The Nearest Exit

By: Olen Steinhauer

Narrated by: David Pittu

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Milo Weaver has nowhere to turn but back to the CIA in Olen Steinhauer's brilliant follow-up to the New York Times best-selling espionage novel The Tourist.

The Tourist, Steinhauer’s first contemporary novel after his award-winning historical series, was a runaway hit, spending three weeks on the New York Times best seller 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.

“Milo Weaver, Steinhauer’s hero, is the opposite of Swagger and Reacher - he is conflicted and neurotic and hopelessly sentimental - but no less entertaining.” (Malcolm Gladwell, TheNewYorker.com)

“Milo’s company is at least as valuable to the series’s appeal as is his flair for international trickery.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

©2010 Third State, Inc. (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Milo Weaver, Steinhauer’s hero, is the opposite of Swagger and Reacher—he is conflicted and neurotic and hopelessly sentimental—but no less entertaining.” —Malcolm Gladwell, TheNewYorker.com

“Milo’s company is at least as valuable to the series’s appeal as is his flair for international trickery.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Fascinating

This story--the whole series--is like driving by a car wreck. Part fascination, part horror. A huge helping of pity. But I'm wholly invested in rooting for Milo. I like him. I'm repulsed by him. I don't understand him.
When a writer can do that to their reader, they've got skills.

Good story, okay narration

Pretty exciting story. Narrator was okay, terrible at female voices, sounded so cringy. Would have been better to just read. Did male voices well.

Excellent sequel

An excellent sequel to The Tourist. David Pittu's narration was perfect. I hope they use him for An American Spy

Poor follow up to the original story

I liked the first book in the series and looked forward to this book, alas, this story never gets off the ground, instead it just plows through the same terrain as the last book just rearranging the sequence and adding a couple of new names and using the word "tourist" more than I thought possible. The love interest starts out stale - and then stays that way, there are no notable relationships formed, and the arch villain in this story is never developed beyond some shady form in the background. The poor girl killed in this story is just a prop used and discarded in the story for no purpose other than to add a hundred pages and some - as it turns out - useless - interrogation drama which ends up moving the story nowhere, it just ends.
The first book was an intelligent espionage thriller, this is just a phoned in waste of time.
Not Recommended.

A LeCarre spy

The plots are intricate. The characters are not heroic. They are not superhuman. But they are determined, caught in a between world where questions are not invited and worse not answered.

Great narrator

Enjoyed both the story and the narrator. Milo is not your typical hero. I liked his family and how torn he was between them and his job

Couldn't hold my interest

First two star review for me, and it was an easy score. Lack of continuity to the point of having to go back and listen again just to figure out where the story was going. So distracting that I didn't even remember chapter openings to find my place. Back two chapters, forward one. Not a good sign.

Narration enjoyable, good vocalizations for the international cast, painting them in my mind eye was a pleasure.

Milo is an interesting character, but not enough of him was developed. The prospect of an unrelenting sad sack tone in yet another disappointing story, no. No point in continuing the series.

Extremely Disappointed - Returned

I loved the first two books in the Milo Weaver series, The Tourist & The Nearest Exit. An American Spy seems to be continuously playing “catch up” for those not familiar with other two books. I finally can’t take it any more!

Shaggy Dog

I don’t think the author missed any horrifying action a person could take. It was a page-turner, hurrying to get to the end of this dark and unsatisfying tale.

below Minus

Possibly the most ridiculous and convoluted spy story I have ever read.

The first three chapters sound like the beginnings of three different novels.

The hero is an emotional mess dealing with an amazingly dysfunctional family that I have a really hard time caring about.

It's not sure I will be able to finish this silly story. Good reader though.

It may be time to reread Steig Larrsen.