Synopses & Reviews
Praise for Olen Steinhauer
"Steinhauer again displays his masterful manipulation of character, plot, and reader expectations. . . . A fast, intriguing read. Highly recommended."
---Library Journal (starred review) on Liberation Movements
"Steinhauer's people are real, the crimes genuine, and he is telling larger truths about that era, making it unusually accessible."
---David Halberstam, Los Angeles Times, on 36 Yalta Boulevard "Brano Sev is Steinhauer's most intriguing hero yet, and that's saying something. . . . With its shifting perceptions, pervasive paranoia, and truly unpredictable plot, this will be savored by readers of well-crafted espionage ranging from Alan Furst to John le Carré."
---Booklist (starred review) on 36 Yalta Boulevard
"A wonderfully taut tale that is part police procedural, part political thriller, part love story. . . . Steinhauer has created a vivid world in a lost time."
---The Washington Post Book World on The Confession
"A mesmerizing and richly atmospheric follow-up to his 2003 debut."
---Entertainment Weekly on The Confession
"The Confession is a clever reworking of the police procedural: The narrative-within-a-narrative exposes multiple levels of complicity and guilt that make this an affecting, sobering entry in one of the most inventive series around."
---Los Angeles Times on The Confession
"Think of the savage brilliance of J. Robert Janes's mysteries about World War II France; of the suspenseful erudition of Alan Furst's thrillers. Steinhauer's debut is right up there on those stellar heights, casting new light on relatively recent history we thought we already knew everything about."
---Chicago Tribune on The Bridge of Sighs
"Time, place, and cast are all richly evoked in a well-written, often gripping debut."
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on The Bridge of Sighs
"With its convincingly treacherous cast of turncoats, opportunists, party hacks, and rogue Russians, The Bridge of Sighs is a richly atmospheric tale of one man's quixotic struggle to decipher the bleak enigma of postwar Eastern Europe."
---Dan Fesperman, author of The Warlord's Son, on The Bridge of Sighs
Review
"Steinhauer again displays his masterful manipulation of character, plot, and reader expectations....A fast, intriguing read. Highly recommended." Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
"Cool and cerebral crime thriller, full of political nuance and bathed in irony." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Olen Steinhauer's elegant spy novel Liberation Movements is imbued with a retro kind of cool....It is a tight, neatly structured story, built around the lives of very Cold War characters, individuals effaced by the secrecy of their professions and the cynicism of their nation. But Liberation Movements is not so cold or so neat, for all that. At its heart is a messy, human revenge plot that is as captivating as it is unlikely to end happily." Anna Godbersen, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review)
Synopsis
Olen Steinhauer's acclaimed literary crime series set in a fictional country in Eastern Europe began in the heady post-World War II era and has taken readers from the first noise of revolution through to the chaos of the 1960s and '70s.
The year is 1975, and one of the People's Militia homicide investigators is on a plane out of the capital, bound for Istanbul. The plane is hijacked by Armenian terrorists, but before the Turkish authorities can fulfill their demands, the plane explodes in midair.
Two investigators Gavra Noukas, a secret policeman, and Katja Drdova, a homicide detective are assigned to the case. Both believe that Brano Sev, their enigmatic superior and himself a career secret policeman, is keeping them in the dark both about the details of the case and all its players and about the true motives of their investigation, but they can't figure out why. That is, until they learn that everything is connected to a seven-year-old murder, a seemingly insignificant murder that has had far-reaching consequences.
The politics and history for which Olen Steinhauer's novels have been most praised turn intimate and highly compelling in this ambitious new novel.
Synopsis
The personal becomes political in the latest in Steinhauer's award-nominated, acclaimed Eastern European crime series.
Synopsis
Praise for
Liberation Movements "An inspired choice---giving history and politics a chance to simmer over the flame of murder."
---Chicago Tribune
"Dazzling . . . a skilled writer working at the top of his form."
---Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Steinhauer again displays his masterful manipulation of character, plot, and reader expectations. . . . A fast, intriguing read."
---Library Journal (starred review)
"Cool and cerebral crime thriller."
---Kirkus Reviews
Praise for 36 Yalta Boulevard
"Steinhauer's people are real, the crimes genuine, and he is telling larger truths about that era."
---David Halberstam
Synopsis
Olen Steinhauer's acclaimed crime series set in Eastern Europe has taken readers from the first shots of the revolution and through the chaos of the 1960s. Now, it is 1975, and one of the People's Militia investigators is bound for Istanbul when his plane is hijacked by Armenian terrorists and explodes in midair.
Gavra Noukas, a secret policeman, and Katja Drdova, a homicide detective, are assigned to the case. Both believe that Brano Sev, their enigmatic superior and career secret policeman, is hiding the true motives of their investigation, but they can't figure out why until they learn that everything is connected to a seven-year-old murder with far-reaching consequences. The compelling politics and history for which Olen Steinhauer's novels have been praised turn intimate in this ambitious novel.
Synopsis
Olen Steinhauer's acclaimed literary crime series set in a fictional country in Eastern Europe began in the heady post--World War II era and has taken readers from the first noise of revolution through to the chaos of the 1960s and '70s.
The year is 1975, and one of the People's Militia homicide investigators is on a plane out of the capital, bound for Istanbul. The plane is hijacked by Armenian terrorists, but before the Turkish authorities can fulfill their demands, the plane explodes in midair.
Two investigators---Gavra Noukas, a secret policeman, and Katja Drdova, a homicide detective---are assigned to the case. Both believe that Brano Sev, their enigmatic superior and himself a career secret policeman, is keeping them in the dark both about the details of the case and all its players and about the true motives of their investigation, but they can't figure out why. That is, until they learn that everything is connected to a seven-year-old murder, a seemingly insignificant murder that has had far-reaching consequences.
The politics and history for which Olen Steinhauer's novels have been most praised turn intimate and highly compelling in this ambitious new novel.
About the Author
Olen Steinhauers widely acclaimed Eastern European crime series, which he was inspired to write while on a Fulbright fellowship, is a two-time Edgar Award finalist and has been shortlisted for the Anthony, the Macavity, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the Barry awards. The series includes 36 Yalta Boulevard, The Confession, The Br idge of Sighs, and Victory Square. Steinhauer is also the author of the bestselling Milo Weaver series, including The Nearest Exit and The Tourist. Raised in Virginia, Steinhauer lives with his family in Budapest, Hungary.