In a book club and starting to plan your reads for next year? Check out our 2025 picks.

What do readers think of All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer? Write your own review.

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer

All the Old Knives

by Olen Steinhauer

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Mar 2015, 224 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Reviews

Page 3 of 3
There are currently 20 reader reviews for All the Old Knives
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Carol G. (Little Egg Harbor, NJ)

All the Old Knives
I am not a fan of spy novels but the description of this book peaked my interest. I think the author developed complex characters, although not always likeable.
The book was satisfying but not special but I would definitely read this author again.
Kenneth T. (Houston, TX)

All the old knives are not as sharp.
"All the Old Knives" is good, but not Olen Steinhauer at his best. Two former lovers, one now an interrogator, have lunch. The story slowly diverges from each point of view by the use of flashbacks.
The prose is polished but the plot is tired. He simply doesn't do the Rashomon effect well. I expected more from this author.
Constance C. (Manchester, NH)

Disappointed
I have read all of the Olen Steinhauer, he is one of my favorite authors, he is one of the most dependable professionals writing thrillers . But this book is very different from his usual writings. It's short,and takes place in a restaurant analyzing what went wrong yeas ago. The usual edge is not there, actually a little dull. Three stars.
Linda C. (Carlisle, MA)

Thriller of Sorts
I will preface this with the fact that this is the first book I've read of Steinhaurer's. This story takes place at a restaurant in Carmel-by-the -Sea. The meeting is between two ex-lovers, one still a spy, the other an ex-spy. They are revisiting a tragedy that took place when they worked together in Vienna 6 years before. There is a question of an agent being compromised. The brief story focuses mainly on these two characters with confusing flashbacks and a predictable outcome. I missed the thrills, twists and turns I've come to expect from mystery books. I'm not so sure setting a spy thriller at a restaurant table is particularly successful. However, given the quality of the writing, I would certainly explore other books by Olin Steinhauer.
  • Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Read-Alikes

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    The House of Doors
    by Tan Twan Eng
    Every July, I take on the overly ambitious goal of reading all of the novels chosen as longlist ...
  • Book Jacket: The Puzzle Box
    The Puzzle Box
    by Danielle Trussoni
    During the tumultuous last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, a 17-year-old emperor known as Meiji ...
  • Book Jacket
    Something, Not Nothing
    by Sarah Leavitt
    In 2020, after a lifetime of struggling with increasingly ill health, Sarah Leavitt's partner, ...
  • Book Jacket
    A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens
    by Raul Palma
    Raul Palma's debut novel A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens introduces Hugo Contreras, who came to the ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people ...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

H I O the G

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.