The Mark of the Assassin (Mass Market Paperback)

by Daniel Silva (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Bestselling novelist Daniel Silva (author of The Unlikely Spy) draws upon his experience as a foreign correspondent and a Washington journalist in The Mark of the Assassin. Set in London, Cairo, Amsterdam, and Washington, the story line follows CIA case agent Michael Osbourne as he attempts to locate the terrorists who shot down an airliner off the coast of Long Island. Osbourne has two main antagonists: Delaroche, a KGB-trained expert assassin ordered to kill the handful of people who know the truth, including Osbourne, and the corrupt political culture of Washington, which ominously stymies him at every turn. There's a love story at the core of this book, as well as a brave attempt by Osbourne to reconcile a mystery in his past with a present he has not fully accepted. The prose is slick, and readers will find themselves racing through these pages as the body count grows and the conclusion nears. The Mark of the Assassin is a worthy effort from a rising star. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
In this follow-up to the best-selling The Unlikely Spy, a bunch of evil business executives target the U.S. president.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449225313
• ISBN-13: 978-0449225318
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,136,492 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Thriller..., March 17, 2001

By	Cris Cunningham "loves to read" (Long island, NY) - See all my reviews

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrorism or Big Business?, August 10, 2002

By	Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A solid spy tale, but not as good as his other work, May 28, 2006

By	Art (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mark of the Assassin (Paperback)

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.