The Heist

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Gabriel Allon, art restorer and occasional spy, searches for a stolen masterpiece by Caravaggio in number-one New York Times best-selling author Daniel Silva’s latest action-packed tale of high-stakes international intrigue.

Sometimes the best way to find a stolen masterpiece is to steal another one....

Master novelist Daniel Silva has thrilled listeners with 16 thoughtful and gripping spy novels featuring a diverse cast of compelling characters and ingenious plots that have taken them around the globe and back - from the United States to Europe, Russia to the Middle East. His brilliant creation, Gabriel Allon - art restorer, assassin, spy - has joined the pantheon of great fictional secret agents, including George Smiley, Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne, and Simon Templar.

Following the success of his smash hit The English Girl, Daniel Silva returns with another powerhouse of a novel that showcases his outstanding skill and brilliant imagination, and is sure to be a must-listen for both his multitudes of fans and growing legions of converts.

©2014 Daniel Silva (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

If new to Daniel Silva, great book. Otherwise...

Nothing was really wrong with the book. I have listened to every Allon book, and they are starting to sound the same with the plots playing out in similar ways. If this is your first in the series, you'll love it. If you are a big Allon fan, you've probably heard this one before.

Good Story Larded with Verbatim Repetition

What made the experience of listening to The Heist the most enjoyable?

I enjoy George Guidall every time. He is easy to listen to. It is a good story that does not insult the listener by being overly predictable or tidy.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I have read or listened to every Gabriel Allon novel but it only became really apparent to me when listening to the audio books (at least the two most recent) just how much filler Silva lards them up with. He must have his computer filled with dozens of paragraphs that he reuses verbatim. These paragraphs are descriptions of characters, events, and places from previous books or times in Allon's life that I suppose he would argue are useful to a new reader as backstory. However, it seems that the least he could do is change the wording even slightly.

It is insulting to loyal readers when an author abuses his success in this way. Perhaps I am just envious that he can get away with it! The book seems half done before he writes an original word. A comparison of The English Girl and The Heist shows this laziness at it's worst. So here is the formula..... come up with an interesting plot line (grade A) , insert multiple paragraphs from previous books, add a few new paragraphs, sort appropriately, send to publisher, cash check. Overall grade... C minus, mostly for laziness and insulting loyal readers.

Too much rehash from previous books...but good.

If this is your first Allon book you'll enjoy it. If you have read the whole series, I'm tiring of the same stuff coming up book after book. Its good, exciting but getting to formulaic for me, think Silva is riding his coattails so to speak.

Sigh

What did you like best about The Heist? What did you like least?

I love Silva's writing style and the characters in this series

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More suspense

Have you listened to any of George Guidall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

George is amazing. He tells a great story and I look forward to hearing more from him.

Could you see The Heist being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoy Daniel Silva books. This one was a bit ho hum. I was so anxious for it to come out because his last 3 books have been wonderful. This one left me.... flat. I didn't feel the normal suspense and intrigue. There was no sense of "how is Gabriel gonna get himself outta this one?" It was more of an interlude.

More of the Same

Any additional comments?

Author is just not breaking new ground.
Perhaps it is just me after reading all prior books of the series,
The book is now just average read.

A hunt for a Caravaggio

I decided to read this book when I saw the name of the artist as Caravaggio. I had read a biography of him last year and have kept my eyes open for more information about him. I have made a point of looking for his paintings whenever I go into an art museum. I saw one of his paintings in the Art Museum in St. Louis, Mo and another in the De Young Museum in San Francisco, Ca. Apparently this is a series about Gabriel Allon who is an art restorer, investigator and Israeli intelligence operative. There was some information about various techniques to restore art which I found most interesting and a discussion of various famous paintings and art heist. The book also covered a bit about the famous paintings taken from the Jews during WWII and the hunt for them.

The plot has Allon helping a friend by trying to recover a Caravaggio painting. While on his search he discovers multiple murders, and a tie to a brutal Arab dictator who is paying for stolen art work. Silva has created Allon as a complex personality, which makes him more believable. The book is not just a spy thriller but also an art history novel. There is lots of intrigue, insight and suspense. The only down side is the commentary about current situation in the Middle East but it was well done and worked easily into the story. The author provided us with a nice travelogue as the story moved from London to Lake Como to Venice on to Vienna and then to Jerusalem.

I enjoyed the book it was an easy read and kept my attention. The book was narrated by the Audie Award winner George Guidall. The Audie Award is the audio book industries equivalent to the Oscar.

Couldn't Finish

The beginning of the book held my attention and I was excited to have found a good book. About 4 hours in the story just stalled and stalled and stalled. I'm about half way through and I'm not sure if I can push through anymore, it is just not going anywhere and I find myself in and out of paying attention, a problem I rarely have with audio books. I may try to push through it because I like the premise of the story, but overall very disappointing.

Daniel Silva and George Guidall are a great pair!

With Book 17, titled House of Spies, in Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series being released in 2 days I am reviewing book 14 in the series. The major question with House of Spies is whether or not Allon will take over the secret Israeli espionage organization known as "The Office".

In Gabriel Allon author Daniel Silva has created on of the more interesting protagonists in an espionage series. Allon is a spy more by chance/moral obligation than by choice. He is plagued by memories of the murder of his young son in a car bombing that also destroyed the life of his first wife. He is one of the greatest are restorers in the world. He restores art for the Vatican and he is a friend of the Pope despite being Jewish himself. There are several interesting and important repeating/returning characters. In the more recent books in the series Allon is getting old for a spy. (He is in his mid 50's in recent novels in the series, but he would be 10 years older based on his his involvement in the retribution for the murder of the Israeli team in the 1972 Munich Olympics.)

For those who have not listened to or read the Gabriel Allon series I STRONGLY RECOMMEND it.

Gabriel Alon delivers again

In his latest book, Daniel Silva brings together nearly all of his previous characters in an operation involving the President of Syria. Corsica is back in play, and so are the members of Gabriel's team in Israel. Gabriel is soon to become the chief of Israeli security, and the changing relationships are part of the story as well. Gabriels recruits a new member of their team, another strong and interesting woman who plays a critical role in the operation. With a plot that could be taken from the newspaper headlines, and the pleasure of greeting again all the characters, this is a gripping story and a very satisfying listen. George Guidall is excellent, giving each character a unique voice, with a gentle pacing, that perfectly emhasizes the repetitions Silva uses throughout the book. I can't imagine Gabriel Alon with a different voice!

Sounding a Lot like the last one

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really, because I felt like I was listening to his prior books

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

No surprises

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

He's the best - and the only reason I finished it

Could you see The Heist being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes

Any additional comments?

If you are new to Silva, you will undoubtedly find this an unusual and interesting read. However, if, like me, you have read them all, this is just an amalgam of everything that came before it, with some new rogue countries currently in the news that allows the settings to be different.

Very clever and Entertaining

Very clever and Entertaining story with good twists.
The narration was very good, the narrators voice was very strong and suited the story well