Olen Steinhauer Books In Order

Publication Order of Ruthenia Quintet Books

Publication Order of Milo Weaver Books

Publication Order of Middleman Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Olen Steinhauer is a New York Times bestselling author from America. He writes mostly in the spy fiction and mystery genres and is famous for his series’, ‘The Tourist’, and the ‘Yalta Boulevard Sequence’. Olen was born on June 21, 1970 in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. He spent most of his youth in Virginia and studied at a university in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. He later graduated from The University of Texas, Austin. Olen has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Emerson College in Boston. He has traveled to a lot of places other than Virginia such as Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California and New York in U.S. He has also lived in Croatia, Italy and Czech Republic. Olen says that he got the inspiration for writing his first five books while living in Romania on a Fulbright grant for a year. He received the grant to write a novel about the Romanian Revolution, after completing his graduation. The novel was titled ‘Tzara’s Monocle’. Olen used the manuscript of the novel in his own writings after moving back to New York City. His first book to be published was The Bridge of Sighs, which was a historical mystery set around Eastern Europe. Over the years, Olen has written and published a number of stories and poetry in various literary journals.

Almost all of his writings have been nominated for prestigious awards. Olen now lives in Hungary along with his wife and daughter. His first five books revolving around the Cold War in Eastern Europe were nominated for five different categories of awards. His second book, The Confession was listed in the best-of-lists for three straight years. Liberation Movement was listed in four best-of-lists and was also nominated for the Edgar Award for the best novel of the year. The final novel of his first series was nominated for the New York Times editor’s choice award. Olen began writing spy tales with The Tourist series. The series was set in the post 9/11 world. The success of the series can be understood from the fact that George Clooney’s Smoke House Films has grabbed the rights to make a film on the series and George Clooney himself is expected to play the lead role. The story of The Tourist shows the story of Milo Weaver, who is a secret agent working for the CIA, specializing in black ops known as the Tourists. The news is that Sony Pictures Entertainment is also interested in making a movie on the series with Doug Liman as the director. Olen Steinhauer has won many prestigious awards such as the Dashiell Hammett Award. He has also been the finalist for the Edgar Award twice in his career. Olen has also been shortlisted for the Macavity Award, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award and the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger. Nine of his novels have been listed in the New York Times best-selling list.

The Tourist series consists of three novels published from 2009 to 2012. The first novel of the series was titled ‘The Tourist’ followed by ‘The Nearest Exit’, which was published in the year 2010. The series starts with the main character, Milo Weaver as an undercover agent working for the CIA. Milo does not have a home or identity. After a short stint as an agent, he decides to leave his life of secrets and lies and asks for a desk job in the CIA. However, it is not such an easy path to follow as he thinks and is forced to come back due to the acts of betrayal, manipulation and intrigue. He is left with no choice but to return tot he same field again and untangle the mysteries around him as he is the only one who can solve them. The series is full of dark secrets, suspense and thrill. It was very successful because of its explosive and suspenseful plots and was listed in the New York Times bestselling series list.

The first novel of the series was published in the year 2009 by Minotaur Books. The plot of the novel opens with Milo Weaver as the ‘Tourist’, a secret agent for the CIA with no home and identity. He is retired now and works as a middle-level manager at the New York headquarters of the CIA. He is survived by a wife and a daughter and is trying to leave his past life of secrets and lies behind. But soon one of the most sought-after assassin gets arrested and one of Milo’s colleagues is put into the investigation. This opens new plots in his older cases and as a result Milo is forced to go undercover again and solve the cases once and for all. The novel was very well received by the readers as well as other authors. Various publishing magazines praised Olen Steinhauer for his efforts and labelled him as an expert mystery and thriller writer. The novel went on to be translated in more than 25 languages worldwide, apart from reaching the New York Times bestseller list and sold a number of copies.

The second novel of The Tourist series titled ‘The Nearest Exit’ was published in the year 2010 by the Minotaur Books. The plot of the novel opens up with Milo Weaver, who is forced to take back his old job of being a ‘tourist’, although he is reluctant about it. He sees an end to his quiet and settled life as he knows that it will take him a long time to track down the culprits from his older cases, who have come up from nowhere. But before he can rejoin his duty as an undercover CIA agent, Milo has to prove his loyalty to his new commanding officers as they do not know much about him. Suddenly, Milo finds himself in a dangerous situation in trying to find the right and wrong. He does not trust anyone as he is not able to distinguish between the traitors and the patriots. However, he is determined to find the truth and solve the mysteries once and for all, as he has nothing left to lose. The novel was a runaway hit and garnered excellent reviews from the critics as well as the readers. It was appreciated like the first installment of the series. The USA Today, The New York Times and The Houston Chronicle regarded it as a classic spy novel filled with fresh characters and a suspenseful plot. It even went on to win the Hammett Prize for the best literary novel of the year 2010.