OK, my partner in this venture reviewed this book a while back and all 1o reviews of Silva's books are by WCDon. When I saw this book on the shelf over at my mom's health center, I decided on the spot that I'd better get on board. If one of us has read 10 books by the same author, said author is probably dang good. Why it took me so long to read a Silva book is beyond me.The English Assassin appears to be #2 in the Gabriel Allon saga and it involves Swiss Banking, stolen Jewish treasures and artwork from WWII. A Zurich banker near death develops a conscious and contacts Israeli authorities that he has artwork to be turned over to its proper owners. But to do so would uncover a secret cabal of Swiss businessmen who want to keep the status quo in order to maintain the flow of clandestine money and valuables as it always was, with the Swiss as bankers to the world, no matter what side of right and wrong their customers sat.
Allon, the art restorer/hired gun finds the banker dead, turns around and leaves only to be caught by the Swiss Feds (and be prepared for a very unexpected twist surrounding the cop). Allon gets let go, but against the wishes of his boss, decides to find out who tried to frame him and tries to follow the money, the paintings, and (of course) the daughter of the dead banker. They traipse all over western Europe following clues leading to the Swiss cabal. Problem is that at nearly each stop, their contact ends up dead at the hands of, you guessed it, the English Assassin. The former British SAS operative is now a hit man for a Corsican Don who has been hired by the cabal to keep tabs on Allon's investigation and eliminate any threats Allon has uncovered. When the assassin closes in on Allon and the daughter in Venice, rather than carry out the kill, he simply leaves a note, showing Allon how easy it would be to get to him. Got the feeling that this guy appears in other Silva books.
I've seen Silva and Allon compared to Fleming and James Bond. Last time I read an Ian Fleming book I was in high school and Sean Connery was shagging Ursula Undress . . . er . . . Andress, so I am not the best person to verify such a claim. What I can say is that Allon is a very intriguing character and if other Silva books are this classy and well paced, I can understand my partner's high praise. More Allon books are in my future. I am guessing it is a safe bet to pick any random Silva book and be thoroughly entertained.
East Coast Don
Nice review, glad you like Silva, but how could you not. My advice is to read the books in order and let the character development build as the author intended. Each book stands by itself, but this is worth doing in sequence. I can't wait for his next book to come out in July.
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