Rating: 
Summary: A STELLAR VOICE PERFORMANCE
Review:
Although a scion of Hollywood's famed Goldwyn family, Tony Goldwyn has very much made it on his own as producer, director, and actor. As producer he brought us "A Walk On The Moon" (1999); as director he gave us "Someone Like You" (2001). His acting credits are extensive with TV appearances running the gamut from "Frasier" to "L.A. Law." He voiced the title character for Disney's "Tarzan." All who heard know he is a voice performer par excellence, and this is evidenced once again in his reading of Silva's latest.
International suspense is Daniel Silva's milieu, and strongly imagined characters only one of his strengths. He has been compared to the masterful John le Carre, and rightly so. "A Death In Vienna" is related to two of his earlier works, "The English Assassin" and "The Confessor." For pure pleasure and a greater appreciation read or listen to all three.
This time out an art restorer who doubles as a spy, Gabriel Allon, is summoned to Vienna where an old friend has died in a bombing. His task is to ferret out the truth behind this death. As clues lead to a man now living in Vienna, the search takes on new meaning for Allon as he reads his mother's account of her days in a concentration camp: "I will not tell all the things I saw. I cannot. I owe this much to the dead." - Testimony of Irene Allon, March 19, 1957.
Not only may this man be responsible for his friend's death, but may also have tried to kill Allon's mother. Shadows of the Holocaust fall on this elegantly wrought tale of suspense.
- Gail Cooke
Rating: 
Summary: On the trail of a Nazi war criminal.
Review: "A Death in Vienna" is Daniel Silva's third novel about how the horrors of the Holocaust reach into the present. Gabriel Allon is a former Israeli spy who now works as an art restoration expert in Venice. His old boss from the Israeli Intelligence Service, Ari Shamron, appears one day with devastating news about an explosion in Vienna. Gabriel is not anxious to go back to the city where his wife and son had been victims of a car bomb in 1991. However, Shamron persuades him to return to this "forbidden city" to investigate the bombing of the Wartime Claims and Inquiries Office, which left two young women dead and an old friend, Eli Lavon, in a coma. Gabriel soon learns that a man named Max Klein had set the events in motion that may have led to the bombing. Klein had once been a violinist in the Auschwitz camp orchestra and he had a particularly vivid memory of a Nazi named Erich Radek. In front of Klein, Radek once killed fifteen concentration camp prisoners in cold blood when they could not correctly identify a musical piece by Brahms. Many years later, Klein spots this same war criminal placidly having coffee in a Viennese café, and he reports what he has seen to Eli Lavon, who then begins to make the inquiries that almost cost him his life. Gabriel's investigation leads him to make some horrifying discoveries, the most painful one being the heart-rending story of his mother's two years of hell as an inmate of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Silva writes with great feeling about the harrowing events of the Holocaust and the culpability of those who helped the Nazis escape punishment after the war ended. In addition, Silva convincingly makes the point that radical right-wing political parties still pose a serious threat around the world, and that we must do everything in our power to protect our civil liberties in the face of these extremists. "A Death in Vienna" is fast-paced, compelling, and filled with intriguing twists and turns. It is a worthy, well-researched, and thought-provoking conclusion to Silva's excellent trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful Thriller
Review: "A Death in Vienna" is the kind of book Frederick Forsythe used to write. This tightly written thriller recalls the best elements of Forsythe's 'Oddessa File.' in which the sins of the Holocaust are recalled in the framework of hunting down a suspected Nazi war criminal. Silva manages to convey the horror of the Holocaust without being preachy, and has come up with a page-turning globe-trotting novel with a strong heart, plenty of action, and a compelling cast.
Silva's writing keeps getting better and better.
Rating:
Summary: If only it were true . . .
Review: A bomb explodes in the Vienna office of a hunter of German war criminals.Thus is "art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon" drawn into a search for a repulsive former German officer, sadist, torturer and killer.
If the story weren't based on an actual human disaster of massive magnitude, it would be more enjoyable. Instead, to be reminded of the millions cold-bloodedly murdered by the German nation and its allies is depressing.
But Silva writes a suspense filled novel of Allon's search. The characters are richly human. They are not supermen; they are humans seeking justice in an unjust world. Even for crimes that happened a half-century, their passion to seek justice for the dead drives them to put their own lives at risk.
Silva's plot never stops or falters. The action keeps pushing ahead, though the reader might find a need to take a break from the recounting of the gruesome deeds being avenged.
The knowledge that the background events Silva weaves into his story are, as noted, not the kind of things most people want to think about. But Silva tells a story of long-delayed justice that we can all hope - or wish - takes place in venues outside of fiction. Jerry
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Addition to the Libraries of Thriller Fans
Review: A deadly bomb goes off in the Wartime Claims and Inquiries office in Vienna. Two people end up in the morgue, one man in Intensive Care. The incident brings art restorer Mario Delvecchio away from his work in Venice to investigate who is behind it. There, he resumes his activities as Gabriel Allon, master Israeli spy (first introduced in THE KILL ARTIST). He wants to find whoever is responsible for the attack as much as his mentor/master, Shamron, and the rest of his Mossad colleagues, especially when he realizes that the man in the hospital is an old and dear friend. Gabriel begins a careful scrutiny of the past, which sends ripples throughout central Europe --- indeed, across several continents. In the course of working to solve who is behind the bombing, he encounters an old man whose picture (at least) he knows he has seen before --- an old man who evokes terrible memories and whose past is linked to the Nazi death camps. It becomes Gabriel's mission to bring this man to justice, as much for personal reasons as to balance the scales for the murdered and maimed of the camps. Despite Gabriel's near-impossible travel schedule and his encounters with a seemingly bottomless cast of characters, Daniel Silva's latest work reads quickly. The sheer number of characters (several with at least one alias) seemed cumbersome at times, but the pace remained lively. Even the flashback to the Nazi roundup of hundreds of thousands of Jews --- recounted through the testimony of one courageous woman who miraculously survived --- at first seemed to be a distracting side trip, but actually stepped up the story's flow. Silva does not sugarcoat these horrible times in our world's history. The agony and inhumanity pulse on every page. It's a story that needs to be told so they are not forgotten. And now, with A DEATH IN VIENNA, the last in the Holocaust series, Silva has done just that, completing the circle he began in THE CONFESSOR and THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN. Taken together or as stand-alone novels, they are worthy additions to the libraries of thriller fans everywhere. --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps the first stumble by the best thriller writer
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A STELLAR VOICE PERFORMANCE
Review: Although a scion of Hollywood's famed Goldwyn family, Tony Goldwyn has very much made it on his own as producer, director, and actor. As producer he brought us "A Walk On The Moon" (1999); as director he gave us "Someone Like You" (2001). His acting credits are extensive with TV appearances running the gamut from "Frasier" to "L.A. Law." He voiced the title character for Disney's "Tarzan." All who heard know he is a voice performer par excellence, and this is evidenced once again in his reading of Silva's latest.
International suspense is Daniel Silva's milieu, and strongly imagined characters only one of his strengths. He has been compared to the masterful John le Carre, and rightly so. "A Death In Vienna" is related to two of his earlier works, "The English Assassin" and "The Confessor." For pure pleasure and a greater appreciation read or listen to all three. This time out an art restorer who doubles as a spy, Gabriel Allon, is summoned to Vienna where an old friend has died in a bombing. His task is to ferret out the truth behind this death. As clues lead to a man now living in Vienna, the search takes on new meaning for Allon as he reads his mother's account of her days in a concentration camp: "I will not tell all the things I saw. I cannot. I owe this much to the dead." - Testimony of Irene Allon, March 19, 1957. Not only may this man be responsible for his friend's death, but may also have tried to kill Allon's mother. Shadows of the Holocaust fall on this elegantly wrought tale of suspense. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: A Moving Finish to the Trilogy
Review: As Silva himself puts it, this book and it's two predecessors in the series, deal with "the unfinished business of the Holocost."
The trilogy starts with "The English Assassin" as he tells of the Nazi art looting and the collaberation of the Swiss banks in that endeavor. He then moved on to the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church and the silence of Pope Pius XII during that time in "The Confessor." This book deals with those who were directly involved, what they did, how they tried to cover it up and how they tried to live among us. It starts in Vienna when an organization known as "Wartime Claims and Inquiries" is bombed, resulting in two deaths and life threatening injuries to Eli Lavon, the person who has singlehandedly run the operation in search of those responsible for the Holocost. Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and a covert operative for Israel is tasked to go to Vienna in determine who is responsible. Vienna holds many memories for Allon, most of them bad and this trip only adds to them. Daniel Silva is a master at this type of story which is like eating an artichoke as one peels off the leaves and savors them in order to get to the center. Along the way the reader learns more about the horrors of the Holocost and the elaborate efforts by many to conceal thei involvement and become a force in society again. Daniel Siva is a serious writer and the subject matter he has chosen lends itself to his abilities. It is not necessary to have read the first two books in the series, but you will appreciate this one more if you do. As individual stories they are remarkable. Taken together they are a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Another exciting read!! Silva does not disappoint.
Review: Cruised through this book over the last two days while I was home from work with the flu. As with its predecessors in the Gabriel Allon series "A Death in Vienna" is a sleekly paced, well-written thriller centered around the resonance of the Holocaust in today's international climate. Silva's writing owes more to the style of Frederick Forsyth than Robert Ludlum (who, incidentally, happens to be my all time favorite) with deeper characterization and less overt action. There are no superfluous storylines a la some of Clive Cussler's (another personal favorite) recent works. In fact, I have to admit that of all the books I have read in the last six months "Vienna" and Forsyth's "Avenger" would have to rank higher as far as enjoyability than the more anticipated "Tristan Betrayal" and "Trojan Odyssey".
For those of you out there looking for a new author; give Daniel Silva a try. I cannot imagine that you would find yourself disappointed.
As for my fellow Silva fans, we can only wonder what his next novel will hold: more adventures of Allon, the return of Michael Osbourne, or something totally new??? It's going to be a long year.....
Rating:
Summary: Holocaust justice
Review: Daniel Silva in his excellent and compelling novel "A Death in Vienna" resurrects his fascinating character, world renowned art restorer and sometimes Israeli secret agent Gabriel Allon. At the behest of his former boss, legendary Israeli spymaster Ari Shamron, Allon travels to Vienna to investigate an explosion in the Office of Wartime Claims. A former colleague Eli Lavon was seriously injured and two young office girls were killed in the blast. Foul play is suspected. Vienna holds only unpleasant memories for Allon as that is precisely where his young son was killed and wife maimed in a car bomb meant for him. Visiting his comatose friend Lavon in the hospital Allon meets an old man and Holocaust survivor Max Klein there. Klein had accidently encountered a wealthy, distinguished Austrian man in a cafe and recognized him as a notorious high ranking Nazi officer in Auschwitz. He reported this to Lavon who assured him that he'd investigate. The man named Ludwig Vogel, a wealthy indusrialist is presently financing the campaign for chancellor of Austria of Peter Metzler. Allon soon learns that Vogel is actually Erich Radek, a Nazi war criminal responsible for numerous atrocities during Hitler's Final Solution. He surprisingly discovers that Radek, is part of the recollections of his mother Irene, also a mentally tortured Holocaust survivor. Allon has all the motivation he needs to bring Radek's involvement to the surface and sets out to accomplish exactly that. Along the way. unforeseen stumbling blocks impede his progress. Silva is his continuing passionate saga of Gabriel Allon using the Holocaust as a backdrop, again proves his undeniably superior writing talent. He again fashioned a piece that was impossible to put down.
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