Rating: 
Summary: Silva's Best
Review: I look forward to Daniel Silva's latest book each spring. I've never been disappointed. The Unlikely Spy is his first, and best. He develops both plot and characters, and paints the setting of WWII and London magnificantly. I've enjoyed each addition to Silva's work, but I'll always consider this his best. I've looked for similar works by other authors, but none have measured up.
Rating: 
Summary: What??? What was this all about?
Review: This seemed like a great novel till I got to the end. I don't want to give away anything about the conclusion, but I felt like I had been had, by the way this story wrapped up in the last few pages. I wondered a quite a bit about the sense (or senselessness?) of the whole plot for quite a few hours after I was done reading this novel. Mr. Silva has certainly written far better works than this...
Rating: 
Summary: Why not Minot?
Review: Roger Rees' audiocassette performance of Daniel Silva's World War II European espionage thriller is a captivating driving companion. The opposite of "Are we there Yet?" it made me sad to reach my destination: "Wait! I can't be there yet! The story's not over! Maybe I should skip Fargo and go on to Minot! " Rees adds fine voicing, convincing accents, and exceptional pacing to Silva's addictively complicated web of deceit woven around the Allied D-Day invasion. Good Show all around!
Rating:
Summary: Not a New Story
Review: I am amassed that the author could take this story line and get any new mileage out of it. As a matter of fact, from reading the dust jacket I though maybe another very similar book had just been re-titled, but becuase of all the good press I went ahead and picked it up. Sure we have some well used characters but the author does a good job of making you familiar with them. He keeps the story moving, the one thing I have noticed is that when author take on one of these time tested plots, they try to make it unique with either a completely unbelievable story line, they bog the book down with endless and un-need subplots, or they concentrate on some much character development they almost become biographies of a fictional person. This author does not do that. He wrote a tight, well constructed story that keeps you interested through the full book. I also read a lot of World War Two non-fiction and the author does a very good job with the details. Overall this is a very enjoyable book that is worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: The Spy Retains Her Mystery, and His, and His
Review: I was so taken with getting an early copy of The English Assassin that I went back and re-read the Unlikely Spy. Wow! It really does retain its pace, its sting, its sense of loss over almost every death and the drive of real emergency: do not count the cost, only see if there is still enough credit in the cosmic credit card to let you go on. It is really a smashing book, and its quality does not change even though you have been given a glimpse of the real twists and turns of the Body Guard of Lies.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Its Kind
Review: This book is a classic, full of great story telling, wonderful characters and a true sense of WW2 England. Daniel Silva, thank you and please keep writing. Looking through your reviews I understand why you have so many fans!
Rating:
Summary: Unfolding layers of complexity
Review: This is an excellent example of its genre. The book begins slowly, with the introduction of numerous characters, but picks up pace throughout until you can't turn the pages fast enough. The characters are 3-dimensional and the relationships between them interesting enough to make you care what happens to them.
Rating:
Summary: Captures the Essence of Wheels within Wheels
Review:
Together with "Enigma" and "The Black Tulip" by Milt Bearden, and of course the George Smiley series by John Le Carre, this is one of my few really recommended fictional accounts related to espionage.
The art of lying to one's own people, at multiple levels of duplicity, some venal, much of it unnecessary, has helped to mystify, confuse, and sometimes glorify the intelligence profession.
As an intelligence professional myself, I will simply say that this is one of my top six and that it would not be called fiction if it did not depart for the pure realities as much as it does. This book captures the "essence" of duplicity within government in a time of war, and I find the whole book absolutely captivating and worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Spy Novel.....
Review: The Unlikely Spy was a classic WWI spy novel. It was a fast-paced, enjoyable read from the very beginning -- a true page turner that was difficult to put down. The story was set in the UK prior to the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. It was a time that the Allies truly needed to keep their plans secret and the Nazis desperately wanted to know the details of the inevitable invasion. Hence a truly plausible story with a solid cast of characters -- some real and some fictional. The story provides the reader with action, excitement, intrigue, and frequent plot twists. Chances are that once you start his book, you will want to read it in big chunks.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Novel of Espionage and D-Day
Review: It is 1944, and the Allied invasion of France is approaching. In England, Catherine Blake is the respected widow of an RAF pilot. She is also a German spy, trying desperately to find the location of the invasion. Her enemy is Alfred Vicary, a former history professor and seeming bumbler, but he is brighter than he seems, and he runs counterintelligence operations. Blake seems to have all the smarts to leave Vicary in the dust, but it's like the hare and the tortoise. Suspense builds as the tale progresses and the stakes become ever-higher. It's a thoroughly-enjoyable story.
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