The Fallen Angel

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva   405 pp.

The bad thing about finding a series that you really like is waiting for the next book to come out. I waited impatiently for the arrival of this latest book in the Gabriel Allon series and, as soon as it arrived I devoured it. Now I am once again in a state of waiting for publication of the next book. The fallen angel of the title refers to a member of the Vatican staff who falls to her death from the gallery of the Basilica. The supposedly retired Mossad assassin, Allon, has returned to art restoration and is working for the Vatican when the death occurs. Charged with finding the killer by the Pope's secretary, Msgr. Donati, Allon abandons the Caravaggio painting he is restoring and sets out to discover the truth. But this is no simple murder. Once again Allon is pulled into the work of "The Office" and reassembles his old team who seem like old friends to the fans of the series. The story goes from a murder mystery to one of money laundering, terrorism, and a plot that could destroy Israel and kill thousands of people. Once again, Silva has written a finely crafted thriller with enough twists to keep the reader riveted. Please hurry and finish the next book, Mr. Silva.

Portrait of a Spy

Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva  455 pp.

What a wonderful way to spend a weekend, sitting on a shaded deck, overlooking a lake, and reading the latest in the Gabriel Allon series. This time, because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Gabriel is pulled out of retirement and away from the Titian he is restoring, into an operation to eliminate the mastermind behind several coordinated terrorist bombings. They manage to enlist the assistance of Nadia al-Bakiri, whose father, "Zizi," was assassinated by Allon in a previous book. Allon and Israeli Intelligence are also at odds with U.S. Homeland Security and the CIA when the Americans insist on running the show after the initial dangerous work had been done. Then, after they have garnered accolades for their success, they once again give the final deadly operation back to the Israelis. Once again, Allon is joined by the cast of characters that have become old friends to the loyal readers of this series: the inimitable Ari Shamron, Uzi Navot, Eli Lavon, Dina, Sarah Bancroft, and Allon's beautiful wife, Chiarra. I enjoy this series because it is meticulously researched and based somewhat on actual events and people. Alas, I must now wait for the next installment. Write faster, Mr. Silva.

The Defector

The Defector by Daniel Silva  469 pp.

I have to say this was probably my least favorite of the Gabriel Allon series. It's a continuation of the storyline begun in Moscow Rules. Allon and his bride, Chiara, are back in Umbria where Gabriel is once again restoring a famous painting. His idyllic stay there is interrupted when word that the defector Grigori Bulganov, who helped Allon escape in the previous book, has been abducted. British Intelligence believe that Bulganov has redefected back to Russia. Allon knows that is not possible and he promised Bulganov that he would not "end up in an unmarked grave" and so he sets out to find him. Once again the evil Ivan Kharkov is the force behind the crimes and Chiara is also abducted. Kharkov wants his children (now living in hiding with his ex-wife) returned to him. In return he says he will let Allon have his wife back.

I'm now Allon-less until Silva's new book comes out in July.

A Death in Vienna

A Death of Vienna by Daniel Silva  403 pp.

Another in the Gabriel Allon series that I'm hooked on. This episode is the last of the cycle of novels where Allon is dealing with unfinished business from the Holocaust. The first, The English Assassin, dealt with the Nazi looting of art treasures and the Swiss banks that hid them. The Confessor, is about the role of the Catholic Church in WWII and Pope Pius XII's silence. In this book, Allon investigates a bombing in Vienna that seriously injures his friend and sometime fellow agent, Eli Lavon. In the process he uncovers the existence of a former Nazi SD officer charged with hiding the deaths of millions in the death camps. When Allon comes face to face with Radek the familiarity of the man leads him to discover that Sturmbahnführer Erich Radek had nearly killed Irene Allon, Gabriel's mother, who had survived the Birkenau death march. While Allon searches for a way to get Radek, Radek is trying to eliminate Allon by hiring a the same hired killer that bombed Lavon's office. As the author said in his notes at the end of the book, this was loosely based on actual events, including the fact that the CIA used former Nazis in an anti-USSR intelligence network.

The Messenger

The Messenger by Daniel Silva  338 pp.

I'm still hooked on the Gabriel Allon series. After a devastating attack on the Vatican which leaves St. Peter's in ruins, the Pope injured, several cardinals dead, and hundreds of others dead and injured and a separate attack on "The Office" head, Ari Shamron, Allon and his team of Mossad agents must try to put a stop to the financing of Al-Qaeda terrorism by wealthy Saudi industrialist, Abdul Aziz al-Bakari aka "Zizi." With the help of the CIA they enlist the help of beautiful, museum curator, Sarah Bancroft, who is given a crash course in the art of espionage. Using an unknown and priceless Van Gogh portrait (on loan from a wealthy Jewish woman) and the beautiful Sarah as bait, they manage to infiltrate Zizi's highly secure world. When their plans go sour they have to find a way to rescue Sarah before she is killed by Zizi's henchmen. In my opinion, this is one of the better novels in this series.

Prince of Fire

Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva  369 pp.

This is the fourth book in the series about master art restorer, spy, and assassin, Gabriel Allon (and the 6th that I've read). In this novel Allon must abandon restoration of a Bellini masterpiece in Vienna after the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Rome. He is charged with finding and killing the mastermind of the attack, a member of a family with a long history of deadly attacks against Israeli citizens and the government of Israel. Allon himself is being hunted after his true identity and that of his lover, Chiara, is compromised. Silva has created memorable characters in Allon, his aged, curmudgeonly boss, Ari Shamron, and others who make recurring appearances in the series. The amount of research done by the author into the difficult relationship between the Israel and the Palestinians shows in the craftsmanship of his storytelling. 

The Secret Servant

The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva  385 pp.

Another in the Gabriel Allon series, this time involving the kidnapping of Dr. Elizabeth Halton, daughter of the American Ambassador to the Court of St. James, by Egyptian terrorists. Allon is sent to Amsterdam to purge the files of a murdered terror analyst. In the process he uncovers a plot involving an Egyptian terrorist group called The Sword of Allah. Synchronized bombings take place at various European locales. Allon is just seconds too late to stop the kidnapping but manages to kill or seriously wound some of the terrorists. The combined forces of the Israelis, Americans, and British and a former member of the terrorist cell join in the desperate search to save the woman.The final result leaves Allon questioning his trade and may leave him dead.

Silva is a master storyteller and researches his subjects in great detail. Even though it is fiction, many details about the Mubarek regime in Egypt and the instability there are based on fact. I have to admit, it made me very nervous about the current situation there.

The English Assassin

The English Assassin by Daniel Silva  386 pp.

This book is the second in the series featuring art restorer and Mossad agent & assassin, Gabriel Allon. After being given an art restoration assignment in Switzerland, Allon arrives to find the owner of the painting, Swiss banker named Wolfe, lying dead in a pool of blood. This begins a tale that criss-crosses Europe as Allon investigates connection between Swiss banks and art works stolen by the Nazis, many from Jews who were sent to the gas chamber.  During the course of the investigation, Allon's sources of information are killed off one by one and he is being stalked by a former British military officer turned assassin--an assassin who had been trained by Allon years earlier. Allon also must protect Wolfe's daughter, a concert violinist, who is also on the hit list. In spite of all the beatings, killings, kidnappings, and illegal activity the ones who come off looking bad in this book are the Swiss. Silva did a lot of research into the shady WWII activities of the supposedly neutral country and the Swiss belief that if they did anything wrong it doesn't matter because it was so long ago. 

After reading this book, it makes me glad my husband's Swiss ancestors were farmers who left the country in the early 1800s.