The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

September 8, 2010 First Reading:
Gabriel Allon is a complex soul. He revels in restoration of broken art. His public occupation is a restoration artist. He painstakingly restores old masters. His private occupation is assassin. He kills to protect the state of Israel. The book details his great loss, his healing and his redemption. He confronts his oldest and most implacable foe. The book is both poignant and reflective.

An opinionated but lovable 3 star Air Force General acquaintance recommended Daniel Silva and suggested that his work often accurately portrays some confidential events in a fictional manner.

Silva portrays a tortured soul in Gabriel’s character. Gabriel’s frustration with his hidden work is clearly expressed. Silva paints his characters methodically and in detail. The story has a lot of action and a fair amount of pontificating. I read the English Assassin first. That was his second book. I saw a lot of improvement in the English Assassin. I though it moved much better than this book. I do recommend reading this book first though.

I recommend the book.

July 3, 2015 Second Reading:

This is the first book in the series on Gabriel Allon. In a typical Daniel Silva fashion he slowly gets into the story. We meet many of the characters that we will see in later Silva stories that feature Gabriel.

This is a story primarily on revenge but not necessarily based on the Revenge of the main character.  When  developing his characters he gives you a lot of insight into what motivates them.

Gabriel is the consummate spy/assassin and he works for the Israeli government so the stories and particularly this one deal with the Palestinian peace process. you meet people like Yasser Arafat and the Prime Minister of Israel and a fake president of the United States.

I enjoyed the book again as this is the second time I have read it but I am starting the whole series again and trying to read them in order. there is a great deal of violence and mayhem and rather intricate plot one of the most interesting things about the Daniel Silva books are the complexity of his plots.

Web Site:

Original Sin by Beth McMullen

Sally Sin is a spy with Ian Blackford her personal nemesis.   Her retirement, marriage and motherhood complicate her life. 

Lucy Hamilton, not her real name, is an inept ex-spy.   She seems far more realistic than many of the two slick to be real “normal” spy characters.   There is a lot of humor in McMullen’s approach to spy stories.   Lucy/Sally/? Does her best to be a good wife and mother but life hands her complications.  

I enjoyed the characterizations and as polarized as some of the caricatures were, they didn’t seem all that far fetched.   The book was entertaining and held my interest.  Sally Sin isn’t exactly a butt kicking protagonist but she holds her own.  

I recommend the book.

Body of work of Beth McMullen

Web Site:   http://bethmcmullen.com/

The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming

This was a story of insidious collusion of conflicting ideologies at the highest levels. MI6 meets KGB in a surprisingly convoluted mystery.

Sam Gaddis, a bit of a gadfly academic, finds himself immersed in something far different than the backstabbing of academic circles. Sam’s naiveté is a bit difficult to swallow but its eventual erosion is more believable. I enjoyed his tenacity and his loyalty to his friends. I dismayed over some of his obvious moves and his unwillingness to address the seamier side of government.

The story was well told and the characters provided with enough depth to create believability. Historic facts were used well to provide credence for the story line.

I enjoyed the book and I recommend the book.

Body of work of Charles Cumming

Web site: http://www.charlescumming.co.uk/

The Thyssen Affair by Mozelle Richardson

This book was highly reminiscent of the wealth of spy vs. spy stories that abounded during the Cold War. An ex-OSS operative is pulled out of retirement by his deceased son’s best friend. The interplay between the KGB, CIA, Nazis and the Mossad provide the grist for this mill.

Canyon Eliot was highly entertaining as the multi-talented, loveable and ruthless retiree returning to the fray. It may be a reflection of my own age but it was satisfying to have an older protagonist kicking butt. The Cold War setting may be hard to swallow for the younger readers. It seems like purely speculative fiction unless you are an age to have experienced the stresses of the Cold War. Anya was well portrayed as a woman who strove to succeed in a career predominantly peopled by males with testosterone issues.

I thought the story idea was good and the plot well thought out. I did feel that the ending was a bit abrupt. I think another 20 or 30 pages would have enabled a more “meaty” conclusion. Overall I really enjoyed the book.

I recommend the book.

Body of work of Mozelle Richardson

Web Site: googling her did not bring up a website.

Nerds by Michael Buckley

The class bully discovers that popularity can’t conquer all. He joins a group, he perceives as less gifted, and discovers a new depth to his character. The entire time the group is fighting an attempt to literally restructure the world.

I am not the appropriate demographic for this book. However young in heart I might be, I’m not sure I can get all the way back to middle school. I suspect my 11 year old grandson is going to love this book. My guess is that Buckley nailed his target market. The trials and tribulations of being “different” in middle school are delved while being entertained with a astoundingly overblown Bondesque spy thriller. Images, scenarios and plots of preposterous nature seem to be highly appealing to this age group. They are able to suspend their connection to reality and dive into the base humor and broad gags. Sadly, I enjoyed the book which probably says something about my level of maturity.

I recommend the book and it may be of particular value to the reluctant reader.

Body of work of Michael Buckley

Web Site None Found


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