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110 of 114 found the following review helpful:
 The Plot ArtistJul 06, 2006
By T. K. Kenyon
"Author"
This book is chronologically the first in the Gabriel Allon series.
Chronological Order:
1. The Kill Artist
2. The English Assassin
3. The Confessor
4. Death in Venice
5. Prince of Fire
6. The Messenger
In this book, Gabriel, a former assassin for Israel's foreign intelligence service, the Mossad (which translates into English as "The Institution") retired after the murders of his wife and son to lead a quiet life as an art restorer, one who fixes the wounded past. Gabriel's ex-boss, Ari Shamron, an Israeli spymaster a la George Smiley but more treacherous, convinces Gabriel to leave his sheltered hermitage to hunt down Tariq, the assassin who killed Gabriel's family, before he can kill again. In an exquisitely wrought plot of treachery and counter-treachery, Silva explores the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from many, many angles.
I don't read spy fiction as a genre. I don't read anything as a genre. I read great writers, pretty much no matter what they write. I've read a lot of John Le Carre, and one of the few criticisms that I have of his work is that his spies play a gentleman's game. However, Le Carre's spies are deeply human and British.
Silva's spies are not gentlemen, and this is no gentlemen's game. This is hard and dirty intelligence work by one of the hardest and dirtiest intelligence services on the planet. The Mossad is charged with keeping tiny Israel's formidable opponents at bay, and you don't do that by playing fair. Gabriel's Mossad plays entirely unfairly, as it must, as it does in real life. In this book, Jacqueline/Sarah is used as a "honey trap," and Silva lightly explores what it does to a woman to prostitute oneself for a good cause. Silva does exaggerate some of the Mossad's successes, which he does not need to do because the Mossad is very successful without Silva's burnishing.
Silva's plotting is as intricate as a chess game, albeit a game where each of the chess pieces has a deeply felt personality, background, and damaged psyche such that they refuse to move where the gamester wants them to and take on a life of their own. Another thing that I like about Silva's work is that, while Gabriel is the central character and our guide, each of Silva's characters has his/her own agenda and life and is capable of growing, changing direction, and surprising the reader. One feels when reading Silva's books that the book is built to elucidate several characters, not merely one central character.
TK Kenyon
Author of Rabid: A Novel and Callous: A Novel
46 of 48 found the following review helpful:
Silva proves he is still a pro...May 29, 2001
By C. Cunningham
"cris925"
Gabriel Allon is "the Kill Artist"; a former assassin who worked clandestinely for the Israeli government. When we first meet him he is living in a remote English seaside village and working as an art restorer, a cover he used frequently during his covert operations. He is soon called out of retirement by his former boss, Ari Shamron, head of Israeli intelligence, and a calculating man with his own agenda...one that may cost Gabriel his life. Ari needs Gabriel's talents to track down Tariq, an Palestinian assassin whose killing rampage is threatening the Middle East peace negotiations. Tariq and Gabriel have met before when Gabriel killed Tariq's brother in a very brutal manner, and Tariq avenged that death with a killing of his own...Gabriel's wife and son, making this a story of international intrigue and personal revenge. The stage is now set for a major showdown, but they must first cover three continents and weave through an array of cultures and characters to find each other. Gabriel is assisted by his former intelligence co-worker, a beautiful French girl named Jacqueline, whose family was killed in the Holocaust. Jacqueline is hesitant to join Gabriel on this assignment, but in the end it is love that prevails, and she plunges head first into Tariq's lair, a deadly trap that Gabriel may not be able to get her out of in time to save her life.What I love about Daniel Silva is his smooth and uncomplicated style. He has a "rhythm" to his writing that hooks you somewhere in the beginning and stays with you long after you finish the book. It took me a little longer to warm up to these characters, probably because there isn't a lot happening in the way of relationships as there is in his other book _The Mark Of The Assassin_. Everyone is hiding behind their own specific job and agenda. They're all business. Still, the plot is riveting and the pace is solid. 4 and 1/2 stars. Highly recommended. His protagonist doesn't quite involve the readers as in his past works but this is definitely worth a buy.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
A good start to a great series...Oct 24, 2006
By Cynthia K. Robertson
The Kill Artist is the first book in Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series and is a good start to a great series!
The Kill Artist opens in Paris, where the Israeli ambassador to France is murdered by an Arab assassin. The crime has all the hallmarks of an operation by Tariq al-Hourani. Tariq's brother was part of the Black September Movement and was assassinated by the Israeli Secret Service (also called The Office). Once aligned with Yasir Arafat, Tariq broke with Arafat and the PLO when they entered into peace negotiations with Israel.
Ari Shamron, former head of The Office, seeks out the services of Garbriel Allon, an art restorer who has also served The Office as an assassin. Although reluctant to become involved, Allon has a personal grudge to settle as Tariq is responsible for the car bombing that killed Allon's toddler son and maimed his wife (physically and mentally). He agrees to again work for The Office, and his job is to find and murder Tariq. He has the assistance of a beautiful French model and sometimes Israeli operative, Jacqueline Delacroix. Allon uses Delacroix to infiltrate Tariq's inner circle so that he can discover his whereabouts. What Allon is not gambling on is that at the same time, Tariq is trying to find and kill Allon.
The Kill Artist is just a bit hokey in spots. To think that a world famous model could be used as an operative is a stretch. Allon also makes wrong assumptions that put him and others in danger. But I'm willing to overlook these flaws because Silva's writing is so good. Allon muses "As always, he was struck by the similarities between the craft of restoration and the craft of killing. The methodology was precisely the same: study the target, become like him, do the job, slip away without a trace."
Since I've already read the other Allon books, I'm now looking forward to Silva's latest release which I understand will be out in February 2007.
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 A Rollercoaster, in two diffeerent ways...Jan 05, 2001
This book is truly a rollercoaster!! The plot similar to the popular amusent park thrill ride because it keeps you on the edge of your seat through an array of dips and turns. Unfortunately, the writing style is also rollercoaster-esque. When Silva is on his game, the writing is brilliant: smooth, hilarious, and affecting. When he isn't (which seems all too often during the middle chapters), the writing is choppy and predictable. I'm a humongous Silva fan though, believe me! His plots have always been easy to follow and The Kill Artist is no different (Definitely a plus!). Hopefully, Silva will keep producing easy-to-follow thriller novels but will keep the rollercoasting to simply the plot, not the writing style as well!!
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Nicely Plotted International Thriller!May 02, 2005
By Michael D. Trimble
This is the first book in the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva. Allon is the reluctant part time spy working for Israeli Intelligence whose covert skills are the stuff of legend within the small community of "secret agents". His cover skills are those of professional art restoration, primarily "old masters" paintings and sculpture, for which his talents in that field are world renown.
While this may be the first book (as of this review there are 5) in the series, it is not necessary to read this book first, since the book takes place at a time in the life of Gabriel Allon when he has already forsaken his work as a spy. We learn about Allon's past and his initiation into the world of spying through flashback and his past is not necessarily central to the story. Other books in the series take the reader into Gabriel's past just as effectively and therefore you don't really have to start with this book to understand what Gabriel is all about.
Daniel Silva has a true gift for captivating plot and character development. The characters in his books are self reflecting and you really begin to understand the emotional turmoil that goes with the work of tracking down punishing international terrorists. This book is an exciting weekend read! Silva has Gabriel on the trail of Tariq the Palestinian terrorist bent on derailing the peace process. Tariq and Gabriel are not strangers to one another, as Gabriel is the man who mercilessly killed Tariq's older brother and as revenge Tariq exploded a car that contained Gabriel's wife and only son. The "bad blood" between these two enemies plays out across Europe and North America in a fast paced thriller that both memorable and very enjoyable. The surprises and betrayals extend beyond the exciting climatic confrontation between Gabriel and Tariq, and are just part of what makes this book so entertaining.
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