The English Assassin
by Daniel Silva

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Book Reviews of The English Assassin

Book Review: Silva writes for art's sake!
Summary: 3 Stars

Ludlum it is, and Ludlum it is not. For one, the plot line is
greatly reminiscent of Ludlum; for two, however, Silva is Ludlum without the long (and
now boring) sermons on left-wing conspiracies to take over the civilized world. Silva
also is not the pedantic Ludlum (one doesn't need a dictionary with Silva).
That said (and cleared), "The English Assassin" (if one gets past all this Ludlum
stuff) is actually worth the read. It is exciting and Silva gives us a decent "arts and
humanities" lesson as the central character, one late-40ish Gideon Allon who is enlisted by the
Israeli government to mount a very clandestine inquiry into uncovering much about the
Swiss involvement with their nasty Nazy neighbors. Untold numbers of valuable paintings,
from Old Masters to "moderns" were "confiscated" and then deposited in Swiss banks in
exchange, sometimes, for currency to help the Nazis; in other situations, the paintings--not
to mention other treasures and money--were simply deposited in numbered accounts in
which they reside today, unclaimed, beneath the streets of Zurich!
Allon is sent to "restore" an Old Master (a Raphael)and, voila, he finds the owner,
wealthy and powerful banker Augustus Rolfe, brutally murdered. Before Allon can get out of Switzerland, he
is arrested as a suspect and from there on, the plot really thickens and the pace quickens. The game is
afoot! Allon becomes involved (yes) with Rolfe's daughter, who just happens to be
incredibly beautiful young woman and, of course, the world's greatest living violinist (and, yes, she and Gideon "fiddle around" a bit!).
Besides giving us a very interesting lesson in the fine arts (although I am not sure
about "rolling up" the canvases of Old Masters to smuggle them out!), Silva gives us a very
interesting geography lesson, as Allon zooms back and forth across Europe--from London
to Portugal to Austria and back. This, too, is worthwhile, especially if one has been so
fortunate to have been in those places!
"Penzler's Pick" notes that "Daniel Silva, author of several previous thrillers,
delivers a classic novel of multiple secrets and myriad betrayals." I am not sure how many
"classic novels" this Penzler has read, but "classic" is NOT a descriptive to be assigned to
"The English Assassin." Discerning readers of this genre will be a bit disappointed, if they
expect such.

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