The Tourist Audiobook By Olen Steinhauer cover art

The Tourist

A Novel

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Tourist

By: Olen Steinhauer
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.74

Buy for $19.74

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
In the vein of John le Carré and Graham Greene, this contemporary international thriller follows Milo Weaver as he is drawn into a conspiracy that links riots in the Sudan, an assassin committing suicide, and an old friend who's been accused of selling secrets to the Chinese. Once the CIA and Homeland Security are after him, the only way for him to survive is to return, headfirst, into Tourism.©2009 Olen Steinhauer (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Espionage Mystery Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense China Fiction

Critic reviews

"[Weaver] is the perfect hero for such a richly nuanced tale." ( Booklist)
"Superbly accomplished at both plotting and characterization....highly recommended." ( Library Journal)
All stars
Most relevant  
The Tourist rewards you for paying attention. The story weaves its way along so if you are a reader that like to be carefully lead, then you might be disappointed. But if you enjoy a book that makes you think then you will want to give The Tourist a listen.

"Company" man, Milo Weaver works out of the Avenue of the Americas secret Department of Tourism as a clandestine operative ... a Tourist. Like a tourist, he has no connection to the country he happens to be passing through.

If you are expecting another Jack Reacher or Victor the Assassin character, you will be disappointed. As much as I enjoy those characters, I found myself drawn to this "everyman" spy. Milo (named after a dog) is every bit a professional, but one with a life and a past that unfolds as the story develops. And that past has more than a little bearing on the story.

And as for the story, you have to pay attention as POV and time and place of the story change. Things don't jump around in a jumble, but they do flow. And you can stay with it if you are willing. I enjoyed those twists right up to the last.

As for the narration, I think Tom Weiner's performance is just fine. I have listened to several books narrated by Tom and was pleased with them. So when I read a LOT of bad reviews about his reading of this book, I discounted them. Turns out I was right to do so. He might not do the best "woman's" voice, and that can be said of many male narrators, but I enjoy his work. It might be he is an acquired taste.

I can't say I know any CIA employees / operatives, but I doubt they sit around talking about "the company" or that they can do anything at any time, any where. I suspect they are real men and women, smart and capable, but people. Something like Milo. At no time do you mistake him for superman, but he is certainly fun to ride along with. Take a chance on The Tourist, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Smart book, definitely not one to zone out to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very well interpreted. Loved the narrator. Very convoluted story nicely sorted out in the last hour. Very entertaining.

Exciting spy novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I listed to this during an 8 hour drive. it was hard for me to follow the different character names. i was not driven to connect my headset during gas and rest area stops.

Yawn!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
i liked the book, but judging by all the rave reviews I was ready for something new and mind-blowing. at times it was rather standard stuff, not like Day of the Jackal, or Spy Who Came in From the Cold, or Hunt for Red October, all novels which changed the playing field and i grew restless with it. it may make a good movie, though perhaps too much will have to be condensed and trimmed...but maybe at a break-neck pace you could make an almost strict actioner out of it.

over rated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good story, great twists, ended just right. Will look for more by the author. Good enough to write a review!

Began slightly slow - then great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I suppose most of us that listen to audio books are on the lookout for new authors that we might enjoy. There are so many here in audible.com. Often you don't read a book because of bad reviews others write when you're really not sure if it would be good or bad. I'd never heard of Steinhauer and read somewhere here in audible.com, maybe the home page, where Nelson DeMille, another author I think, said this was a really good book. Well, I read it and I agree it is a really good book. Interesting character development, interesting twists and turns, you find yourself likeing some of the different characters. Just before typing this review I saw Steinhauer has other books here in audible. I'll have to check them out.

I found a new author

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Narrator was great. The story never got dull. Looking forward ro other Novela by auther!!!

complicated story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
When I first began listening to this book, I thought the reader must be the author. Usually, when you hear a reader who is not all that great, it turns out to be the author. (Neil Gaiman is an exception: he's an excellent reader as well as a great writer.) In any case, the reading sounds clipped and too fast, and it can be difficult to understand. As others have mentioned, character voices, especially for female characters, are not done well.

This reader might do fine on non-fiction but he just wasn't well-matched to this novel. I gave up after about 2 hours.

Couldn't get into it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really like this story, my first from this author. I tend to favor a bit more action, but came to appreciate this one regardless. Very well told story. I had to rewind now and then since it got a bit complex at times. But I listen while I commute so it's easy to get distracted anyway. The author did a good job of providing recaps now and then that fit seamlessly into the story.

I look forward to more from this author.

Very Entertaining

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful, full of plot twists. Characterization was well done--except for the bratty, unrealistically old-for-her-years daughter, whom I wanted to garrote. Reading was well done.

Engrossing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews