Customer Reviews

The Mark of the Assassin: A Novel (Random House Large Print)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

A commercial jetliner is blown out of the skies over Long Island. A body is found during the recovery operation with three bullet holes to the face -- "the mark of the assassin" has just surfaced but his identity remains a mystery, even to the most notorious underground figures. Enter Michael Osbourne, a senior CIA "case worker" (the preferred term for "spy").. Osbourne recognizes the assassin's mark as that of the man who killed his former lover and many high profile political figures. As he gets closer and closer to finding the killer's identity, Osbourne becomes more entangled in the assassin's web, and unknowingly, places his life, and that of his entire family`s on the line.

Silva masterfully includes all the cookie cutter elements that genre fans want in a really good read: a solid (and very visual) education of international locales, inside details of covert activities, rapid pace story telling, masterful plotting, lots of chasing, twisting and turning...but he adds something even more spectacular: a romantic undercurrent that humanizes the roles of the protagonist AND antagonist. Silva beautifully weaves in two riveting love stories right under the surface of the main plot.

I have a couple of pet peeves (Elizabeth's whining throughout the first half of the book was particulary annoying) but they were immediately squashed as I raced throughout the night toward the last page.

If you enjoy fast-paced spy thrillers that take you on a whirlwind of espionage action all around the globe, then this is the book for you. The pace is relentless and the writing is flawless.

Enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoy Silva's Gabriel Allon novels. This book does not rise up to the same level. While the plot moves quickly, I felt like I had already read the book before. The main character is a supper CIA agent, who lacks the depth of character of Gabriel Allon. He is a plastic imitation of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan character. The assassin was your typical cold-blooded former KGB 1000% evil type. The deeply secret international cartel that controlled the senior members of the CIA and other parts of world governments was unbelievable and contrite. Silva's other books are known for their historical research and unique characters. Since this book was set in modern times, Silva was unable to flex one of his primary strengths. From now on, I will stick to the Gabriel Allon books and skip the CIA super agent tales. While there was nothing really bad about the book, it never really rose above the level of being an average run of the mill pulp spy novel.

An American jetliner is shot down from the sky off of Long Island by a hand held Stinger missile by a two man team in a small boat, killing all aboard. The boat is discovered to be the tomb of a dead Palestinian terrorist with links to the militant group the Sword of Gaza. He had been shot 3 times in the face, the signature of premier assassin Jean Paul Delaroche, known as October.

The attack had been orchestrated by a group called the Society, a clandestine group of wealthy businessmen, intelligence experts, career military men and criminals. The goal of the Society was the maximizing of profit by promoting world chaos. Mitchell Elliott, multi millionaire industrialist and owner of Alarton Defense Systems was a prominent member. Through years of political contributions, Elliott was able to control policy decisions of America president James Beckwith. Elliott now stood to make a fortune by supplying the nation with a missile defense system.

Michael Osbourne, top CIA agent and Middle East terrorism expert is called in to investigate the tragedy. Osbourne, now married to beautiful and high powered lawyer Elizabeth Cannon, years ago, witnessed the killing of his girlfriend Sarah by Delaroche.
Osbourne suspecting that the Sword of Gaza was not involved in the plot, starts to investigate Elliott and Delaroche. His speculation is confirmed when his wife's best friend, Susanna Dayton, investigative reporter for the Washington Post is found murdered. She had been working a piece that exposed the dirty dealings of Mitchell Elliott.

Eventully Delaroche is commissioned by the Society to dispatch Osbourne, which begins a cat and mouse game across the globe between hunter and hunted.

Silva does an admirable job in crafting an exciting ad revealing tale of international intrigue. I would suggest reading this novel prior to his follow up book The Marching Season,which I unfortunately did not do.

This book is, without a doubt one of the worst suspense novels I've ever read. It seems to have one cliche after another. First there's your uber-asassin, which seems ripped out from a James Bond movie and to a lesser extent, Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal. Then, there's your money-grubbing conspiracy to rule the world using terrorism, extortion, etc. Does this sound at all like SPECTRE from the old James Bond movies? Perhaps the author should have considered making an original plot instead of trying to make just another lackluster spy novel. In conclusion, if you want a good suspense novel, stick to the works of Frederick Forsyth or John Le Carre.

I bought this book expecting at least a decent effort, considering the hype. After 65 pages the book was tossed out with enthusiasm, which was the only enthusiasm it generated. How I long for the days of Len Deighton and Craig Thomas, true masters of the spy genre. This pathetic attempt at a spy novel had me rolling my eyes repeatedly over the predictable events and the typecast characters. The intrepid female reporter ( yawn ), the resilient CIA officer ( snore ), his loving but lonely wife ( zzzzz ). More? How about CIA superiors that hamper efforts rather than help. There is something new! Oh, and the oh-so-evil Russians and the hidden-agenda Israelis. Absolutely ridiculous drivel. If you want to read plausible spy novels read anything by Frederick Forsyth, especially " The Deceiver ", or the Bernard Samson books by Len Deighton. I would not even keep this waste of trees in my house as a coaster. Excuse me for my vitriol, but it is inexcusable that this amateurish book is more widely read than the smashing novels written by the above authors. Don't believe the hype!

I give this book mixed reviews. It began slowly, building the pace and setting the stage. But I found the wife's whining truly annoying. Her reaction when she found out that her boyfriend-turned-husband is actually a spy was laughable. Makes me think Silva doesn't really know women very well.

The middle is when the book starts to kick into gear. I loved everything about the middle, especially after we meet October. I loved all the character developments, meeting each member of the Society and discovering their machinations.

The ending was also pretty awesome, the action really brisk. I enjoyed the mano-a-mano fight between October and Michael.

But I have some MAJOR nitpicks which I'm going to go into some SPOILER-FILLED detail:

1. I absolutely DETESTED it that none of the bad guys got their proper comeuppance. Not a one! Even Vandenberg's death left me severely disatisfied. At least I would have liked to have seen Tyler exposed and stripped of her power.

2. I hated Max's death. HATED IT. It was just over-the-top. Why did the good guys suffer so much casualties and the bad guys only ONE???

3. I hated Elizabeth's initial reaction to finding out about the source of the leak in her law firm. Please, lady! Do the right thing! She had to be guilted into helping out the Washington Post?

4. I hate Elizabeth's character. How many times was she all, "Michael, I need you NOW! Or, Michael, come home NOW!" Whiny little beeyatch. I wanted her dead.

Is the sequel any better? Does it address item #1 at least? I read the blurb and it doesn't seem to. ::sigh::

2. I

Readers of "The Unlikely Spy" will be disappointed by Silva's latest work. Its derivative, contrived, and improbable with a tedious subplot about the protagonist's wife's infertility problems. Wouldn't even recommend this book for a long plane ride.

This hackneyed, terrifically unoriginal "thriller" will leave fans of the genre reaching for their Le Carre or Deighton for a dose of the real thing. Silva's idea of a character flaw is a mild smoking habit? Please. I havent seen a collection of characters like this since I put away my Hardy Boys books. All of the women are slender and attractive, all them men handome and cool under pressure - not to mention sensational lovers with the security of an inherited bank account. The descriptions of exotic locales are tired: London - rain and fog; Cairo - hot and dusty. Skip it.

The Mark of the Assissin was a true page turner -- nearly impossible to put down. It is a fast-paced, enjoyable read from the very beginning. In the story, CIA agent Michael Osbourne finds himself pitted against a ruthless assassin with the code name "October." The battle is emotional, psychological and physical. The supporting cast of characters are diverse and quite extensive. While keeping track of the long character list is sometimes an effort, the total package provides a story with action, excitement, intrigue, and frequent plot twists. Chances are that once you start his book, you will want to read it in big chunks.

After reading the entire Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva, I decided to check out his other books. The Mark of the Assassin is everything you would want in a thriller.

Michael Osbourne is a former CIA field agent who is now assigned desk duty in their Counterterrorism Department in Langley, VA. He is married to Elizabeth--a high-powered DC lawyer and the daughter of an influential US senator. When a US plane is brought down by a stringer missile over the Atlantic, Osbourne is brought in on the case. Originally, it looks to be the work of an Arab terrorist group, the Sword of Gaza. But there is one thing about the case that bothers Michael: one of the terrorists is found dead in the Atlantic and he was killed with three gunshot wounds to the face. From past cases, Osbourne knows this is the trademark of a former KGB assassin. Unfortunately, Osbourne doesn't know his name, his identity, or who hired him, although he doesn't believe he was hired by the Sword of Gaza.

Silva weaves a tale that involves a secret organization called The Society. "The Society's founding creed declared peace was dangerous. Its members believed constant controlled global tension served the interests of all." This group is made up of powerful men in business and government, with far-reaching results and lots of cash funding. While Osbourne isn't aware of the existence of the The Society, he realizes that he's been pitted against a formidable foe. The Society also realizes that Osbourne is incredibly intelligent and has been well-trained for his profession. The competition makes for an exciting plot.

The Mark of the Assassin is interesting in that it gives us an inside look at the life of a CIA agent. Silva also shows the difference between a field agent and a desk agent--they're two different worlds. This book also includes some of the characters I've come to enjoy in his Allon series including CIA executive, Adrian Carter. Unfortunately, The Mark of the Assassin does not tie up everything in a neat little package at the end, but that is actually a good thing as Silva has written a sequel to this story. It's already on my list.