The Mark of the Assassin

I read every single book in Mr. Silva's "Gabriel Allon" series and loved them all. Yet for some reason I didn't get around to reading the Michael Osborne series until afterwards. Given that history, this book was for me a pretty crazy experience - and quite enjoyable. Without giving away any of the plot details, "The Mark of the Assassin" features many of the same characters who will play significant roles later in the Allon series. The weird twist however is that in some cases, even though they have the same names, their personalities, motivations and histories are dramatically different from how they are in the Allon series. I can only conclude the Michael Osborne series is something of a trial run. Reading this book, which itself is quite absorbing, its fun to see how Mr. Silva got his writing style and plot structure down before embarking on the longer Gabriell Allon series!

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.

My first book by Daniel Silva and it was great. I couldn't put the book down. I was actually disappointed when it was over. The ending was great. To sum it up.. the book was great!

A good friend introduced me to Daniel Silva with his first book, The Unlikely Spy. While that was a fictionalized account of how the Allies deceived Hitler as to the location of the D Day landing, this is pure fiction. Or is it? A CIA operative who has a strong moral code and a highly competent professional assassin who serves a secret group made up of the worlds movers and shakers are destined throughout the pages of the book to end up in a confrontation that ends up raising more questions than it settles. Entertaining writing, fast paced action, believable characters and enough allusion to actual people or events to keep you wondering where the fiction blends with the present day. It's a dangerous world out there; especially if you are letting Daniel Silva describe it to you.

Dont miss this book. It is fabulous

Mark of the Assassin is well worth reading, you cannot put it down. The sequel Marching Season is just as good. I can't wait for the next book with Michael Osborne as the central player.