Olen Steinhauer Books

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Olen Steinhauer is an American author that writes mysteries and thrillers. Born in 1970 in Baltimore, Maryland, the author went to Lock Haven University (Pennsylvania), the University of Texas, and Emerson College, Boston (MFA in Creative Writing).

He wrote several stories and poems before his first novel debuted in 2003. Technically speaking, ‘The Bridge of Sighs’ was not Olen’s first book. He wrote three novels in previous years, but they were all unsuccessful.

‘The Bridge of Sighs’ was an experiment. Olen wanted to see whether he could write a straightforward story with a beginning, middle, and end. The author was also determined to produce a story that was legitimately thrilling and entertaining, not just intellectually amusing.

These days, it takes Olen a year or more to finish a novel. But he wrote ‘The Bridge of Spies’ in just six months. He would arrive at work early before spending the next few hours writing. By doing this each day, he completed the manuscript in record time.

Interestingly enough, the author did not feel any insecurity regarding the quality of his storytelling. The insecurities only arose after Minotaur Books agreed to publish the manuscript.

Then they asked him to secure a few blurbs from his professors. The thought made him somewhat uneasy even though he was proud of the work he had done.

Nonetheless, the author sent the query letters to three of his old professors along with a copy of his book. Initially, the trio expressed interest in reading the book.

But once he sent the book, he never heard back from them. The author is not afraid to admit that it took him a while to get over the disappointment. The experience taught him that authors should write for themselves and no one else.

Olen tries to embody that philosophy every day. The author likes to think that he has evolved as a storyteller over the years. While ‘The Bridge of Sighs’ and its sequels did well enough, it wasn’t until ‘The Tourist’ came out in 2009 that his fame truly exploded.

The Milo Weaver books are popular among Olen’s fans. The first two installments in the series were police procedurals. But by the time he sat down to write the third novel, Olen had realized that he was more comfortable in the spy thriller genre.

Police procedurals are complicated because police officers have strict procedures they must follow. If you ignore them, avid readers will take offense because your stories are unrealistic.

But adhering to those procedures limits the potential of your story. The spy genre was more appealing to Olen because spies have more freedom to operate. More importantly, readers don’t expect realism from this genre.

Olen Steinhauer Awards

Olen has received an Edgar Award nomination.

Best Olen Steinhauer Books

The author’s activities are not limited to literary publication. He also created ‘Berlin Station,’ a TV series. Olen’s best books include:

The Tourist: Milo Weaver was good at his job. He was what the CIA called a tourist. He had neither home nor identity, which allowed him to undertake challenging undercover missions.

But then he retired from the position and secured a comfortable middle management position at the CIA’s New York office. Milo was happy. The stability from his new job allowed the operative to start a family.

Nothing was more important to Milo than his wife and daughter, and he was determined to keep his nose out of fieldwork. But then an infamous assassin was arrested, and everything changed.

The CIA launched an investigation into an old colleague, a development that forced Milo out of retirement and sent him back undercover.

The Nearest Exit: Milo is a reluctant spy. He thought he could abandon his roots as a CIA tourist to live a quiet existence with his family. But that option is no longer on the table.

He must return to the CIA, taking up his old job as a nameless operative without a home or identity. However, the CIA is not quite what he remembered. Milo has new bosses, and they don’t know who he is or what he has done.

Before he can integrate into his old position, Milo needs to prove himself. But winning his superiors over won’t be easy when they are so ignorant about the workings of the government they serve.

When Does The Next Olen Steinhauer book come out?

Olen Steinhauer doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Last Tourist and was released on March, 24th 2020. It is the newest book in the Milo Weaver Series.

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