All the Old Knives (Steinhauer) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Olen Steinhauer's unusually short and wily spy novel…[is a] sneaky little gem…Mr. Steinhauer finds ways to work many different perspectives—even those of the wait staff, very briefly—into the seemingly simple story of one little amorous evening for old times' sake…Mr. Steinhauer sustains the difficult balancing act of melding a heart-racing espionage plot with credible dinner table conversation. He never violates the book's basic premise, not even when his characters begin to have the darkest suspicions about each other.
Janet Maslin - New York Times


[A] sneaky little gem.... Sustains the difficult balancing act of melding a heart-racing espionage plot with credible dinner table conversation.... Mr. Steinhauer specializes in tough showdowns. And the more innocently they begin, the more devastatingly they end.
New York Times Book Review


A splendid tour de force.... Without neglecting the turmoil of the geopolitical landscape, the novel focuses more intensely on the equally treacherous landscapes of the human heart.
Washington Post


It's not news that Olen Steinhauer is among the best contemporary espionage writers, and All the Old Knives confirms it. If you're a fan of intelligent spy novels that don't need much bang-bang, details about ordnance, or people who save the world single-handedly, this one's for you.
Seattle Times


Most of All the Old Knives revolves around Pelham and Favreau's dinner, and the fact that the book moves so swiftly and alluringly is a testament to Steinhauer's skills as an entertainer. He stretches considerable tension across an entire book, rather than a handful of swift scenes, and it's gratifying to watch him do something so daringly retro and contrary to what we've come to expect in a thriller.
Richmond Times-Dispatch


(Starred review.) A quiet dinner for two...unfolds into something much more dramatic.... There’s great narrative energy in the thrust and counterthrust of the dinner conversation.... Steinhauer is a very fine writer and an excellent observer of human nature, shrewd about the pleasures and perils of spying.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) This genre-bending spy novel takes Hitchcockian suspense to new heights. Over the course of a meal with flashbacks, the eternal questions of trust, loyalty, and authentic love are deftly dissected. Readers...will be thrilled to follow Henry and Celia's tortured pas de deux. —Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA
Library Journal


(Starred review.) [M]asterfully plotted and suspenseful.... Steinhauer expertly shifts perspectives between the two spies in both their present and past lives.... It's an understatement to say that nothing is as it seems, but even readers well-versed in espionage fiction will be pleasantly surprised by Steinhauer's plot twists and double backs.
Kirkus Reviews