I have greatly enjoyed all of Steinhauer's books, though I most enjoyed his early Eastern European novels. I continue to struggle a bit with suspending my disbelief in the ability of the CIA -- or any US government agency --to perform the sorts of complex covert acts that Steinhauer and other spy novelists allow them to secretly pull off. But, that said, this was an entertaining and enjoyable novel

I enjoyed this book more than any of Olen Steinhauer's since his original four Eastern Bloc stories. The technique of repeating the story from the perspective of multiple characters did take a few chapters to get used to, but, by the end of the story, I felt it had enhanced the narrative

The success of this book depends on the reader's belief that the protagonist, a seasoned thief, is an expert in all things the reader is not, including, but not limited to, bank robbery, firearms, pharmaceuticals, money laundering, money minting, automobile repair, law enforcement techniques, cell phone and radar jamming. The list goes on and on. It is quite possible that the author truly is an expert in all of this (though the book jacket remarks that he is a recent college graduate, so it seems quite unlikely that he has had all of those experiences.) I am by no means an expert in any of those fields, but as a physician and a hunter, I do have some knowledge of firearms and pharmaceuticals, and the protagonist's (often lengthy and pedantic) dissertations on, at least these two subjects, were wildly off base. This, in the end, ruined the book for me.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I found the descriptions of Africa at the turn of the century were stirring, and the author's depiction of the difficulties living with Asperger's were quite novel and added greatly to the book. Thumbs up!

I have enjoyed all of Mr. Cumming's books, this one was no exception. His description of spycraft and of the machinations of the WWII-era British spy game are always interesting. While I think I enjoyed his Alec Milius series a bit more, this book was an enjoyable read.

I greatly enjoyed this novel. I happened upon Tom Franklin's first novel, "Hell at the Breech", soon after it was released and absolutely loved. When "Smonk" came out, I snapped it up as well, but was disappointed-- I never felt compelled to force it upon my family members as Christmas/birthday gifts as I had with his first novel. However, with the release of "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter", once again, all of my close family members will be getting copies of Franklin's work for upcoming holidays!