The Good Friday agreement that promised to bring peace to the embattled Protestants and Catholics of Northern Ireland is jeopardized by a new paramiltary group bent on destroying the truce. Michael Osbourne, the hero of Silva's previous thriller, The Mark of the Assassin, is rerecruited by the CIA when Douglas Cannon--his father-in-law, a former senator, and the new ambassador to the Court of St. James--is targeted for death by the Ulster Freedom Brigade. Osbourne has long since given up on the spying game and is reluctant to be drawn back into it again. Then he discovers that the Brigade has shopped the contract on Senator Cannon to October, the assassin who narrowly missed killing Osbourne a few years ago but succeeded in murdering the woman he once loved. It's a good setup for a political thriller, with nonstop action that moves from Belfast to Armagh, New York to Washington, London to Mykonos. What really notches up the suspense is the double-dealing in the corridors of power, particularly the CIA and a secret organization called the Society--a nasty assemblage of politicos, spymasters, arms merchants, and killers bent on destabilizing nascent peacemaking efforts all over the globe. Down but not out at the conclusion of Silva's latest, the Society and Osbourne will likely be back for a return engagement the next time warring factions attempt to beat their swords. In fact, as the director of the Society says in the last chapter, "The Kosovo Liberation Front would like our help: Gentlemen, we're back in business." --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
The title of Silva's new thriller (after Mark of the Assassin and The Unlikely Spy) refers to the time of the year in Northern Ireland when the Protestants assert their right to march in celebration of a 300-year-old victory over the Catholics?and the Catholics (naturally) object. The Irish background to this elaborately plotted but not very convincing yarn is by far the best part about it. Silva has clearly done his homework on Belfast and the tone of the contemporary Troubles, and the opening passages have an authentic ring. All too soon, however, the story becomes bogged down in one of those worldwide conspiracies to keep the world safe for arms merchants by blocking any efforts toward peace, of a kind only John le Carre, with his much more acute eye and ear for offbeat villains, can hope to bring off. There is a supposedly charismatic yet glum world-class assassin who bumps off the surgeon who has changed his face; an embittered ex-CIA man, Michael Osbourne, whose job is to save the free world; Osbourne's wife, who wishes he would leave the Agency alone, and various cynical and suave operatives on both sides. The whole tale is told in simple, declarative sentences that convey information (though not much else) with economy and authority, but ultimately become tedious. There are anomalies, too: a climactic shootout in Washington might work as a movie scene but sags on the page; and while such real-life figures as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams and (in a truly ludicrous scene) even Queen Elizabeth are given walk-ons, the American public figures are all mythical. Despite Silva's skill at moving a story along, this is basically a mechanical and lackluster performance. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Like all the folks who keep going back to Grade A steakhouses for hearty sirloin and baked potato, thriller readers will flock to Silva's latest because this is solid, reliable, and delicious nourishment for those whose daily diet is limited to blander selections. Silva, resurrecting the spy and assassin who were such fabulous hits in The Mark of the Assassin (LJ 5/15/98), now zooms in on the Irish Troubles. A hardcore group, supported by a shadowy entente determined to keep up the demand for arms and discord, has set itself firmly against the peace accords of 1998 and has enlisted Jean-Paul Delaroche to kill the U.S. ambassador to Ireland. The ambassador's son-in-law is Michael Osbourne, the ex-CIA spy who barely survived Delaroche's attack five years earlier and who must protect the ambassador. The suspensful chase features vicious passions, coolly determined women, and up-to-date realism. The settings in Ireland and elsewhere are nicely evoked. This is a sure bet for all public libraries, especially those with le Carre and Forsyth fans.-?Barbara Conaty, Lib. of CongressCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The New York Times Book Review, Edward Neuert
Silva is not a bad writer, and one wishes he had cut straight to his gritty, unnerving Irish scenes and dug deeper into the sod of Ulster...

From AudioFile
Three terrorist attacks in one day threaten Northern Ireland's peace talks. When his father-in-law, Douglas Cannon, is named ambassador to London, former CIA officer Michael Osbourne returns to the field to investigate. This abridgment favors narrative passages and interior monologue over dialogue. This gives Campbell Scott few chances to show vocal skills, but he finds dramatic opportunities inside the minds of Osbourne and his quarry, the assassin October. Extensive music highlights this production. In spots, it overpowers Scott's narration but is usually effective in conveying shifting mood or locale--introducing hints of Greek or Moroccan melodies as the action moves to those countries--and creating a cinematic feel. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Kirkus Reviews
The Troubles claim still another victim, as Silva's attempt to pull off the hat trick falls short of the success of his two earlier spy thrillers. Because they want to torpedo the Good Friday accords that they think will oust the British from Northern Ireland, Kyle Blake and his tiny, murderous Ulster Freedom Brigade (UFB) embark on a wholesale campaign of terrorism, bombing Irish and British landmarks on the same day they're executing a Sinn Fein notable. Because he's determined to let the UFB know he stands foursquare behind the accords, Prime Minister Tony Blair insists that the next US Ambassador to Britain be a person of substance. Because he can't resist the chance to make history once more, retired Senator Douglas Cannon agrees to accept the posting. Because he's worried about his father-in-law's safety, and because he's offered another chance to go after October, the hired assassin who narrowly eluded him in The Mark of the Assassin (1998) and may be involved once again here, ex-CIA agent Michael Osbourne comes back to the Agency to assess counterterrorist measures in London and ends up in the middle of the inevitable UFB attempt on Cannon's life. All this may sound vaguely familiar, since even real-life Yanks like George Mitchell have taken such major roles in recent Northern Irish history. But when Cannon survives the attempt to return to Washington with Osbourne in tow, stealthily pursued by October and escaped UFB intelligence chief Rebecca Wells, the scent of Tom Clancy's Patriot Games becomes overpowering. Sadly, Silva's biggest innovation, the international franchise of diplomats and arms dealers designed to foment worldwide unrest and integrate the New World Order flare-ups that keep Osbourne in business, is the weakest aspect of this rousing but otherwise familiar tale. What survives is a sure hand with the larger picture, some movie-tense action sequences, a hero worth rooting forand a few lucky members of the supporting cast. (Book-of-the-Month selection; author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Each plot-twisting segment is marked by almost unbearable tension. . . . Silva's unsmiling prose urges you on like a silencer poking at the small of your back."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Daniel Silva has a clear knowledge of his subject matter and an instinctive knack for gripping plots."
--USA Today

"[A] TOM CLANCY-ESQUE THRILLER."
--USA Today

"INGENIOUS."
--The Washington Post

SILVA IS A "SPY-FICTION ACE."
--People

"FASCINATING . . . A NOVEL OF PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS . . . The relationship between Osbourne and October is rich in detail and complexity."
--The Orlando Sentinel


From the Paperback edition.

Book Description
The New York Times Bestseller by the author of The Confessor.

When the Good Friday peace accords are shattered by three savage acts of terrorism, Northern Ireland is blown back into the depths of conflict. And after his father-in-law is nominated to become the new American ambassador to London, retired CIA agent Michael Osbourne is drawn back into the game. He soon discovers that his father-in-law is marked for execution. And that he himself is once again in the crosshairs of a killer known as October, one of the most merciless assassins the world has ever known...

FROM OUR EDITORS

Daniel Silva is synonymous with high-stakes international thrillers in the best tradition of Robert Ludlum and David Morrell. The Marching Season is a pulse-pounding follow-up to The Mark of the Assassin and marks the return of stellar CIA agent Michael Osbourne.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Retired CIA officer Michael Osbourne, the hero of The Mark of the Assassin, is lured back to the Agency after his father-in-law, former U.S. Senator Douglas Cannon, is nominated to be the new American ambassador to London. When Michael discovers that the Protestant gunmen have marked Cannon for execution, he sets in motion a deadly contest of wits and deception that will determine whether the peace in Northern Ireland will survive and whether his father-in-law lives or dies. What Michael Osbourne does not realize is that he is a pawn in a much larger game. Once again, his destiny is controlled by the Society, a secret order that uses its power and influence to foster global unrest for financial gain. And once again, he is pitted against his personal bete noire, Jean-Paul Delaroche, the world's most dangerous assassin, who slipped through Michael's fingers at the climax of The Mark of the Assassin.

FROM THE CRITICS

Entertainment Weekly

The Marching Season creates an almost unbearable tension....Silva urges you on like a silencer poking at the small of your back.

USA Today

[A] Tom Clancy-esque thriller...Briskly paced.

San Francisco Chronicle

Daniel Silva keeps the double-crosses moving at a frenzied clip.

Edward Neuert

...[O]ne wishes he had cut straight to his grittyunnerving Irish scenes and dug deeper into the sod of Ulxsterwhere everything is green and bleak... —The New York Times Book Review

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