The Kill Artist

****CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS**** This was a good book. It is probably more realistic than most other Spy books. If you are looking for a book where the main character is an elite assassin that kills everyone that gets in his way until meeting his objective, you are better off sticking with Mitch Rapp and Victor the Assassin type of stories. There is violence in this story, but the main character, Gabrielle Allon, avoids contact whenever possible. Instead, he opts for intel gathering, using logic to figure things out, and formulating a solid plan of action. I haven't read any of the other books, and I would bet Allon showcases his elite killing skills more in the following books, but they were not really on display in this one. That being said, you can tell he is the best at what he does. The other characters around him are written well, and the story moves along at a good pace. The book did enough to intrigue me to read the following story or two because I want to see what Allon can do when his back is against the wall. I am looking forward to the English Assassin. Bottom line: I give it 4 stars. It should probably be 5 stars because I dropped a star for something that was likely done on purpose (lack of bad guys getting murdered by our hero). Personal preference, but it is just hard to give this one a 5 compared to some of the other stories out there. Not because this is bad, but because the competition sets the bar so impossibly high.

not for me. Took too long to get exciting, the last quarter of the book was ok but not something I would recommend. Narration was good

Will listen to more of this author

I really enjoyed the story as a spy thriller, but I also appreciated the balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestine conflict by portraying the realities of the human psychological impact of violence from both perspectives. The narrator was very good. Makes such a difference.

very very good

I enjoy how SIlva's characters are much more human than most. They have flaws, they have emotions, and doubts, not like the absolute certainty of idealized heroes that ignore thier wounds (what's a sucking chest wound compared to the awesomeness of agent Soandso) and of course are blessed with infinite ammo, and infinite resources.

Slow and boring. Narrator was good though.

great listen

A decent listen, but at times I felt the book was dragging along during the first five chapters. too little action and at times it was more talking than anything else. Characters feel a bit flat too. Either everyone is: An Isreali Patriot/Asset Sex Crazed Misogynistic Homicidal Terrorist. I personally tried to give this a chance, but it wasn't for me.

Narration volume and accents made it difficult to enjoy the story, always adjusting the dial on my radio/iPhone

Good story in general but it didn’t have me at the edge of my seat. The narrator tried really hard to mimic difficult accents, but it just got a bit too much near the end and I couldn’t focus on the book.

Loved it, and the narrator. Looking forward to continuing the series of Gabriel A.