Take a photo of a barcode or cover
watkins_west 's review for:
The Kill Artist
by Daniel Silva
This was the third book that I've read in the Gabriel Allon series, beginning with "The Order" then "The Rembrandt Affair." I was pleasantly surprised by some aspects of the story and disappointed in others.
While the entire series focuses on an Israeli spy, the first two Allon books that I read did not include any Israel-Palestine Conflict in the plot. When it immediately became clear that this book would focus on it, I worried that it would be excessively Pro-Israel. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Silva allows his antagonists to tell us their backstories, making them sympathetic characters. Even the book's "big bad" has a story that makes it clear why he wants to do the terrible things he does/did.
While I enjoyed the book as a whole, the first one-hundred pages were not Silva's best. For one, the story changes point of view many times, including to somewhat unimportant characters. I would've liked to spend more time with the main character early on in the book. It also fell into the classic "male writing women" trope of describing the breasts of every woman, though thankfully that style of describing characters quickly changed.
Altogether, Silva's books are enjoyable, "light" reads, in that they are fast-paced and action-packed. This book was no different.
While the entire series focuses on an Israeli spy, the first two Allon books that I read did not include any Israel-Palestine Conflict in the plot. When it immediately became clear that this book would focus on it, I worried that it would be excessively Pro-Israel. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Silva allows his antagonists to tell us their backstories, making them sympathetic characters. Even the book's "big bad" has a story that makes it clear why he wants to do the terrible things he does/did.
While I enjoyed the book as a whole, the first one-hundred pages were not Silva's best. For one, the story changes point of view many times, including to somewhat unimportant characters. I would've liked to spend more time with the main character early on in the book. It also fell into the classic "male writing women" trope of describing the breasts of every woman, though thankfully that style of describing characters quickly changed.
Altogether, Silva's books are enjoyable, "light" reads, in that they are fast-paced and action-packed. This book was no different.