The Kill Artist Audiobook By Daniel Silva cover art

The Kill Artist

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The Kill Artist

By: Daniel Silva
Narrated by: George Guidall
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About this listen

Tightly written thrillers like The Marching Season have made best-selling novelist Daniel Silva a favorite of readers everywhere. In The Kill Artist, he paints an absorbing portrait of a reluctant hero’s attempt to thwart an old enemy to preserve a precarious peace.

After the assassination of his wife and son, Gabriel Allon retires from his brutal anti-terrorist career and loses himself in his previous cover job: art restoration. But when Tariq al-Hourani, the Palestinian terrorist responsible for his family’s death, begins a killing spree designed to destroy Middle East peace talks, Gabriel once again slips into the shadowy world of international intrigue. In a global game of hide-and-seek, the motives of Gabriel and Tariq soon become more personal than political.

Filled with vivid action and a fascinating cast of supporting characters, The Kill Artist delivers pulse-pounding suspense, carried to a startling climax by the tension-packed narration of George Guidall.

©2000 Daniel Silva (P)2001 Recorded Books
Crime Thrillers Espionage Political Suspense Fiction Thriller Mystery Marriage Exciting Scary
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What listeners say about The Kill Artist

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Artless Killing

I recently read a later entry in Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series and chalked up its problems to the author going stale and mailing in the fourteenth episode. I said I would give it another try, and went back to the beginning, the first one, in which the Israeli superspy is lured out of retirement to hunt down the Arab terrorist who bombed his family way back when and is now hellbent on destroying the nascent Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

I'm left with the same two problems: Allon has got to the be the Worst. Spy. Ever. And Silva from the start violated one of the cardinal rules of plotting (as espoused by master storyteller and writing teacher Robert McKee) by having characters execute a far more complex plan than is necessary to achieve their goals.

As for Allon, the back story before this novel even starts is his massive failure that left his son dead and wife in a vegetative state. Brought back to kill the terrorist who did that, he totally fails, allowing himself to be trapped and manipulated from start to finish by multiple characters, ending up shot by the terrorist he is supposed to shoot. The two people he is supposed to protect end up saving themselves despite his failure to do so himself, one of them even completing his mission for him. Allon even admits as much at the end.

As if that wasn't bad enough (bad enough to knock the story down to three stars, not two), the final reveal undermines the entire story. The whole thing turns out to be an elaborate scheme that was never necessary. Trying to avoid spoilers, the plot point used to lure Allon out of retirement was sufficient to complete the mission against the terrorist before he could ever do any harm, before the timeline of the book even begins, before Allon is ever needed (not that he is actually needed either way, since he is a total failure).

The only thing left of value is the recap of some of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, challenging some long-accepted beliefs, and laying the groundwork for some of the compromises that have indeed taken place since the publication of the book. Unfortunately, the way most of that is delivered within the storyline is also undermined by the final reveal.

I am by no means a fan of the indestructible superspy. I like that Allon is fallible and human. There is room there for a lot of good stuff. But honestly, in this book he literally fails at every single thing he undertakes and is repeatedly duped by everyone, just as in The Heist he fails in his primary mission and only fulfills his secondary mission in the epilogue by revisiting the first clue he got, which he overlooked at the time (because had he pursued it, the rest of the story would have been moot).

I'm sorry, but the progression of a plot has to be plausible, you can't have people do random things just to get the story to follow the path you want it to follow.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very good but to dark for me

Any additional comments?

I know most people who love Vince Flynn/Alex Berenson books love Daniel Silva. I've read and listened to a few and while I do appreciate the realism in his books I also am a bit turned off by the darkness that tends to be in them. Also a lot of sex scenes tend to be described in his books. I leave 4 stars as I did mostly enjoy the book and I love George Guidall. 4 stars because I think he is a very talented writer but he's just not for me.

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19 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Promising start

This looks like the promising start to a new series. I do think the saga of the Palestinians hatred for the Israelis and vice-versa is a bit oversimplified and doesn't quite describe the black vitriol that exists between these two warring camps, but despite this the plot is intriguing and easily holds one's attention . Guidall is PERFECTION as usual, OH I LOVE his narrations. The story keeps one on her toes with so many moving parts, but it is also thoroughly interesting and the characters are complex and enjoyable. I will be continuing on with this series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent, but..

Daniel Silva is one of my top 4 authors who write incredible espionage thrillers. Tom Wood, Adam Hall and Mark Greaney are the others. This first book in the Allon series is an excellent story, but not as good as the ones that follow.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I had hoped

Based on the popularity of the series, I had hoped for a series with depth of characters and plot something like Louise Penny's Gamache series. I didn't see it in this book. The female lead seemed particularly contrived. To me it was a good but generic page turner. I see that the reviews get better as you get deeper into the series and I will give it another shot.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

very good story. even better narration.

very good story. even better narration. will read more books from this author in the future

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting plot

I enjoydd the naration. He handled accents, male/female and excitement skillfully. The plot was complicated and sophisticstdd. Very exciting.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A Good Spy Yarn

I have enjoyed other books by Daniel Silva, and this one did not disappoint. I liked the way he intertwined real people and events with his story. I am looking forward to listening to other books in the series, because I found the characters compelling. George Guidall is a fantastic narrator. I have enjoyed every book he has ever read to me,. I think I would enjoy listening to him read the phone book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting plot

I enjoyed this book, I found the travels through Europe and story line around Arab / Israel conflict interesting.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great Story

Any additional comments?

I thought that this was a very good book! However, I am not one to be impressed by the crude language, sex and other garbage that is thrown in. It would be a much better story without.

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