Review - The Tourist

I enjoyed reading The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer.  While it started out slow, once it picked up, I couldn't put it down.  This book became fast-paced and was cleverly written.

Milo is a Tourist who works for a little known section of the CIA known as the Department of Travel.  He and the other Tourists are constantly traveling around the world on assignment under a variety of aliases.  All of the traveling and never knowing who to trust have worn Milo down and he finally quits the Department so that he can try to live a normal, quiet life while still working for the CIA out of their New York office at a desk job.  Unfortunately, he gets pulled back into the Department when he is accused of murdering an old colleague.  He is on the run trying to clear his name and finding evidence that points to another Tourist being the murderer.

After I was done reading it, I found myself thinking of Robert Ludlum's Bourne series. Milo, like Jason Bourne, works for a little known department of the CIA.  They both travel and use aliases all the time.  This wore Milo done so that he left the Department of Travel while Jason Bourne lost his memory because he was conflicted.  The difference between the two men being that when Milo was cleared, he was welcomed back.  While Jason is on the run from the CIA for a while before he was able to settle down to a normal life in the United States without having to fear for his life.