinhauer.

Steinhauer’s vivid imagination has crafted a conspiracy that is not about geopolitics, nation states, governments, or laws. That’s child’s play. The ultimate source of power and control is simply money. And currency knows no borders or boundaries, no elected officials or tinpot despots. It just is. The primary participants include a former CIA higher-up who stumbled across all the (supposedly) hidden files about their Office of Tourism that dated well back onto the Cold War era. She is (or was) married to the CEO of Northwell (a Halliburtan-ish conglomerate) that has used that information to secretly set up its own Office of Tourism that is now tasked with taking out Milo Weaver, his Librarians (country-specific information magnets) and all the genius programmers that hide, store, and encrypt the Library’s information.

Other players determined to develop a new world order are MirGaz (Russian natural gas company; world’s largest), IfW (Germany’s massive investment bank), Touzi (middle eastern venture capitalists), Said Logistics (Omani shipping and transportation), and most importantly, Nexus (texting and messaging service with a reach beyond that of Facebook that guarantees anonymity and state of the art encryption). And they all meet each year to recruit clients at the annual World Economic Summit that meets in Davos.

Weaver is driven by two things. One is keeping the Library afloat and the other is protecting his wife and teenage daughter. They put up with and survived Milo’s career so far, but these new Tourists are even more ruthless. He’s not doing too well keeping The Library alive. Librarians and programmers are systematically being taken out even after they've all been told to go dark dark dark. And he's not just trying to stay a step ahead of these new Tourists. He doesn’t know who he can trust. Old friends may be against him and old enemies may be of some assistance - a scorecard would be helpful.

I’ve read (and reviewed here) most everything Steinhauer has written; search his name. you'll see. He is more from the Le Carre end of the espionage spectrum than he is from the Brad Thor or Vince Flynn end. While there is plenty of death and mayhem, the storyline and the exquisite presentation isn’t overwhelmed by violence. Pick this up because you really want it. Lightweight readers will get lost in the plot’s intricate complexity. Wouldn’t hurt to use a bookmark on which you can jot notes so you can keep track of the players and their fluid loyalties.

The challenge of The Last Tourist, if you choose to accept, will be best attacked by reading the Milo Weaver series in order. The Last Tourist will be really confusing for those reading it as a standalone. Having read the previous three, I was rewarded with a deep, thoughtful, multifaceted, layered, and successful conclusion (I think) to the Milo Weaver saga. But based on Steinhauer’s history, one never knows.

BTW, for those who don’t know, Steinhauer is the creative force behind the on-going series, Berlin Station, now on the EPIX Network, (season 1 in available on Amazon Prime). Haven’t watched it, but I will. With any luck, he’ll be able to get this Milo Weaver narrative on video.

East Coast Don

Available March 2020 (Thanx NetGalley). So mark your calendars.

The Last Tourist by Olen Steinhauer- The fourth book in Steinhauer's "Tourist" series comes with Milo Weaver once again hunting and being hunted, sometimes for reasons he does not know. The narrative is elusive and confusing. It seems someone has reopened the formerly abandoned Department of Tourism, a clandestine branch of the CIA, and they are after Milo's head...again! If you can forget about continuity and plot, most of the numerous chapters are intriguing and well done, but as a whole there seems little to hang this story together. Characters come and go, then disappear for a couple hundred pages. The people that stick around are well drawn except for Milo, who seems out of breath and not up to the chase. I would say the best way to read this is in one sitting or take notes along the way. There are readers who enjoy this sort of espionage thriller. They will probably like this entry. I found it a difficult slog, and yes I read the first Tourist book years ago and came away with the same feelings.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing.

I have never read anything written by this author prior to having The Last Tourist made available. I can only say that i am glad I stayed with it. This book is not an easy read, in that the story line and plot takes concentration—at least it did for me. Some book I can put down for a short time and when I pick it I up again I haven’t missed a beat. No so with this book. The premise, that companies are now using trained assassins , instead of the CIA, for the benefit of their bottom line, is well constructed. All of the various players made it very difficult to follow and I fou9nd the ending unsatisfactory, as it left me with unanswered questions. I enjoyed it enough, however, that I will read other works of this author.

Is spycraft action packed James Bond with a terrific soundtrack blasting or is it a chess match where you don't even realize how clever your opponent is until he quietly and efficiently has you in checkmate? In four volumes, Steinhauer poses this question with former CIA tourist Milo Weaver. Don't expect to have the last three books summarized at the beginning of this one. Don't expect to have all the clues laid out for you. Just as Milo sits at the international chessboard, you, the reader, are there too, trying to figure out your opponent's next move and often trying to figure out who your opponent is at all. Accept that for much of the book you, dear reader, are a pawn on the chessboard and you'll survive this book. Forget that and let your ego get ahead of you and you'll be lost. This story delves into where the spy game may be headed and it's not where you think.

The conspiracies were so plausible in our current place in time, and the writing reads so true, that I had a hard time both putting it down and sleeping!

I also loved the ease with which the characters moved through international settings as if it was no big deal, which is isn't for people who work and live in the global economy/community.

I hope Milo Weaver comes back in another book soon.

Milo Weaver is a fascinating character and this novel sees him continue to evolve in unexpected directions. With his family at risk and unidentified players posing threats, he has to piece together the situation with a new organization. The twists were thought-provoking and the scenario one that isn’t implausible, which made this a interesting new edition in the series. If you’ve read any of the previous books, I think you’ll enjoy the character evolution and the new challenges that they have to manage. If you haven’t read any previous books in the series, this would also read well as a standalone book.

Wow, this one was hard to put down. I had to force myself so I god eat and sleep. What a story, I couldn't tell which spy would turn out to be friend or foe. The only thing I feel bad about is the time gap between this and the last book in the series. It feels like the saga of Milo Weaver is winding down. I must thank #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks and #Netgalley for letting me have these hours with Olen Steinhauers latest masterpiece, The Last Tourist. Highly recommended.