Customer Reviews

The Unlikely Spy (Gabriel Allon Novels)

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There are definite elements of Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle" in Daniel Silva's "The Unlikely Spy". The most obvious is that Follett's bumbling spy was named Godliman, Silva's is named Vicary. But there are differences too - and those differences make Silva's book better than Follett's.

Most of the novels of this type follow a formula - Nazi spy, planted in England, uncovers the real facts about the Normandy invasion, and the brave, muddle-headed British intelligence officer must stop the spy before s/he gives it all away. Silva's novel follows this formula fairly well, but there's a very well-written story surrounding it.

Silva's plot is extremely detailed, and there are puzzles within puzzles, and plots within plots. Alfred Vicary is the proverbial (and in some cases literal) absent-minded professor, who shows a surprising streak of ruthlessness when it really matters; Catherine Blake is the Third Reich's ultimate weapon, who would rather not do what she's been doing for the last five years, but has no choice in the matter. These are the two main characters in a very well-done WWII spy novel.

This is Silva's first novel, and if it's any indication of things to come, he has a glorious career ahead of him. I do hope he doesn't restrict himself to this genre, though - if he does his books will grow very stale very fast.

Together with "Enigma" and "The Black Tulip" by Milt Bearden, and of course the George Smiley series by John Le Carre, this is one of my few really recommended fictional accounts related to espionage.

The art of lying to one's own people, at multiple levels of duplicity, some venal, much of it unnecessary, has helped to mystify, confuse, and sometimes glorify the intelligence profession.

As an intelligence professional myself, I will simply say that this is one of my top six and that it would not be called fiction if it did not depart for the pure realities as much as it does. This book captures the "essence" of duplicity within government in a time of war, and I find the whole book absolutely captivating and worthwhile.

Daniel Silva's "The Unlikely Spy" has more twists and turns than a corkscrew. This spine-tingling, historical espionage thriller is set in London, Germany and the US during World War II. The plot, and complex subplots, go back and forth in time and place, from the mid-1930s to the period before the invasion of Europe. Thus the scenario is set, and the novel's various characters are brought to life. These are the people who are involved in the Allies' invasion plans, and the Germans who plot to discover the top-secret information, and thwart the invasion. Many of the details and historical figures are accurately depicted, and realistically fleshed-out by Mr. Silva. Churchill, Hitler, Schellenberg, Himmler, Canaris and Eisenhower all have important roles in this action packed adventure - and their personas are fascinating.

Alfred Vicary is a primary character, and much of the story revolves around him. He is a brilliant professor and a noted historian, who was befriended by Churchill in 1935. At that time Churchill was warning Britain and Europe of the Nazi threat, but to no avail. The predominant political pundits of the day believed that Hitler, and Nazi Germany, were a good counterbalance to Stalin and the Soviet Union. Vicary wrote to Churchill, after hearing him lecture, to tell him that he agreed with his assessments. Churchill invited Vicary to his home, Chartwell, and they became close political confidants. In 1939 England's Prime Minister summoned Professor Vicary to his home, once again, to ask him to take a job in Military Intelligence for the duration of the war. Churchill tells the professor, "I need someone I can trust inside that department. It's time to put the 'intelligence' back in Military Intelligence."

Catherine Blake, the novel's other primary figure, is half English and half German. Since her mother's death, when she was a child, Catherine was raised by her father in Germany. She is beautiful, intelligent and a sociopath. She was targeted early by German Intelligence, five years before the war, to be trained as a special secret agent - a sleeper. Her German controller knew everything about her, including traumatic events of her adolescence, and was a genius at manipulating her. He threatened her with her father's possible imprisonment, torture and death if she did not succeed in her mission. And her mission was to secretly enter Britain, adopt an English identity, live in London, and wait until she would be activated. She was expected to discover and transmit the key information of the Normandy invasion to her German masters.

This is a real page turner. Until the novel's conclusion, the reader is never sure who is the enemy, the secret agent - who is working for whom? Silva is an excellent writer. His fast paced narrative flows, and his characters are very well developed. I have read most of his books, and this is one of the best,

If you could only read one book that would epitomize the best in the spy genre, Daniel Silva's The Unlikely Spy would be that book. This is a fabulous, old-fashioned-style World War II thriller.

The unlikely spy is Alfred Vicary, a college professor of history and a friend of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. When war breaks out, Churchill convinces Vicary to take a sabbatical and go to work for MI5. This quiet, unassuming man finds that working to undermine the German spy network is a thrill. While the British are very successful in identifying and turning German spies, the MI5 discovers that an unidentified German spy is living in England. It is only when German communications are intercepted that the British realize they have a problem. Plans for the D-Day Invasion are in full swing, and the Germans are trying desperately to discover when and where it will occur. Vicary and his staff put on a full-court press to intercept this spy and to undo any damage that may compromise the Allied Invasion.

At 531 pages, The Unlikely Spy is not a piece of fluff. The characters are well-fleshed out and Silva's writing is at its best. He is especially good in describing the conflicted Vicary. While Vicary "was well suited intellectually to the actual business of intelligence, its very nature was abhorrent to him. He was a historian. By nature and training he was dedicated to searching out the truth. Intelligence was about lying and deception. About betrayal. About means justifying ends. About stabbing one's enemy in the back--and maybe stabbing a friend in the back, if necessary." He also tries to examine the psyche of the German spies. The two main spies in An Unlikely Spy are not so much committed to Germany and the Nazi cause, but they like the challenge. It becomes a game to them.

While I'm a big fan of Daniel Silva and especially, his Gabriel Allon series, The Unlikely Spy has become my favorite.

Author Daniel Silva has done his usual wonderful job with the book THE UNLIKELY SPY.

THE UNLIKELY SPY is an old-fashioned thriller, in the vein of the great spy novels of earlier decades.

Set principally in England during World War II--with detours to New York and Nazi Germany--it is a gripping story which keeps the reader turning the pages to see what will happen next.

The plot is brilliant in it conception, in its breadth, and in the execution.

Silva does a good job conveying what life must have been like in London during those hard years of World War II.

His premise is that the Allies had to mislead the Nazis, carefully and deliberately, to misdirect them from expecting the invasion of Normandy, this being "misinformation" in the purest sense of the word.

This novel focuses on the British Secret Service (precursor of the service in which the fictional James Bond is said to have been a member) and on exactly how they could structure this deception. There is a great deal of plausible detail, and some cliffhanging moments in Silva's telling. His research is awe-inspiring.

Long as the book runs, there are a few subplots and earlier clues that remain unaddressed at its conclusion--or, alternatively, these are tied up too simplistically, too off-handedly, too incompletely, to do anything but cheat the engaged reader.

Still, these few blips are insignificant in a work of this magnitude. Daniel Silva has proven that his talents are as good as anybody writing today.

Veteran journalist, Daniel Silva, makes his mark as a novelist with, "The Unlikely Spy," a quality World War II espionage thriller. The story centers on Britain's top plans for the D-Day invasion and Hitler's attempt to uncover the vital secret of the war; the time and place of the Anglo-American invasion of France.

Working on behalf of Germany is the beautiful Catherine Blake, a ruthless Mata Hari type spy who will seduce, maim, and kill in order to help Nazi Germany achieve victory. Hand-picked by Winston Churchill himself is Alfred Vicary, a successful history professor. Vicary's job is to run "Operation Double Cross" for M15 England's couterespionage agency. It is known that Germany has spies stationed in England, but who they are and how to find and break them lands on the shoulders of Vicary. The war could easily be lost to Germany if vital information is leaked to Hitler. For Vicary, not only does he face the challenge of foreign enemies, but also he must deal with a few deceitful people in his own department, jealous of his designation by Churchill. The cat-and-mouse game begins to roll!

Silva's book is not entirely original, you will see shades of Follet and Higgins throughout. Nonetheless, it is entertaining and the historical facts the story is based on are accurate. I believe Silva shows a lot of promise as a future force in the world of high-spy literature. With experience he should develop a style which is uniquely his own. He is definitely worth reading.

Just how in the world did the Allies ever pull off the
Normandy landing? With so many spies, double agents, deep
cover agents, and traitors eager to get the straight dope to
the Fuhrer, are we really sure we're not living in the "Fatherland"?

"The Unlikely Spy" slinks through very familiar territory, from "The Eye of the Needle" to "Where
Eagles Dare" with a side trip to Le Carre land thrown and an optional visit to "Enigma". From the first attention-grabbing brutal murder, through the
obligatory sex scenes, to the stop them at any cost!
finale, the reader encounters the expected.

There are, however, worse ways to spend an evening than
curled up with a beautiful spy, tenacious British cop, handsome American architect/officer/patsy, and the other usual suspects. We may know them all a little too well, but, we'll always have the Pas de Calais.

I am amassed that the author could take this story line and get any new mileage out of it. As a matter of fact, from reading the dust jacket I though maybe another very similar book had just been re-titled, but becuase of all the good press I went ahead and picked it up. Sure we have some well used characters but the author does a good job of making you familiar with them. He keeps the story moving, the one thing I have noticed is that when author take on one of these time tested plots, they try to make it unique with either a completely unbelievable story line, they bog the book down with endless and un-need subplots, or they concentrate on some much character development they almost become biographies of a fictional person. This author does not do that. He wrote a tight, well constructed story that keeps you interested through the full book. I also read a lot of World War Two non-fiction and the author does a very good job with the details. Overall this is a very enjoyable book that is worth the time.

Daniel Silva's debut novel is incredible on many fronts. First, for a debut novel, it has incredible depth and substance. It has great characterization and many twists.

The novel is set in WWII as Germany tries to find the secret to the D-Day invasion and England tries to keep them from getting that secret. I read one review which said Silva made up facts about the deception and what actually occurred during that time. For me that didn't matter (if that's true) because the true story is about the spies and the chase. The secrets they are peddling are of secondary importance.

The story revolves around Catherine Blake, a German spy in England who is stealing secrets from Peter Jordan, an American helping the British prepare for the invasion. Catherine Blake is a great character who seems to regret what she is doing as a spy but also views it as a game that she is competing to win. At the end of the novel as the authorities close in, Blake becomes a much less of an interesting person, but the setup Silva gives her in the beginning is great.

The man trying to stop the spies is a professor named Alfred Vicary. He is an older man with many regrets yet he is great at what he does. He does a great job of piecing together the info needed to catch the spies.

This novel has many twists and turns and Silva does something many authors don't that I only noticed because he included it. Silva actually includes the scenes of suspicious behavior. So, instead of having Vicary being suspicious of Boothby, his boss, Silva writes a scene of Boothby doing suspicous behavior. This made me wonder what was Boothby actually doing (as were the other characters) instead of just relying on what Vicary thinks.

A great line uttered by Vicary sums up the suspense of the twists and turns of the novel. Vicary is interviewing Peter Jordan, the American architect. After hours of intense questioning, Vicary asks, almost as an afterthought, "You are Peter Jordan, aren't you?" This makes me wonder if one of the most straight foward characters isn't what he seems.

This novel builds up to a great twist at the end and it does a great job of explaining all that went on before it. The twist for me was good, but not the best. I can't wait to read more of Silva's books.

Alfred Vivers works in "A rather dull office of the war ministry" at least that is what he has to tell everyone.

In fact it is his job to safeguard one of the most vital secrets of the second world war just exactly where the troops are going to land. Not to mention the artificial harbors that are being constructed. A sleeper agent that has been in England since the 30's seeks to jeopardize all that. Now he must race against the clock to find the agent before she escapes England and reaches safety in Germany.

The suspense level makes this a thoroughly enjoyable book.