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.

Too much expository repetition

The author retells the backstory too often. Especially to a reader for whom this is not a first Gabriel Allon rodeo. There are also plot threads that don’t quite make sense in the larger picture. Also the title doesn’t make sense. Last, the narrator, John Lee, needs to broaden his repertoire of accents. Too many characters sound the same. All not fatal, and I’ll continue the series.

What was it all about?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The title would suggest that the main plot revolved around a British killer. That character seemed to play such a small part in the story as to be nearly irrelevant. Not only did we not learn much about the Keller character, but also, it never seemed that there would be any substantive interaction between him and Allon.

Certainly, the thought that billions in stolen art and other cultural items may be secreted away in Swiss bank vaults is intriguing. I'm not sure that this book really brought that to the forefront, but almost gave this an "oh, by the way" kind of treatment.

Would you be willing to try another book from Daniel Silva? Why or why not?

The character of Gabriel Allon seems deep and interesting enough as to warrant another try at this series. I have a few in my queue that I will listen to first, but I may come back and give it a whirl. So far, I prefer the thrillers from David Baldacci, Barry Eisler, and Brad Thor, so it may be a while before I get back to Silva's works.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Possibly. I think the characters are interesting, though the jumping between European cities is dizzying enough in a book that it might be confusing in a movie setting.

great storyline. loved the english assassin.

loved this book. I think Christopher Keller should return in a big way. kept me interested the entire length of this novel

Couldn't put it down

Great book and Silva clearly knows his way around Europe and languages. Fantastic spy novel. I read this after reading his latest spy novel "The Other Woman."

excellent and suspenseful

I'm a huge fan of Daniel Silva and this is another of his great works. Only thing is that I had to get through the vampire accents by the narrator. once I realized I wasn't listening to Interview With A Vampire, I enjoyed it immensely. LOL

Narrator is difficult to listen to

It’s difficult to listen to the narrator. He tries too hard to enunciate and his Italian accent is painful.

A master work of intrigue but a slow burn

it's not a dollar coaster spy novel, but more like watching a personal chess match by two renown masters. The spy-craft is not satisfying, but the verisimilitude holds up well.

i like Gabriel Alon stories,

story is pretty good. John Lee is a very good narrator, but the fit to this book is not good.
he makes Israeli accent as if they are all old Russians...

A Brisk and Deft Thriller

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It tells a good yarn that is neither predictable nor implausible. No spoilers here, but there are a couple of reversals in the narrative that keep it from becoming a formulaic struggle between good and evil. I gather some reviews at the time of the novel's first printing found it wanting in descriptive flourish and character development. For my part, I thought Silva did a wonderful job of sketching scenes (often in enticing European locales) and biographical details with just the right degree of emphasis. This is not a probing study of psychology or politics; it is a fast-paced adventure, and it works very well on those terms. I actually think this book is superior on every level to the first book in the Gabriel Elon series, "The Kill Artist."

"The English Assassin" deals with artworks looted by the Nazis and the alleged complicity of Swiss banks in disposing of the plundered goods. I found the indictment of the Swiss government and its citizens both scathing and credible. I wonder how the book has been received in Switzerland.

As a narrator, John Lee is a pleasure to listen to, even though his ability to voice characters is limited. It takes a perverse skill to make a Swiss German and an Israeli sound the same. A technical point: A few sentences in my download of this book were rather garbled, and--weirdly enough--one of the last chapters (Chapter 50?) played twice. These flaws might be associated with a bungled download, but if the problems are in the recording, then shame on Books on Tape (the original producer) or Audible for poor quality control.

ANOTHER JEWISH TRAGEDY IN THE BACKGROUND

The first in the Allon series had as its environment the victory of the Jews of Israel over the Palestinian people, a tragedy for both. The second in the series has the background of the enormous looting of Europe ‘s great art by the Nazis from the Jewish owners Another tragedy. I found the narrative about the role of the Swiss in the looting historical, not part of a fictional spy novel. The spy part is like icing on the cake and quite delicious.