Not one of Steinhauer's better books. I had trouble following the plot and all the characters. I bet a lot of the politically conservative hated this book. I agree with Steinhauer's political leanings, but it wasn't enough to make this a good book.

Milo Weaver is the head of The Library, an international espionage group that collects and stores classified information, sharing with their colleagues when necessary, has brought new information to the table regarding Northwell and its leader, Anthony Halliwell. Halliwell is attempting to build alliances with Library members, hoping to gain their support, and while other countries’ agents are wavering in their support, Milo, a CIA operative, is well versed in convincing people to follow his direction.

So…The Last Tourist read, for me, like a ball of confusion. I didn’t realize it was the fourth book in a series, so I was already behind when it came to recognizing the players. This was a difficult book to keep up with, as the POV changed with the chapter and it wasn’t always clear who was speaking. By the time I figured it out, it was on to the next chapter with a new POV. Though I enjoy mysteries and thrillers, this book just left me shaking my head. I read the whole thing, and still don’t know what happened.

This spy novel was based on an unlikely premise with many plot twists, multiple characters, set in several foreign countries with a lot of action.
I was not familiar with the Tourist series and it took a while to figure out what the Tourist organization was (CIA assassins) and what The Library was and their functions, and to realize that we (the USA) were not the good guys here.
I think that the complex, complicated plot was a little out of control because it seemed to lack continuity and I had difficulty determining who was doing what to who because of what. The narrators kept changing and the point of view of the narrator kept jumping around. I think there were too many characters with too many agendas, both hidden and overt with many seeming to be intent on out maneuvering the others.
I was also disappointed in the author's insertion of political opinion - which I thought was completely unnecessary in this novel. - although it did define the time as present day. I still don't understand why the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram were included in this story as their plight didn't really add anything to it.
Thank you to St Martin's Press, Minotaur and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author Olen Steinhauer, the publisher Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

I loved the first 3 books of this series and was okay with the fourth. But, I really think that this series has run its course. Milo is now older and not that Badass butt kicking Tourist that he used to be. HIs character has become somewhat stodgy.

The Library continues its mission of collecting information for its clients, the countries that pay their bills. But somehow, some nefarious shadow organization has found out about the Library. And then "Tourists" begin to show up again.....and you either join them or they take you out.

Milo and his group of librarians much change their mission from one of passive information collection to active agents.

It was interesting and brings up some scary potenial issues such as over powerful multinational companies and what they might become.

I hope and think that this is the last book of this series as it has run its course.

What a ride! Oh the things I learned about espionage, lies, deceit and brilliance. The theme is pretty futuristic but also believable as our world changes immensely each passing day.
Never a shortage of twists and turns.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for giving a chance to read and review this novel. When I picked it from Netgalley, I didn't realize it was fourth in a series. I decided I would, at least, read the first book in the series so I could get some background. That helped a little, but I highly encourage readers to start at the beginning and read ALL the books in order. I am usually pretty OCD about, but managed to get over that.
The "tourists"in this series are not people wandering around with tour groups, but a special brand of spies. As THE LAST TOURIST opens, the main protagonist, Milo Weaver is part of a group called the Librarians and they certainly aren't cataloguing and checking out bestsellers. The reader sees part of the story from a character named Abdul. The past is also revealed over time.
The author has crafted a multilayered character in Milo Weaver. The first book tells quite a bit about his past, but THE LAST TOURIST shows him "warts and all". There are many secondary characters who are very well fleshed out. It is often difficult for both the character and reader to tell who are the true bad guys.
This is not a beach book. You need to pay very close attention so the plot as it moves along or you could get lost. It is a great spy saga and moves at such a pace, I felt breathless at times. I haven't read many spy novels in the past, but the Milo Weaver series has given me a whole new appreciation for the genre. It is rather scary to think many of the things in the book could be going on around us.
If you want to get lost in a book then THE LAST TOURIST is for you. I wish Mr. Steinhauer much success in the future.

I have enjoyed every book in this Milo Weaver story and this book was a find end to an intriguing series. The book opens in first person from the perspective of a CIA analyst. His life will forever be changed when he is assigned the task of checking out someone named Milo Weaver. Anyone having read this series will know that Milo was a part of a secret group of CIA operatives called The Library, and has managed to spend ten years off the radar.

This operation spans the globe and brings in a bevy of dangerous characters, situations and experiences. It is almost too much to absorb as their are many players and locations and keeping them all straight while reading this book should have earned me a degree of some sort.

Since spy novels are not my forte, this was a complicated, comprehensive read that took a lot for me to absorb. Having read the first three books in the series, The Tourist, The Nearest Exit and An American Spy, helped me to fit into Milo's world and all of the danger it entailed.

If you like deeper stories filled with intrigue that take you to the edge of your imagination, then I encourage you to pick up this book, The Last Tourist, and the entire series.

Many thanks to Minotaur and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I totally enjoyed this book by Olen Steinhauer. I like the plot and his writing style. Will definitely be checking out other books written by him in the future.

Not sure how I ended up with this book because its not a genre I read. I tried to get through it anyway, but it just couldnt hold my interest because of the subject matter....just bored me. I normally read a book in 1 or 2 days, this one took me a week. The book is very well written and the characters are very complex but it wasnt for me. I'm still giving it 4 stars because of the writing and character development.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher and author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 12%

I'm not sure what happened with this one. The author is usually one of my favorites and I usually don't have any problems with his books. This one, however, I didn't connect with. I put it down after the first major section and had no desire to pick it up again.

Maybe it was the seriousness of the news right now and me not wanting a deep, cerebral espionage thriller with dozens of moving parts, both past and present.

I will probably come back to this one at some point.

The Last Tourist is apparently the fourth in the Milo Weaver series, but it easily stands alone. The novel has plenty of plot twists equaling what's expected in this genre and occasionally words are strung together in near-poetic way.

The protagonist, Milo Weaver, is a scarred veteran of the spy world, but has returned to the States, married and has a child. Weaver isn't a sauve debonair 007 copy, not is he the skilled Jason Bourne, and he lacks the characterization Daniel Silva has invested his Gabriel Allon with, but he is a relatable character. He's a scarred man who's has traded his old life for a wife, daughter and a normal American home life, but is now forced to return to the world of spook-dom.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

This was hard to get through and about half way, I was ready to give up. There were way to many characters to keep track of, and then there was the mix of fantasy characters then throwing in Trump/Mueller into the story. That made no sense at all and the only explanation that I could figure out was the author wanted to express his political opinion.

I was having a hard time following the story so I read through the reviews and was relieved to find out that I was not alone. At first, I worried that I was not smart enough to follow this story line as I felt like I was kind of dropped into the middle of a mystery story. Confirming that others struggled made me feel better.

The parts that I followed was interesting and if there were less lengthy detailed political sections and just more on the actual story, I would have had an easier time following the actual story. Half way through the book, I just started to skim over paragraphs were the material was too politically motivated and things that just didn't be needed for the story - climate change lecture! (Not why I read a book unless it is a specifically chosen subject!)

Maybe if I had read more of this author's books I might understand more of what was going on or maybe not, I don't know! Unfortunately, what I read does not tempt me to read any further books by this author.

Exciting and sad

Early in the book I laughed that the Library, a mysterious secret spy organization, is hidden in the UN as an obscure sub-agency of UNESCO. The more I thought about it though, the more perfect the setup seemed. Anyone who works for a minute with the UN figures out that the organization is hopelessly inept and that UNESCO is the worst of the bunch. The UN can't do anything remotely efficiently and hiding a secret spy agency there is a great idea. UN passports, lots of professional contacts, arcane budget processes where any expenditure can be hidden. No audits. Brilliant.

I have not read the previous books in the series and so it took some time to get the back story in place.

Earlier there were "The Tourists", a group of spies who did good work. That's the back story. Most of the Tourists were murdered in a single day some time ago following their outing by a traitor. The remainder are fighting for their lives – bureaucratically fighting that is. Milo Weaver has reconstituted the Tourism Agency as The Library, an organization that feeds high-grade intel to second tier countries who otherwise would be kept in the dark by the big powers. But not the Library has been discovered too, and is under attack. The Librarians (with canine code names, no less) are being picked off, sometime with their families. Milo is trying to save as many as he can. The story is a good one and I enjoyed it very much.

I wasn't familiar with the other books so it was a bit difficult to follow but still a good read. I would recommend for people that are fans of the series.

The Last Tourist takes us back to Milo Weaver of “The Tourist” for the fourth time. It’s a decade later and since the tourism bureau has shut down, Weaver has taken his espionage skills and connections in a completely different direction though still using a metaphor. He is the head of the Library and the spies in his employ are librarians.

The Library is perhaps a quixotic attempt to balance the power through information. The Libary is employed by a committee of secondary powers in the developed and developing world to gather intelligence. First-class intelligence is not the sole province of the superpowers. But, someone seems to want to shut down the library. Milo and his team are on the defense, trying to understand who or what is behind the plot.

This is high-level espionage and counter-espionage involving government intelligence directors and ambassadors and business executives of the world’s great corporations. Milo and his irregulars hardly seem up to the task, though anyone who has read the series knows he has unexpected allies and clever tricks up his sleeve.



The Last Tourist improves upon reflection. When I finished, I felt very dissatisfied but thinking about it more, I understood it is right for the times. It’s hard to write a conspiracist thriller when the world is rife with real conspiracies. It is all too possible, and that makes it an uncomfortable book to read.

I received an e-galley of The Last Tourist from the publisher through NetGalley

The Last Tourist at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan

Olen Steinhauer

Having read all the previous Milo Weaver adventures, I looked forward to this one -- it disappointed! It was a bit too complicated with many overlapping layers and nuances. Good finish after a long slog through the middle. With the intersection of a huge industrial organization, a Chinese developer, a Russian energy company, an Arab shipping conglomerate and an American social media behemoth involving English bankers and China's Second Bureau it began to look like SPECTRE and Milo was no James Bond. As Toni Osbourne (April 1, 2020) so eloquently wrote: ""The Last Tourist" is a complex tapestry that weaves together a story of politics, espionage and trickery on a global scale. This saga is filled with unexpected twists and turns and has a large cast of characters all outfoxing each other. The sheer number of players and their individual agenda were far too many to follow and so hard to keep up with that I lost interest." THANK YOU TONI! -- Please keep sharing your insights! Thanks also to St. Martin's and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Last Tourist” is not about casual vacationing in beautiful exotic locations. It is about espionage, secrets, “black ops” groups, terrorism, politics, and general threats to peace everywhere. Readers get to know Abdul Ghali through his first person narrative. He shares his thoughts about his family and the journey to his job in “data” at the CIA. He spends a lot of time developing a complete background for readers including his own unique background as an “outsider,” from a disputed desert expanse just south of Morocco called Western Sahara. While he is not sure why he was selected for this task despite his connections to the region; others have an opinion. “Now I know why they sent you…You’re expendable.” But there is another reason as well, a bigger more important reason.
The book is divided into three blocks of time. The story begins in January 2019, and readers learn about the players, the preparations, and the mission. Then, the narrative goes back four months in a detailed backstory that shows why the mission was necessary, and how the players got to the January situation. Finally, readers follow everyone to the “conclusion” of this mission. Steinhauer created a thriller where the geography is as detailed as the characters. Pages are filled with local flavor, and the specifics make this exotic setting real for readers. “Milo Weaver is there because it’s an excellent place to hide.” This exact story could not have taken place anywhere else.
The Last Tourist” starts as the story of an interview and a desert rescue, but things are not that simple. The plot is complex and filled with political intrigue, counter intelligence, undercover spies, and abundant dirty tricks. I received a review copy of “The Last Tourist” from Olen Steinhauer, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books. It is book four in the Milo Weaver series, but I did not realize this until after I finished the book. It certainly stands alone, and is a unique and interesting way to advance a series.

This wasn't my favorite, but I haven't read any of the other ones, so that might make a difference. It was a bit too political, too many characters, just too much going on that didn't actually add to the story.

This is an excellent story involving international black operations by a commercial company that picked up a shuttered government program. It has many interesting and imaginative ideas, and a broad range of very unique characters. Human nature, both good and bad drives the narrative. The writing was great on descriptions, but caused me a little confusion as the narrative shifted between third person, voice of God, and first person. First person would start in a chapter and it took several pages to figure out who was telling the story.. Other than that, a great book..

The Last Tourist is likely to be a homerun for fans of the series already familiar with this world. Coming in without prior context doesn't mean one can't enjoy it, but I found myself getting lost with the myriad characters. This is no fault of the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.