mystery

When a bomb explodes in the Vienna Wartime Claims and Inquiry Office, killing Eli Lavon, an elderly Jewish man who investigated crimes relating to the Holocaust, Israeli intelligence dispatches Gabriel Allon to Austria to investigate. Allon's appearance in Vienna stirs up trouble as old enemies seek revenge, secrets are uncovered and unholy alliances are revealed.

A Death in Vienna is simultaneously the fourth Gabriel Allon book and the third installment in a trilogy which, in Silva's words, "completes a cycle of three novels dealing with the unfinished business of the Holocaust." Exhibiting the considerable writing skills he displayed in the first two novels of the series, The English Assassin and The Confessor, Silva admittedly opts for the most obvious of villains, the Nazis. Yet, by making Allon's mission personal (his discovery of his mother's writings about her participation in the January 1945 death march from Birkneau is a key turning point in the novel) and by linking the book's action to current events (i.e. the current political scene in Austria), he renders a familiar premise fresh and emotionally engaging.

A fascinating protagonist, Allon's talents for tradecraft and assassination provide a potent contrast to his preferred work as an art restorer. Of course, a hero needs worthy opponents, which Silva provides in the assassin known as The Clockmaker, and in former Sturmbannfuehrer Erich Radek. Add in a well -drawn cast of supporting characters, and Silva's ability to painlessly relate relevant history amid the action, and you have a well-balanced thriller, an effort that will leave fans clamoring for additional adventures of Gabriel Allon and friends.

A death in Vienna starts the action in this seventh thriller by Daniel Silva. The Wartime Claims and Inquiries Office is destroyed by a bomb. The reason for the killing is that apparently an old man contacted the office after claiming to have seen an old SS officer now going by the name Ludwig Vogel. As Sturmbannfuhrer Erich Radek, Vogel is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews in W.W.II. Vogel is now a very wealthy industrialist in Austria. The Israeli government calls into action Gabriel Allon, their assassin who also works as an art restorer, to look into the accusation. Hampering their investigation are Vogel's henchmen who have no hesitation in killing Allon to save Vogel. However, Allon's true motivation to bring Vogel to justice lies in his own past.
Daniel Silva is one of the finest thriller writers currently working. His books are all compulsive reads filled with high octane thrills. However, one cannot get over the feeling that this book is his first stumble. According the author's note, "A DEATH IN VIENNA is actually the third book in a cycle dealing with the unfinished business of the Holocaust. Nazi art looting and the collaboration of Swiss banks served as the backdrop for THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN. The role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and the silence of Pope Pius XII inspired THE CONFESSOR." The current book is also based loosely on real events. However, in the previous books the historical events flowed from the action. This gave the books a greater sense of spontaneity. In this book, the real events dictate the progression of the book. This tends to make the plot and pacing appear too artificial and predictable. It is a much more contrived work. There really is no true character development and all of this has been covered before in both popular and 'serious' fiction.

I have been a hardcore fan of Silva since I discovered his novel "The English Assassin" in the spring of 2002. I was going through a difficult time in my life and his book helped me through it. Since I've re-read all his novels at least twice and must say I was dissapointed this time. Don't get me wrong, this is a well-crafted, intelligent spy yarn that nicely ties up Silva's trilogy, but this one seemed to move slower than usual and the plotting just wasn't very interesting. There is more interesting backstory & drama involving Gabriel's personal life, including things with his mother and the woman in his life, but like I said the actual mystery/spy story in the novel is his weakest yet. I feel that "The English Assassin" is still the best of the three, and they've gone downhill since. Now that Silva has gotten these Holocaust novels out of his system, hopefully he can go back and write something with more thrilling suspense like "The English Assassin" or "The Kill Artist", which in my opinion is his best Gabriel Allon novel.