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The Lost Americans
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 ofAmericans lost and found showcases Bollen’s depth of characterization andhaunting descriptive powers.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 14, 2023
88 people are currently reading
8,221 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Bollen
13books359followersChristopher Bollen is a writer who lives in New York City. He regularly writes about art, literature, and culture. His first novel, Lightning People, was published in 2011. His second novel, Orient, was published by Harper in May 2015. He is currently the Editor at Large at Interview Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
July 25, 2023
My second Christopher Bollen novel.
Loved his previous "A Beautiful Crime."
Now this one. Another cracking good read!
Bollen again proves what a superb and clever mystery writer he is.
Fascinating locales -in this one, he takes us to Egypt and the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts in what is a gripping and believable storyline.
Beautifully written with well-defined characters and situations in which he carries you along on this wild adventure of a novel with non-stop interest. Bollen's style really appeals to me, and I love that slight tinge of mischievousness he brings to his plots.
And just as you reach the final chapter, and you think it's going to be a casual closing summary of events, he opens up another can of worms! A fascinating novel which kept this reader absorbed until the final line.
Can't wait until the next Christopher Bollen finds its way to the publishers.
Loved his previous "A Beautiful Crime."
Now this one. Another cracking good read!
Bollen again proves what a superb and clever mystery writer he is.
Fascinating locales -in this one, he takes us to Egypt and the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts in what is a gripping and believable storyline.
Beautifully written with well-defined characters and situations in which he carries you along on this wild adventure of a novel with non-stop interest. Bollen's style really appeals to me, and I love that slight tinge of mischievousness he brings to his plots.
And just as you reach the final chapter, and you think it's going to be a casual closing summary of events, he opens up another can of worms! A fascinating novel which kept this reader absorbed until the final line.
Can't wait until the next Christopher Bollen finds its way to the publishers.
October 24, 2022
THE LOST AMERICANS is a gripping, page-turning tour de force. Christopher Bollen isn’t merely a great storyteller � though he is. He is also a brilliant stylist who, once again, has given us a literary thriller where the action never flags, and character and atmosphere never are slighted.
February 2, 2023
Christopher Bollen is relatively a new author for me, but after his widely successful release, A BEAUTIFUL CRIME, I fell in love with his storytelling and just knew that I needed to read anything and everything by him. Luckily for me and us readers, his new book THE LOST AMERICANS continues a similar tone, with a completely unique ride. The story focuses on Cate Castle and her journey to uncover her brother Eric's mysterious death in Egypt. Cate's brother works for an American weapons contractor and was found under his hotel balcony dead and presumed to be a suicide. Cate knows that her brother wouldn't take his own life and wants to find out the truth, and nothing makes it more suspicious when Eric's company tries to pay the family in exchange for an NDA.
Once Cate arrives to Cairo, she begins to start seeing that Eric's career was a lot more dangerous than she ever expected. Eric was a weapons technician, but the underworld that he lived in wants to be kept secret from the rest of the world. With the help of a local handsome and gay local named Omar, the two begin to investigate both Eric's death and the actions that the Egyptian government has been restricting its people.
THE LOST AMERICANS was very interesting because I really didn't know what to expect while I was reading it. The story is very much government conspiracy meets illuminati meets totalitarian government power versus the underdog. I felt that the mystery was lighter than I expected, but the drama was in full force. The social commentary in this book is powerful and I'm sure this book will be banned in Egypt, but I hope it gets into the right hands of people wanting to promote human rights advances within the country. This book had one of the most incredible endings I've ever read in my life and I was left with my jaw on the floor.
Once Cate arrives to Cairo, she begins to start seeing that Eric's career was a lot more dangerous than she ever expected. Eric was a weapons technician, but the underworld that he lived in wants to be kept secret from the rest of the world. With the help of a local handsome and gay local named Omar, the two begin to investigate both Eric's death and the actions that the Egyptian government has been restricting its people.
THE LOST AMERICANS was very interesting because I really didn't know what to expect while I was reading it. The story is very much government conspiracy meets illuminati meets totalitarian government power versus the underdog. I felt that the mystery was lighter than I expected, but the drama was in full force. The social commentary in this book is powerful and I'm sure this book will be banned in Egypt, but I hope it gets into the right hands of people wanting to promote human rights advances within the country. This book had one of the most incredible endings I've ever read in my life and I was left with my jaw on the floor.
April 1, 2023
In spite of some good reviews I did not care for this book. I found Cate to be incredibly naive. That a presumably sophisticated New Yorker in her 30’s would fly to a foreign country where she does not speak the language to try and find her brother’s murderer was, quite simply, unbelievable.
I also have some nagging issues that spoiled my enjoyment of the book. As a State Department retiree I can assure you that “interns� do not transfer from Embassy to Embassy.
As a former librarian I object to the description…”dressed like a librarian� purple cardigan, crystal-beaded necklace…� Never owned a purple cardigan or a crystal beaded necklace. Where on earth did the author meet such people?!
It was a quick read with twists and turns that should have made a compelling read but instead the ending felt forced and contrived.
I also have some nagging issues that spoiled my enjoyment of the book. As a State Department retiree I can assure you that “interns� do not transfer from Embassy to Embassy.
As a former librarian I object to the description…”dressed like a librarian� purple cardigan, crystal-beaded necklace…� Never owned a purple cardigan or a crystal beaded necklace. Where on earth did the author meet such people?!
It was a quick read with twists and turns that should have made a compelling read but instead the ending felt forced and contrived.
March 8, 2024
“We used to sell weapons to fight wars. Now we fight wars to sell weapons. The world doesn’t seem to care."
"The problem is, there’s just no money in peace. You can’t make a proper living off it. You starve when there isn’t war around.�
The whole way through the story it was a 5 stars read for me. The ending, or rather to say, the resolution of a mystery story didn't convince me.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the writing. is a must read for me.
March 10, 2023
Thank you to @harperbooks for my copy of The Lost Americans by Christopher Bollen. This is my first book by Mr. Bollen and I must say-he has made a new fan. He is quite the storyteller. It was very reminiscent of one of my favorites, Dennis Lehane.
This is extremely atmospheric and really brings you to the streets of Cairo. Full of conspiracy, military shenanigans and murder. It is so detailed and rich that you really feel the loud streets of Cairo. Not my usual type of thriller, but Bollen’s writing is top notch. Our characters are very fleshed out. You really felt like you knew Cate and her desire to find her brothers killer. I can totally picture this one as a blockbuster movie. It would be phenomenal. Omar was by far my favorite. He was the perfect side character and I am so glad we got lots of him. Especially in the end.
There are a lot of topics and social commentary weaved throughout the pages. I am not too familiar with Egypt and its social powers but, this really makes it ominous and chilling. I loved the touch of LGBTQ+ rights and how this novel showcases the issues within Egypt and the backward way of thinking when it comes to love.
Lastly, I want to say this is a slowish burn but there are several twists at the end that I did not expect nor see coming. That is hard to do with an avid thriller reader and I think it’s a big nod to the author!
This is extremely atmospheric and really brings you to the streets of Cairo. Full of conspiracy, military shenanigans and murder. It is so detailed and rich that you really feel the loud streets of Cairo. Not my usual type of thriller, but Bollen’s writing is top notch. Our characters are very fleshed out. You really felt like you knew Cate and her desire to find her brothers killer. I can totally picture this one as a blockbuster movie. It would be phenomenal. Omar was by far my favorite. He was the perfect side character and I am so glad we got lots of him. Especially in the end.
There are a lot of topics and social commentary weaved throughout the pages. I am not too familiar with Egypt and its social powers but, this really makes it ominous and chilling. I loved the touch of LGBTQ+ rights and how this novel showcases the issues within Egypt and the backward way of thinking when it comes to love.
Lastly, I want to say this is a slowish burn but there are several twists at the end that I did not expect nor see coming. That is hard to do with an avid thriller reader and I think it’s a big nod to the author!
May 22, 2023
For the purposes of ŷ I’ll give this three stars but in reality it’s a little less, for me.
What do you get when you combine a death mixed with an international arms corporation, a corrupt, dishonest government, a foreign police department and the US Stare Department - all of whom do not want the crime investigated? A huge, unsolvable mess.
With that in mind, I thought Cate was selfish. There was really no way she was realistically going to travel to Egypt and solve her brother’s death. That would have been a tremendous task even for Jason Bourne or James Bond let alone someone without international experiences or contacts.
Her selfishness puts her family (not that any of them are likable) at risk and ultimately threatens the lives of several people who had absolutely nothing to do with the death of her brother.
So, while I thought the writing was good the plot didn’t work for me and neither did the ending. That was completely out of the blue and didn’t make any sense to me at all. Another bit of plotting that was unrealistic.
Maybe I’ll try another Bollen book - maybe not.
What do you get when you combine a death mixed with an international arms corporation, a corrupt, dishonest government, a foreign police department and the US Stare Department - all of whom do not want the crime investigated? A huge, unsolvable mess.
With that in mind, I thought Cate was selfish. There was really no way she was realistically going to travel to Egypt and solve her brother’s death. That would have been a tremendous task even for Jason Bourne or James Bond let alone someone without international experiences or contacts.
Her selfishness puts her family (not that any of them are likable) at risk and ultimately threatens the lives of several people who had absolutely nothing to do with the death of her brother.
So, while I thought the writing was good the plot didn’t work for me and neither did the ending. That was completely out of the blue and didn’t make any sense to me at all. Another bit of plotting that was unrealistic.
Maybe I’ll try another Bollen book - maybe not.
July 29, 2023
2.5 stars. It was interesting enough but not amazing.
October 11, 2023
Riveting. I got lost too.
May 22, 2023
THE LOST AMERICANS is a slow burn thriller-mystery set in Egypt. When Eric Castle is found dead outside his Cairo hotel room, the police and his employer consider it a suicide. His sister Cate doesn’t believe that he would have killed himself especially when she receives a mysterious postcard that says “Greetings from Jamaica.� She travels to Cairo and is shown the city by a family friend, Omar, who is closeted under the current regime.
I really Iike books set in foreign countries especially with plot elements of espionage and cover-ups and corruption. Who doesn’t? It’s a fertile ground for some amazing conflict. This novel takes the reader to Cairo. There are no mummies that come to live or curses of Pharaohs. The evil in this book is perpetrated by humans. The novel explores present-day Egypt after the Arab Spring uprising and dabbles in the politics of the current regime. It also tackles the complicated, murky world of arms dealing especially by the United States. While the novel isn’t heavy handed or moralistic, it exposed several aspects of the industry that I had never considered before.
I like that Cate is a normal person investigating her brother’s death. She’s not an intrepid journalist or CIA agent. She’s just a US citizen in a foreign country. She’s not a superhero and her investigation is rocky, but she’s determined which made me like her a lot. Where this novel is different and stand out is the other character, Omar, who gets dedicated chapters. We learn about his time in Europe as an out gay man, and his return to Egyptian society where the culture is not tolerant of queer people. I was personally drawn to his chapters the most and wanted a book all about him.
This book is very twisty which kept me guessing up until the end with a satisfying conclusion. The ending of this novel is bold, but well done and didn’t feel unrealistic at all. I was happy with it and surprised up until the last page. If you want a twisty, turny, international mystery, check this one out.▪️
I really Iike books set in foreign countries especially with plot elements of espionage and cover-ups and corruption. Who doesn’t? It’s a fertile ground for some amazing conflict. This novel takes the reader to Cairo. There are no mummies that come to live or curses of Pharaohs. The evil in this book is perpetrated by humans. The novel explores present-day Egypt after the Arab Spring uprising and dabbles in the politics of the current regime. It also tackles the complicated, murky world of arms dealing especially by the United States. While the novel isn’t heavy handed or moralistic, it exposed several aspects of the industry that I had never considered before.
I like that Cate is a normal person investigating her brother’s death. She’s not an intrepid journalist or CIA agent. She’s just a US citizen in a foreign country. She’s not a superhero and her investigation is rocky, but she’s determined which made me like her a lot. Where this novel is different and stand out is the other character, Omar, who gets dedicated chapters. We learn about his time in Europe as an out gay man, and his return to Egyptian society where the culture is not tolerant of queer people. I was personally drawn to his chapters the most and wanted a book all about him.
This book is very twisty which kept me guessing up until the end with a satisfying conclusion. The ending of this novel is bold, but well done and didn’t feel unrealistic at all. I was happy with it and surprised up until the last page. If you want a twisty, turny, international mystery, check this one out.▪️
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April 16, 2023DNF
The premise that a woman (sure, a NewYorker, but still�) who speaks no Arabic and knows little to nothing will go to Egypt and find her brother’s killer, was just too unbelievable to me.
Felt as if it was a movie script, and maybe it will work better as an action movie.
The premise that a woman (sure, a NewYorker, but still�) who speaks no Arabic and knows little to nothing will go to Egypt and find her brother’s killer, was just too unbelievable to me.
Felt as if it was a movie script, and maybe it will work better as an action movie.
September 25, 2024
A very thrilling read with an over the top twisty, unnecessary, sad ending, which really took away from the overall quality of the story
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2024
I really wanted to like this book.
Sadly I did not care or feel any empathy or emotional connection to our main character Cate, I found her to be rather uninteresting and uninspiring. Even Eric’s family fell flat. The only character I remotely wanted more from was Omar, his story and struggles of being a gay man in Egypt was compelling (and it was only the subplot!)
The last part of the book felt rushed to wrap up the murder mystery and it felt lacking flow with any of the rest of the story. I don’t get all the great reviews this just wasn’t for me.
For ŷ sake I give this a 3 but really it’s more like a 2.5 stars.
Sadly I did not care or feel any empathy or emotional connection to our main character Cate, I found her to be rather uninteresting and uninspiring. Even Eric’s family fell flat. The only character I remotely wanted more from was Omar, his story and struggles of being a gay man in Egypt was compelling (and it was only the subplot!)
The last part of the book felt rushed to wrap up the murder mystery and it felt lacking flow with any of the rest of the story. I don’t get all the great reviews this just wasn’t for me.
For ŷ sake I give this a 3 but really it’s more like a 2.5 stars.
March 26, 2023
A great thriller set in contemporary Cairo! The writing is crisp, smart and the pacing is perfect. Christopher Bollen is getting better with each book. He’s really tightened up his style. This is his shortest book so far. Not an unnecessary word, which makes the impact right on the mark. Highly recommended!
August 17, 2024
TraaaaaAAAAAASH book. Waste of time and unnecessary info regarding Omar’s personal life�
August 9, 2024
Another slow burn thriller from Author Bollen that is a bit Hitchcockian and less his usual Patricia Highsmith type of plot mood. An American sister searches out the the answers to her brother's so-called suicide in Egypt while he was working for an American arms manufacturer. Her anger, grief, and hotheaded manner gets her and others in a lot of sticky situations including a young London educated Egyptian named Omar who has a lifestyle that his government would imprison him for as well as making him "disappear". It's a murder mystery and a look into the dark world of the USA and their allies who do not have the same social/cultural attitudes. Secrets, war, profit are what matter more than human lives.
June 15, 2023
A nicely paced and intelligent thriller that assumes an aware and engaged reader and doesn’t shy away from some convention-busting twists. After the fact, you’ll ask yourself a bunch of questions that the author never really answers in the course of the novel…best to just ignore these in order not to frustrate your reading experience!
February 28, 2024
If you’ve lived in Cairo, even as long ago as the 1990s, certain scenes and descriptions will ring so true, bringing you right back.
A compellingly told story, with the kind of twist that makes you think, “I should have seen that coming!� I take that as being really well-written.
A blend of who-done-it, a little bit of character drama, and some international intrigue. Good stuff.
A compellingly told story, with the kind of twist that makes you think, “I should have seen that coming!� I take that as being really well-written.
A blend of who-done-it, a little bit of character drama, and some international intrigue. Good stuff.
June 13, 2023
So very good until the last 50 pages.
The only way I can reconcile the unsatisfying ending is to imagine writer Christopher Bollen has give the readers (but not the characters) an alternate narrative hidden in plain sight -- that all of the dead were closely related.
But despite the lame conclusion this was a great read for 285 pages. Egypt at the centre of a messy world complete with a repressive regime and the horrors of the arms trade. Bollen describes a world in which self-serving human nature and inherent betrayals exist from interpersonal and familial relations all the way through business and global politics.
This was a solid 4 star effort before faltering.
The only way I can reconcile the unsatisfying ending is to imagine writer Christopher Bollen has give the readers (but not the characters) an alternate narrative hidden in plain sight -- that all of the dead were closely related.
But despite the lame conclusion this was a great read for 285 pages. Egypt at the centre of a messy world complete with a repressive regime and the horrors of the arms trade. Bollen describes a world in which self-serving human nature and inherent betrayals exist from interpersonal and familial relations all the way through business and global politics.
This was a solid 4 star effort before faltering.
June 11, 2023
As this story went on I found it less and less believable. So I'm giving it a 3 but that's being generous.
This supposedly savvy New York woman goes to Cairo, a land of brutal corrupt police dealing with a giant arms dealing corporation (without speaking the language), and proceeds to march around jumping to conclusions, confronting people about her brother's murder. She does it like a bull in a china shop, exposing herself and people she ropes into helping her with apparently little concern for endangering them.
When she figures out who killed her brother and runs right over to confront him, I was done! It was like an old horror movie when the ingenue hears a noise in the attic of the spooky old house and decides to go up and investigate in her baby doll PJs with a candle in hand. Just unbelievable!
Cate, the lead character sort of, I found unsympathetic and annoying.The plot was unsatisfying.
This supposedly savvy New York woman goes to Cairo, a land of brutal corrupt police dealing with a giant arms dealing corporation (without speaking the language), and proceeds to march around jumping to conclusions, confronting people about her brother's murder. She does it like a bull in a china shop, exposing herself and people she ropes into helping her with apparently little concern for endangering them.
When she figures out who killed her brother and runs right over to confront him, I was done! It was like an old horror movie when the ingenue hears a noise in the attic of the spooky old house and decides to go up and investigate in her baby doll PJs with a candle in hand. Just unbelievable!
Cate, the lead character sort of, I found unsympathetic and annoying.The plot was unsatisfying.
July 7, 2023
Vacation read no. 4. A refined international murder mystery that flips back and forth between the Berkshires and Cairo. Smart, taut. Somewhat predictable but not without subtlety. Good elevated summer read.
August 12, 2023
Wow! Fun, fast paced, smart with imperfect characters and a masterful plot. What an enjoyable read. Would read more by Bollen.
November 13, 2023
The book started out with promise, but seemed to loose steam partway through. I found the characters engaging, but wished they were more fully developed.
February 13, 2023
can i be honest, i am dying (being dramatic, always silly. i will not apologize for being silly. it keeps life light and airy) to find a good book. always looking. and i get really sad when you have a super great book cover, (so the point from a reader, please have a great book, or have an ugly book cover?? lol!! i am being silly yet again but it is important to represent what is there. keep it real.) and the book doesn't keep to that awesome-ness!! any who ...beside the point. but a great book in saying it over and over. i am new to CB. love this book cover. i see it will be out on March 14, 2023. lucky me to have it beforehand. i am guessing but pretty sure that it was a ŷ giveaway win for me ...came in the mail and i love that. so cool!! psychological literary fiction. mystery, thriller & suspense literary fiction. contemporary literacy fiction. i got a paperback book from this win. i will be looking forward to reading more from CB soon. can't wait.
March 26, 2023
Christopher Bollen is a terrific writer. I have read 4 of his books and each one was better than the last. This book was very fast moving with many twists and turns and the ending (no spoilers) was completely unexpected. I could barely put it down. It dealt with Egypt, arms dealers, gay Egyptians and a possible murder/suicide of an American employee of an armaments company. Highly recommended.
July 22, 2023
Disappointing. It seemed to promise a lot but didn’t deliver. I got tired of the red herrings.
May 20, 2023
Not terrible, but I didn’t find it memorable. The main character is merely a sketch, and not a very interesting one; the Egyptian narrator feels more like a plot tool than a character in his own right (though at least he’s better fleshed out than Cate); and the final resolution felt sudden and anti climatic. Wish there had been more tension throughout. Wish I had cared more about any of these characters. Still, I finished it, somewhat quickly, so clearly there’s something here. And beautiful language too. I’d read a future novel by this author in the hopes that he had remedies some of these flaws, which will they diminished my enjoyment of this novel, aren’t irredeemable.
May 10, 2023
Didn't care for the ending.
April 26, 2023
While I appreciated the pacing and character development, the ending left me feeling unfulfilled. While every loose end didn’t need to be perfectly tied up, the direction the ending took didn’t make sense to me. With an alternate ending it would have been 4 stars.
On a positive note, the author did a nice job immersing the reader into modern day Cairo and took a realistic look at the arms trade and the ethical quandary that many find themselves in.
It might make a good Netflix movie, but my guess is that the screenwriters will create an alternate ending.
On a positive note, the author did a nice job immersing the reader into modern day Cairo and took a realistic look at the arms trade and the ethical quandary that many find themselves in.
It might make a good Netflix movie, but my guess is that the screenwriters will create an alternate ending.
April 8, 2023
This was SO good until the very end.
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