Rating: 
Summary: BEST SILVA BOOK YET! !!
Review: I have been a fan from the start but no question this is his BEST book yet! The characters jump off the page and you can not put it down! I loved the intrigue of the Vatican and that fact that it was still respectful! Thank you Daniel Silva for another wonderful read, I was up all night! Cant wait for the next one!
A fan in NYC!
Rating: 
Summary: Strong plotting, poor backgorund research
Review: By the way he writes, Mr Silva is following the footsteps of acclaimed international top notch thriller writers like (i.e) Federick Forsyth.The Confessor exhibits a polished prose, good plotting, satisfactory outline of characters, and employment of resources to grab the reader attention The core of this story is the willingness of the new elected Pope Paul the VII to release secluded key information and documents to prove the Church silence and Vatican-Nazi links during the Holocaust of the Jews at the time of the Second World War. The new Pope also wants to follow a policy intended to foster better relationship with the Jews and the first step of his project is to go and visit the Great Synagogue of Rome on the other side of the city, however his efforts will be confronted by the conspiracy of an influential inside Catholic sect called "Crux Vera" adamant to maintain the status quo so as not to undermine the world political power of the Church, the reader is then presented with two antagonist factions from beginning to end To carry out his idea, Silva resorts to alluring elements typical of this type of novels, the Israeli Spy Agency Mossad, the evil maneuvers of the Priests of the Vatican Curia, first class murderers and terrorists for hire, etc And here comes the weak point (the missing star), if you dare to include in a novel powerful spy features like the Vatican and the Mossad that means you are playing heavyweight, and the only way to exploit them efficiently is long serious background research, something I have never noticed Lack of research is manifest since most chapters are short when the first half of them should have been devoted to detail the exploits of the research and the last half to tell related actions and events or even they could be mixed up, that would have rendered a longer fruitful captivating story If Mr Silva makes the big effort to include more enlightening research in his work, he will become a top international thriller, good research is his missing link up to date
Rating: 
Summary: Not Silva's Best
Review: The first Daniel Silva book I ever read was Mark of the Assassin, and unfortunately my opinion of his books has gone steadily downhill ever since. Perhaps I'm just expecting too much from the man, but Mark of the Assassin had interesting characters, a well-paced plot, and a steady stream of action. The other books I've read by him all fall flat in comparison. The plots seem hackneyed or totally unrealistic, there are too many long, boring passages, and the endings completely fall apart in a way that I can't believe any reader could possibly be satisfied with. Others have written good reviews for this book so obviously my opinion isn't shared by all, but Silva is dangerously close to following in the footsteps of John Le Carre' by writing books that strive to be so realistic that they end up being boring. If I want 100-percent realism, I'll read a non-fiction book. When I read a spy thriller I expect a moderate amount of escapism, at least enough to keep me excited while turning the pages. For me to keep buying Silva's novels, he'll need to do a far better job than he's done over his past 3 or 4 books.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Move over Dan Brown. I have read all of Silva's books and Dan Brown's books and prefers Browns. This book in paticular. The characters are entralling, the plat moves fast, and I love the history. I recommend this series to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: For Da Vinci Code fans
Review: I read this book, about 6 months after i read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I think this is important to note as many people have compared these two books, and many copies in Australia are now sold with a sticker on it put there by the publishers that says "Better than Dan Brown or your money back".
While I know that this book was written before all the Da Vinci Code hype, I have the distinct feeling that this has become an overdone genre of sorts. If you have read books such as the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, the Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco) or the Rule of Four, then chances are you are going to have a very easy time, like me predicting what will happen in the plot of the book.
Examining this book with out its context of other simular titles, i must say that there were too many characters and that the characterization itself was not as good as it could have been.
So if you are addicted to the church conspiracy books, then you may love this one, but if you are, like me rather sick of the genre, then this one is not worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Superb thriller, one of the best.
Review: What if the Roman Catholic Church made a pact with Hitler and Nazis dirung WWII about Jews and Nazis role in their extermination. This is the story for this superb thriller, which is one of the best in its kind written in some time. Highly recommended, one of Silva's best books.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Old Fashioned Thriller
Review: Don't read too much into this book. It's an old-fashioned thriller that is difficult to put down. The premise: has a secret Catholic organization killed two priests, a nun, and a researcher? And if so, why? There are car chases, shootouts, international conspiracies, guilty secrets. The writing is pleasant and concise. The characters are somewhat stereotypical, but who cares? I couldn't put it down during a recent trip that included a 6-hour layover.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, If Not A Little Over-exaggerated
Review: Having never heard of Silva, it was the subject matter-that of Mossad intrigue coupled with vatican politics-which got me reading this novel. Written in a highly readable manner, it has just the right amount of history woven into all the espionage.
I found the plot a little too incredible for my liking. Fictional characters are meant to be larger than life, of course. But I think Silva may have overdone things slightly. A Secretary of State that orders a hit on his pope? When the plot becomes too incredulous, it somehow loses its grip on the reader. He no longer yearns to finish the book, since anything, no matter how improbable, can happen.
Still, I found the novel pretty engaging on the whole, and particularly enjoyed the historical bits. It piques my interest enough to want to read The English Assassin and A Death In Vienna.
Rating:
Summary: Oustanding Novel, Silva is better every time
Review: From my favorite writers, Silva is the one I'm sure will never dissapointe. When others write consecutive novels in short time, usually you find one or two that are not that good. I've been to the places described by Silva in the book, some of them I went to see after reading the book. The description of the places really gives you the very clear picture of how they look like. Daniel is really a master, I wish I could write like that.
Rating:
Summary: Missing the detail and depth of a great thriller
Review: This is my second Silva book, after the captivating "Unlikely Spy", and I enjoyed it, although it wasn't as good as it could have been. The book revolves around the death of Benjaman Stern, a jewish professor investigating the Catholic church's reaction to the Nazis and the Holecaust.
Gabriel Allon is the art restorer/Mossad agent who begins the investigation and slowly picks up clues along the way. He avoids assasins, has shootouts with Italian police and slowly makes his way to the truth about the Catholic Church.
At times, the characters seem remote and distant and therefore the novel is hard to get into.
The novel does delve somewhat into the inner workings of the Catholic Church. This subject was covered much better in Dan Brown's popular "Angels and Demons."
I enjoyed "The Unlikely Spy" immensely but was only moderately impressed with this book.
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