London Twist

A Delilah Novella

By: Barry Eisler

Narrated by: Barry Eisler

Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

For Delilah, the Mossad's top seductress, the parameters of the assignment were routine. The contractor: MI6. The objective: infiltrate a terror network, this one operating out of London. The stakes: a series of poison gas attacks on civilian population centers.There's just one wrinkle. The target is a woman - as smart, beautiful, and committed as Delilah herself. And for a cynical operative thrust suddenly out of her element, the twists and turns of the spy game are nowhere near as dangerous as the secrets and desires of the human heart.

©2013 Barry Eisler (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Good Short Listen

Enjoyed this short story about Delilah from her perspective. In this listen she is in London on assignment, but this time it's to befriend a woman as opposed to a relationship with a man.
During the assignment and afterward she struggles with decisions she had to make and the consequences.

Can't believe I have read them all!

I enjoyed having a short story for a change. It was no less enjoyable for that reason though. I guess I have become addicted to his characters after this many books in a row. Like all the rest I could not I put it down.

I have now read all his books!

cant wait for the new one. i read this one out of order because I thought I wouldn't like a short story just about Delilah. I was totally wrong. It was so great to get a little more insight into who Delilah is as a person. As for the sex scene that other reviewers have mentioned, yes, there is a graphic scene between 2 women but it's only one chapter. and it is written quite well -- way to go Barry!

London Twist

I love Barry Eisler books. He's also one of my favorite narrator's. Can't wait to start a new book.

Enjoyed it

very well done. narration and story was great a bit short but to the point

Stellar, sultry spy craft

This novella occurs shortly after the Paris is a B**ch novella. It isn’t necessary to listen to it, or the main John Rain series, but I feel like the other novella provides extra dimension for Delilah. And, although this book recaps what happened in Paris, I was glad to have listened to it first, if only for the high octane killer vs killer fight scenes.

The biggest downside is the lack of characters from his other series (try The Killer Collective if you want an ensemble cast of engaging killers, Delilah included). The minor downside is less action and more mind games (but I found those games absorbing). The last “downside” is really just a quirk: the author habitually uses “turtling” during action scenes (happened at least once in this) and “adrenaline” dumps
(a couple of times in this novella).

Overall, however, I found this novella to be one of his better stories for a few reasons:
- The spy craft is credibly and engagingly explained. Usually that sort of thing bores me, but here, I was fascinated by the rationale for casing rooms, adopting personas, and playing mind games with folks.
- Many of his plots revolve around trafficking and other abuse of women/children, and that can feel too personal and raw. Although still powerful, the terrorism plot and focus on Muslim culture was
a welcome change.
- Delilah may use her feminine wiles, but her greater weapon is her mind. She is a force to be reckoned with and I appreciate the deeper dive into her character.
- Ironically, of the various bedroom scenes in his books, it’s this one with two women that I found the best written. It is detailed, but very well done and completely necessary to make the storyline work. And, as soon as you get to the kiss, you can easily FF to the next chapter if that’s not your thing.

A fresh perspective!

Having read a couple of John Rain books, it was wonderful to read a story - albeit a novella, not a novel - from the perspective of Delilah. She is an intriguing character with nuances of her own!

This book can be read (or listened to) without being familiar with the universe, but I can't deny it's nice knowing the background of some characters and getting some of the references.

I enjoyed this novella

I very much enjoyed this book. I think very Eisler should write more about the Delilah character. I think this would be and enjoyable extension of the whole story line that has been created here.

good story bit niave

the writer did a good job very nice story. The writer made one side competent other side inept.

Eisler continues to have new and different plots

Too often the hero or heroin is the same but with different names. The same plots are repeated as well. This continues the "no two alike" that Eisler produces.