All the Old Knives

By: Olen Steinhauer

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos, Juliana Francis Kelly

Nine years ago terrorists hijacked a plane in Vienna. Somehow a rescue attempt staged from the inside went terribly wrong, and everyone onboard was killed.

Members of the CIA stationed in Vienna during that time were witness to this terrible tragedy, gathering intel from their sources during those tense hours, assimilating facts from the ground with a series of texts coming from one of their agents inside the plane. So when it all went wrong, the question had to be asked: Had their agent been compromised, and how?

Two of those agents, Henry Pelham and Celia Harrison, were lovers at the time, and in fact that was the last night they spent together. Until now. That night Celia decided she'd had enough; she left the agency, married, and had children, and is living an ordinary life in the suburbs. Henry is still an analyst, and has traveled to California to see her one more time, to relive the past, maybe, or to put it behind him once and for all.

But neither of them can forget that long-ago question: Had their agent been compromised, and how? And each of them wonders what role tonight's dinner companion might have played in the way things unfolded.

All the Old Knives is Olen Steinhauer's most intimate, most cerebral, and most shocking novel to date - from the New York Times best-selling author deemed by many to be John le Carré's heir apparent.

©2015 Third State, Inc. (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrators Ari Fliakos and Juliana Francis Kelly serve up a meaty meal of sexual tension and regret as they portray former lovers and CIA agents in Steinhauer's latest contemporary espionage." ( AudioFile)

Slow but good.

An espionage novel that takes places almost completely in hindsight.

Two former partners (and lovers) meet to discuss a still-open case from many years ago. One agent is actively investigating the case still, the other retired to avoid thinking about it.

It was the case of a double-agent who was never caught, and who was indirectly responsible for the hostage and bombing of an airplane, and the deaths of the innocent people aboard. Who was the double agent? Did he discover the mole planted aboard the airplane? How were certain sensitive facts found out causing the tragedy?

It is a slow burn, so don't expect a page turner.

Love vs Moral Dilemma

This was a good story which I purchased because of Ari Fliakos narration. However, author is a bit like another reviewer stated Eg John LeCarre, a bit too slow for me. The female narration was wonderful As she slips into German like others might slip into Spanish. You are right there In Europe. If she deepens her Male voice, she’ll get there.
Where my comments of help?

A five-star novella

I almost didn't download this because I thought it would be impossible to craft anything truly engrossing in such a short time. The truth is that it didn't feel like a novel. As I suspected, too short. However, if viewed as a novella (or a long short story), it was outstanding. Great story. Delivered in layers (the 'present time' is less than a day, the flashbacks recount a time seven years earlier). Excellent performances.

Pushing, incrementally, toward le Carré

First a disclosure. I'm a Steinhauer completist. I love Olen Steinhauer. For many reasons. First, he is one of the few, modern spy novelists that seems interested in writing quality espionage fiction, during a period when spy fiction is evolving as the business of espionage shifts. Second, Steinhauer is pushing, incrementally, towards the long shadow of le Carré. With some novels Steinhauer seems almost a breath away from le Carré. He isn't there yet, but he is close with 'All the Old Knives', and he is far closer than most of his peers.

Spy fiction if it is unserious deals with violence, mystery, sex and an almost pornographic, hyper-nationalism. Great spy fiction deals with history, memory, loss, ambiguity, mistakes, regret, and deception. Steinhauer has written what can best be explained as a locked room spy mystery. It is at heart an interrogation that is highlighted with various forms of flashback. It is the intersection of two lives, two loves, and one dark, shared past, finally unlocked in a Carmel-by-the-Sea restaurant.

This is a short book, but one that moves with a measured precision. This isn't a beach read. It is a book to read while you are waiting in a hospital to see if the lump is benign. A book to read while you wait for your spouse to return from a dangerous drive. It is a book that makes no easy heroes and leaves the final curtain cracked just a bit.

Short but intense story

This is an unusual Spy story set in the present and the past. It's all about the dinner conversation and I must say it is a clever, well written story and I quite enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll be going for another spy book.
Narrator
The story is told from each others' point of view therefore each narrator does have to perform both voices which is a bit of a novelty. Unfortunately at about three hours in the sound quality deteriorated for a few minutes, this always spoils a listening experience.

loved it

I haven't read an Olen Steinhauer book I haven't liked. this is a short novella, 5 hours, intriguing story where the facts come slowly and deliciously...good to the very end.

You've got to pay attention

highly captivating story line. You've got to pay attention to fully enjoy the book

A whole spy thriller reveal over dinner.

Olen Steinhauer is often compared, favorably, to John le Carré. It has been a few years since I picked up one of Steinhauer’s books, but this was on sale as an audiobook, it was relatively short and I needed a change of pace. 

According to one of the reviews I read prior to purchasing it, Steinhauer was told by someone that modern spy novels are never quite as good as the old ones. And so he put that scene at the start of the book and then for nearly the whole book the action is reveal, in flashbacks or in current reality, while the two protagonists are having dinner. It was not until things were about to be revealed that I guessed correctly what was going on. 

For me, the thrill of the spy novel is not the gadgets or fights, but the intellect. I tend toward le Carré, not Fleming. The negative of the intellectual le Carré style is that there is a reliance on the cynicism of the game. There is loyalty and an understanding of right and wrong. But there is also frustration, blackmail, power, the end justifying the means and the ends getting lost along the way. I really do like the slow reveal style of Steinhauer and le Carré, but the cynicism is draining. So I probably won’t pick up another one again for a while. All the Old Knives was enough to remind me of what I love and hate about the modern spy novel. It was short enough to not make me hate it and well written enough to keep me engaged all along the journey.

Interesting Concept

I usually enjoy anything Steinhauer does and I assume this was a sort of concept novel. While it was an interesting way to build the story, one table, two people and dual-dueling narrators didn't get there for me.

good read

never saw the ending coming.
great writing
good narration
can't wait to see movie tomorrow