Rating  - A Death in Vienna - Kay
One of my favorite books by a favorite author. I have read all of his books and am now having to buy second copies because my husband and I keep re-reading till they are plain worn out.
Rating  - Slow, boring and unbelievable at times.
Of the six books that I have read by Silva, this is the first three stars; the others were either four or five. This book was the third in the Gabriel Allon series and it became tiresome to read many details over for the third time. It is okay to keep some of the main characters from book to book, but to keep repeating so many details is robbing a reader's time and is boring to say the least. In addition to this it was a slow moving story and in many places was unbelievable.
Everywhere Gabriel went some person picked up the phone after he left and told the bad guys where he was, what he was doing and in some cases where he was going. This is the first book that I have read where the bad guys had an informer that just happened to work in every hotel, restaurant, etc. where Gabriel showed his face; this occurred in multiple cities in different countries. In some cases it was true in reverse; when Gabriel is in trouble suddenly an associate pops up from nowhere just when he about to be eliminated. In one case an assassin has targeted Allon in a cemetery but does he try a shot from cover? No he is out in the open walking towards Allon. Why was this? Was it so that Allon's friend that he didn't even know was in the country would have time to suddenly appear on a motorcycle in a graveyard and shoot the assassin.
I love surprises in a novel but they have to be based on a reasonable sequence that is in character for what you have been let to believe. Of the many thriller books that I have read the most consistent writer is John J, Nance which has many five stars for my reviews.
Rating - Gabriel Allon is the man!!
I have gained a an ever increasing respect for Holocaust survivors. I do not believe anyone can ever really begin to imagine the horrors of this period in history. Gabriel Allon learned of this first hand upon reading a manuscript, written by his mother, who was a physical survivor. The monstor who stripped her of everything except her moral courage is alive and Gabriel must bring him to justice.
Another great read from Daniel Silva. 5 stars.
Rating  - The Hitman's Consolation
The book's hero is a former Israeli assassin presented by the author (pp. 269-70) as having led the Mossad operation to murder the Palestinian leader Khalil al-Wazir (nom de guerre Abu Jihad), which transpired in the country of Tunisia on April 16, 1988, in the presence of his wife and children. I wonder how many people reading the book assume this was a fictional event, part of the background story of the obviously fictional protagonist. Gabriel, our hero, seems to have completed that assignment with the usual Israeli efficiency - except for one thing. He stopped for a few seconds to "console" the wife and children of the man he had just murdered. I doubt the average reader will trouble his imagination by questioning how such a murder of a Palestinian could be justified. For Gabriel is seen as a "good" assassin. He condescended to console the wife and children. I was reminded for some reason of Golda Meir's statement ""I can forgive you [i.e. Arabs] for killing my boys, but I can never forgive you for making our boys kill yours." What a terrible tragedy for the Israelis, that despite all their natural goodness, they are forced, just forced, to murder Palestinians. Look, their assassin stopped to console the Palestinian's wife and children!
I read `A Death in Vienna' because a friend had recommended the author Daniel Silva. I chose this particular title randomly from several sitting on the shelf. My friend told me the hero's name is Gabriel Allon, and that he is an art restorer. Rather early in the book, I was tempted to stop reading. After a bombing in Vienna, the hero's Mossad superior refers to statements claiming responsibility as "the usual drivel about the plight of the Palestinians and the destruction of the Zionist entity" (p.22). But I didn't stop reading; I soldiered on to the end.
Is this book for you, or not for you? If you are among those willing to regard the plight of the Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis' as so much "drivel", then this book may be right up your alley. There's plenty of good times to be had, watching as the former Nazi is captured and brought back to Israel for punishment. It's true that the action is plodding and the suspense non-existent, but as one gentile reviewer said here on Amazon, "So sad, so sad. While reading this book, I cried and prayed for the Jewish people - 5 stars". Precisely one of the author's goals, I am quite sure.
If on the other hand, you are one who is aware of and disturbed by the plight of the Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis, then you may find the novel's glorification of the Mossad hit man to be, well, not something you can easily warm up to.
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