A Death in Vienna

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: John Lee

Joining the ranks of Graham Greene and John le Carre, the newest master of international suspense, Daniel Silva has crafted a novel of astonishing intricacy and intelligence.

Sent to Vienna to authenticate a painting, the art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is sidetracked by a photograph that throws his world upside-down. Could it really be the face of a man who during the last days of World War II had brutalized his mother on the Death March from Auschwitz?

Questions abound when Allon, driven by an intensity he had not felt in years, begins to investigate, discovering in the process that the hunt for one man is a hunt for many-and a network of unimaginable evil spanning sixty years.

©2004 Daniel Silva (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"John Lee gives a masterful performance.... All the accents, from Italian to German, sound perfect.... And his pacing is excellent, always in tune with the action. A riveting narration." (AudioFile)

"[A] world-class practitioner of spy fiction.... Silva writes with style, economy and a sure command of the historical record…a skillful novelist who does justice to the often heartbreaking material without exploiting it." (The Washington Post Book World)

"Superbly crafted narrative of espionage and foreign intrigue....Action and suspense abound, but this is serious fiction with a serious purpose." (Publishers Weekly)

"Daniel Silva has now indisputably joined the ranks of Graham Greene and John le Carre." (Chicago Tribune)

No waltz

A well-constructed thriller dealing with harrowing subject matter. The action moves slickly between Austria, Israel, Italy and Argentina, as well as between the present, and the past – the latter being World War 2. The narrator (John Lee) does a great job, with a Sean Connery-like “main” voice which he then adapts rather well to take into account a range of characters with different accents.

Chilling and Moving

This will make a great movie - fast paced, covers a lot of geography, great intrique, detailed history, plus some violence and some beauty.

Part 4 in this spy-detective series

I like the relatively calm atmosphere of the Gabiel Allon novels, and this one does not disappoint. As with the previous novels, there’s gone a lot of research into the story. Not just about all of the different locations, which are described in beautiful detail (the author has actually visited most of them), but also about the holocaust in WWII.
As in all of the Allon stories, there's some action, but not a lot, it's more like a slow unravelling of a mystery. Allon is a spy and has the matching skill set, but in reality he’s more of a detective, ferreting things out that need to be uncovered.

The tone and atmosphere of these stories remind me of the Jesse Stone movies with Tom Selleck, which I love.

I'm a big fan of John Lee as narrator, and as always he does not disappoint!

Will be continuing this audiobook series, especially the titles narrated by John Lee. The rest, I may just read.

this remains a favorite

I have read the hardback and listened to the audio book , it remains a favorite. I do not believe Silva has written a book that is less that excellent however I find myself listening to this one over and over.

great historical glimpses

wonderful narration of an excellent story. many difficult but important lessons from the holocaust. worthwhile.

Incredible ride

This story had so many twists and turns, not to mention ups and downs, I felt like I was on a roller coaster. The emotion of historical events and the need to rectify them came through clearly. Daniel Silva did an amazing job of telling this story, I felt as if I were a part of the scene. John Lee again performed brilliantly to bring this story to life.

Another great story, well done across the board

I love the characters and the writing style. The reader does a great job. I've enjoyed all the others books in this series and it really says all that needs to be said when I tell you I downloaded the next in the series right after finishing this one.

Love these books

This one concerns the Shoa and is beautifully done. Wounds are healed by Allon that he never knew existed. Only minor problem is narrator It's difficult to distinguish who's speaking at times because his accent - tone hardly changes from character to character. Still, an excellent book well worth a listen.

ANOTHER MASTERPIECE FOR GABRIEL ALLON

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It's full of non-stop action and suspense. Gabriel Allon is a compelling and intriguing character.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gabriel Allon is a complex art restorer who is also an assassin for "the office."

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

He did a commendable job with the various voices and accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes - and I almost did although it bit into my work time.

loved it

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