The English Assassin

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Israeli art restorer and occasional secret agent Gabriel Allon has a problem. A prominent Swiss banker has called him to Switzerland to restore his Raphael. The problem is that Allon finds the banker dead in front of his Raphael, and he's the prime suspect. After some diplomatic intervention, Allon is freed. However, the banker's daughter, wracked by guilt, tells him that her father's cache of French Impressionist paintings, acquired under dubious circumstances during the Second World War, has been stolen by the murderers. Once Allon knows about the banker's wartime misdeeds, he attracts the attention of a secret Swiss organization dedicated to suppressing knowledge of all such crimes, and he is pursued by a shadowy killer known only as "the Englishman."

©2002 Daniel Silva (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Long but great narrator

The book is LONG, but Silva is an excellent orator. Glad I chose to listen. I

Loved it!

What an awesome book! I loved it. I can't wait to read the rest of Daniel Silva's books.

I'm reading the books in order, and I'm not reading "The Confessor" which is equally as good as "The English Assassin".

Not Quite Up To Snuff

This is my second reading/listening to the series. The narration was exceedingly affected and the accents, especially those of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, were pretentious and sounded more like a poor imitation of Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula. Disappointing and distracted from the storyline.

Excellent

Story was compelling. I wish there was possibly not so much truth in it. But sadly I guess that is not the case.

George Guidall spoiled me

I’ve enjoyed most all of Daniel Silva’s books and George Guidall makes them even better. So, being narrated by someone else takes getting used to and I don’t want to be terribly critical because of my bias but Mr. Lee’s German accent was distracting.

enjoy it for what it is

This is not greatness, it will not change your life. But it is easy listening and an enjoyable way to see the great cities of Europe.

Gabriel Allon at work.

This is a great audiobook, gripping and very well read by John Lee. I listen in the car, and had that feeling more than once that my destination was approaching too fast. Time, I need more time. Can't stop listening now!

Another great novel. Terrible narrator.

Really enjoyed the story. Would not have finished were it not so good. Narrator was terrible! George Gudall does not come back to series for a few books, hope the other 2 narrator better than this one.

His later ones were better

I’ve read a lot of Daniel Silva’s books in this series, but had not read the first. It came up on sale, so I got it. I’d give it a solid B. His style clearly evolved as he got to know Gabriel Allon and the other characters better. I found the pacing and character development better in his later books. I don’t mean for this to be a negative review. I liked it. I just have liked the later ones better. Also, narrators make a big difference for me. John Lee did this one. The later books were done by George Guidall. I like Guidall’s interpretations far better.

Great sequel

Enjoyed the continued story of Gabriel and am looking forward to reading the series. Looks like the assassin will play a role later on as this progresses.