About:
“The English Assassin” is the second installment of the fictional Gabriel Allon series, where we find our sensitive and scarred spy taking on the Swiss bankers who helped the Nazis during WWII and are still hiding old Jewish money and treasure under the boardwalks of Zurich.
- Publisher : Putnam
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 386 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0399148515
My rating for The English Assassin – 4
Buy The English Assassin today – he’s English…and an assassin*
More Books by Daniel Silva*
Thoughts:
Mr. Silva’s narrative is fast paced and uncluttered. The book’s descriptions are detailed but not over bearing and the action sequences are brutal and effective. The characters do not get lost within the book’s descriptive prose; they are all individuals, rich and well rounded. The incredible historical research is pouring out of the book, the insight into the world of art restoring is distinct and refreshing, but still manages to be engrossing as well as entertaining.
I felt that the first half of the book was much better than the second half which seemed, to me, to be stretched. However, this is a delightful read and as in the previous Silva books keeps the characters full of shades of gray – it’s difficult to say who is the good guy or the bad guy because Silva makes a wonderful, even though not too convincing case, for each (except the Nazis of course).
Synopsis:
As in the first novel, “The Kill Artist” (Book Review), the reluctant Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, is joined by a world famous woman, this time though she is a violinist named Anna Rolfe, on his adventures. As in his previous novels, author Daniel Silva brings back characters he created in the “Silva Universe” which are always a pleasure to reacquaint with. The novel is a mystery within a mystery – after recovering some missing paintings Allon goes after the Swiss banking cartel that has been hiding them. In the midst of the all the globetrotting, Allon has to avoid assassination attempts from a worthy adversary, an English assassin, however the least said the better in order to avoid spoiling the story.
Buy The English Assassin today – he’s English…and an assassin*
More Books by Daniel Silva*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book from the local library.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
5 Comments
I’ve only had the pleasure of reading one of the Silva books, and I really enjoyed it — I do need to correct that right away! Good to hear that this one is good, albeit with a stretched second half! 🙂
I’ve read several of Silva’s books (I’m on the fourth book of this series) I really enjoyed them all, some of them as much as Ludlum’s books.
Well done, erudite and enjoyable to read.
Thank you very much Mr. Bentrim
Hard to find good opinions on blog websites so was happy to have found yours.