Our Review
Four years ago, Daniel Silva hit the ground running with
The Unlikely
Spy, a big, ambitious World War II drama that evoked comparisons with
Robert Harris,
Ken Follett, and John Le Carré. In his fourth and latest novel, The Kill Artist, Silva turns to the twisted history and undying blood feuds of the Middle East and solidifies his position as one of the most accomplished new practitioners of the international thriller.
The hero of The Kill Artist is Gabriel Allon, a world-class art restorer and former Israeli intelligence agent who lost his wife and son to a Palestinian car bombing in 1991. As the novel opens, Gabriel is living a solitary, tightly focused existence on the Cornish coast of England when a figure from the past -- legendary spymaster Ari Shamron -- reenters his life. Shamron, the agent responsible for the kidnapping and capture of Adolph Eichman, has a brand new scheme in mind, a scheme that requires Gabriel Allon's services.
A renegade Arab terrorist known only as Tariq has recently resurfaced. He has murdered a number of prominent Israeli supporters, and his reign of terror threatens the success of the delicately balanced Middle East peace talks. Faced with the prospect of confronting Tariq, the man responsible for the destruction of his family, Gabriel comes out of retirement, and agrees to
mount the final intelligence initiative of his career.
The operation that follows is a tortuous affair, marked by departmental wrangling, hidden political agendas, and wheels within wheels. The action unfolds in a series of crisp, tightly constructed set pieces that range from the capitals of Europe (Paris, London, Lisbon) to Jerusalem itself, with intermittent stops in Montreal, New York City, and Washington, DC. Characters caught up in the drama include a London-based art dealer who has fallen on hard times, a Rupert Murdoch- style media magnate, and a world famous fashion model whose glossy, high-profile lifestyle conceals her tragic family history, and her occasional role as a clandestine operative for the Israeli secret service.
John Le Carré -- particularly the Le Carré of
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Little Drummer Girl -- is a pervasive presence throughout this novel. And though Silva never quite reaches Le Carré's level of stylistic mastery and psychological complexity, he has clearly absorbed some valuable lessons, and has developed into a strong, seductive storyteller with his own distinctive voice. The Kill Artist is a moving, thoughtful, evenhanded examination of a troubled corner of the world, and it deserves the attention of serious thriller fans everywhere.
--Bill Sheehan
Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of
Peter Straub,
At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).
What seemed at first like a promising career has now veered toward the predictable and slightly silly. Silva's first novel, The Unlikely Spy, was a new take on a tired genre. His second and third books, while not as fresh, were satisfying high-speed adventures. With this book, Silva has slipped into the rousing-but-exhausted world of Robert Ludlum. The hero of the story is Gabriel Allon, a onetime master spy for the Israeli intelligence service who is so good he goes by only his last name (are you tracking the silliness quotient?). Allon bailed out of the spy business when his wife and child were killed, presumably by the Palestinian superterrorist Tariq. When Tariq surfaces years later with plans to derail the Middle East peace process, revenge compels Allon to join in the search. From there it's pretty much a straightforward fox hunt, which in this genre means the fox is often the one doing the hunting. The book lacks depth and when you're done, you'll have to remind yourself who wrote the thing. Frankly, it could have been one of about six writers, all of whom are kicking out the same kind of book, complete with interchangeable characters and indistinguishable plots.
Randy Michael Signor
A former Mossad agent, now an art restorer, is tapped to help thwart a Palestinian plot to halt peace talks by assassinating Yasir Arafat. Another December 26 release. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
[A] HEART-STOPPING, COMPLEX YARN OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND INTRIGUE…A thrilling roller-coaster ride, keeping readers guessing until the mind-bending conclusion.”—Publishers Weekly
“A writer who is bringing NEW LIFE TO THE INTERNATIONAL THRILLER.”—Newsday
“A MASTER WRITER OF ESPIONAGE…[Daniel Silva’s] writing is clean, crisp, and compelling.”—The Cincinnati Enquirer
“[A] THRILL-A-MINUTE SURE-FIRE BESTSELLER…[that] rips Middle East strife from the headlines.”—Kirkus Reviews