The Lost Americans
A Novel
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3.9 • 20 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A young woman finds herself in the crosshairs of powerful and very dangerous enemies when she travels to Cairo to uncover the truth about her brother’s mysterious death in this smart, atmospheric, and propulsive literary thriller from the acclaimed author of A Beautiful Crime and Orient
“Bollen writes expansive, psychologically probing novels in the manner of Updike, Eugenides and Franzen, but he is also an avowed disciple of Agatha Christie."—Daily Telegraph (UK)
When the lifeless body of Eric Castle, a weapons technician for a major American defense contractor, is found under his hotel balcony, both his employer and the Egyptian authorities quickly declare his death a suicide. But the dead man’s sister, Cate, doesn’t believe Eric took his own life and is determined to get to the truth. Traveling to Egypt she begins to piece together her brother’s life in Cairo with the help of a handsome, young, gay Egyptian man named Omar, who yearns to escape the brutality of his nation’s harsh, restrictive government.
Unfortunately, Cate’s quest raises more questions—and problems—than she ever imagined, as she takes on not only the arms company’s top brass but the Egyptian military, secret police, and a slew of American expats with their own reasons to keep the dead buried once and for all. Soon she’s in over her head, and it’s not clear if either she or Omar will get out alive. This riveting thriller of set in loud, boisterous Cairo of Americans lost and found showcases Bollen’s depth of characterization and haunting descriptive powers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of this smoothly written if somewhat slow literary thriller from Bollen (A Beautiful Crime), Eric Castle, who works for a high-powered American defense contractor manufacturing state-of-the-art weapons and armaments, returns one afternoon to his hotel in Cairo. That night, he takes a fatal fall from his hotel room's third-floor balcony. In the morning, a hotel porter discovers his body on the pavement; the authorities rule his death a suicide. Meanwhile in New York City, Eric's sister, Cate Castle, has just broken up with her boyfriend when she hears the bad news about him. Certain that her brother didn't die by suicide, Cate travels to Cairo, where she enlists the help of an Egyptian friend of a friend, Omar, to follow up on clues Eric sent her shortly before his death. Soon she's up to her neck in danger and intrigue, and it's uncertain whether she and Omar will make it out alive. Bollen does a good job capturing the atmosphere of Cairo while exploring the personalities and experiences of his main characters, but he does so at the expense of pace and action. Readers in search of page-turning adventure may be tempted to skim this one.
