Synopsis/blurb…..
In a thrilling e-exclusive short
story, New York Times bestselling espionage master Olen Steinhauer introduces
the enigmatic John Calhoun, an international security contractor who plays a
prominent role in Steinhauer's latest novel, The Cairo Affair.
Before his assignment to the CIA's
Cairo office, John worked in Lisbon, Portugal, where he took part in an
extraordinary rendition - the apprehension of a wanted individual for
interrogation. But from the beginning of the operation nothing goes as planned,
and for John, it soon becomes much more than a career-defining moment; how he
handles this crisis will define who he is as a person.
A 60-odd
page long e-book (probably 20 of these are the first two chapters in The Cairo Affair)
and an introduction to one of the minor, but important characters in Steinhauer’s
Cairo Affair – John Calhoun. We pick up where Calhoun is the “outsider” involved
with a tight CIA team about to conduct a rendition operation on the brother of
a suspected terrorist. All goes to plan until it doesn’t and a fatal car crash
derails the operation. Calhoun shows his capabilities by fleeing the site with
the target before the police arrive on the scene.
Spending
time with his man, gives us the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into Calhoun’s
psyche as he engages with Mohammed el-Malik. Calhoun has his doubts about
Mohammed’s involvement in his brother’s affairs, believing him an innocent in Lisbon
for academic reasons. Kind of irrelevant in the end as the CIA send in a
clean-up crew to cover everyone’s tracks.
 |
| Olen Steinhauer |
Calhoun - having
shown us his conscience and moral compass; in a landscape where distrust and
suspicions are the natural currency and the decisions are always made by those
higher up the food chain – finds himself re-assigned to Cairo.
Really good;
interesting and Steinhauer gets you thinking, as always. I would probably have
enjoyed this a wee bit more if I had read it prior to The Cairo Affair, but it worked well enough for me. I’d probably be
entertained if I read Olen’s shopping list. Worth an hour of anyone's time.
4 from 5
Bought
sometime earlier this year on Amazon.
Col - Glad to know this worked for you. I must read more of Steinhauer's work, and sometimes a short story is a good way to keep up with what an author's doing.. I admit I haven't (yet) read The Cairo Affair, but but I've heard it's a good 'un.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he's a suitable candidate for one of your spotlight posts?
DeleteI do like throwing in the odd shorter piece into my reading, which keeps me ticking over and stops me getting bogged down too much.
Col, I'm reading a lot of short fiction, so this one appeals to me, as do the titles of both the books.
ReplyDeleteI think he's a fantastic writer. I do need to get back to some of his earlier books. This one leads in nicely to THE CAIRO AFFAIR.
DeleteDo you like supernatural elements to your Western fiction? I just read a strange collection called HAWTHORNE - by Heath Lowrance. It was free on Amazon UK, LAST WEEK.
I definitely intend to read more Steinhauer (and learn how to spell his name without having to check each time) so this was interesting, though will probably go for another full-length novel next. I'm glad to have discovered him, thanks to you and Tracy.
ReplyDeleteI think reads like this underline the fact I'm a bit of a completist. I'm sure I have another short something or other by him.
DeleteSince I have already read (and loved) The Cairo Affair, I don't think this is for me. Maybe someday.
ReplyDeleteTracy, no problem. I do need to inject some shorter pieces into my reading to keep the scoreboard ticking over and I enjoyed it, it was less than a pound - happy days!
DeleteHis 'The Tourist' was a miss for me (I think it just didn't match up to a proper Cold War Deighton or Le Carre), so I've not given him another go, but The Cairo Affair does sound like I'd enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteVicky, that's a shame and I hope I enjoy it better than you. I suppose proper Cold War stuff rocks me most also!
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