Daniel Silva – MostlyFiction Book Reviews We Love to Read! Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:51:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.24 PORTRAIT OF A SPY by Daniel Silva /2011/portrait-of-a-spy-by-daniel-silva/ Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:51:03 +0000 /?p=19565 Book Quote:

“Homeland security is a myth…. It’s a bedtime story we tell our people to make them feel safe at night. Despite all our best efforts and all our billions spent, the United States is largely indefensible.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky  (JUL 25, 2011)

As Daniel Silva’s Portrait of a Spy opens, art restorer and master spy Gabriel Allon and his wife, Chiara, are living quietly in a cottage by the sea. Silva sets the stage with a series of events that are eerily familiar: Countries all over the world are “teetering on the brink of fiscal and monetary disaster;” Europe is having difficulty absorbing “an endless tide of Muslim immigrants;” and Bin Laden is dead, but others are scrambling to take his place. Government leaders in America and on the Continent are desperate to identify and thwart the new masterminds of terror.

All of this should not be Gabriel Allon’s problem, since he is no longer an agent of Israeli intelligence. However, Gabriel happens to be in London when he learns that two suicide bombers have struck, one in Paris and the other in Copenhagen. Later, Gabriel is strolling through Covent Garden when he spots a man who arouses his suspicions. Should he alert the police or take out this individual on his own? A series of unexpected events ensue that will bring Gabriel’s brief retirement to an abrupt end. He becomes a key player in a complex plot–involving high finance, a valuable painting, and a beautiful heiress–to destroy the new Bin Laden and his bloodthirsty cohorts. Allon will clash not just with his natural enemies but also with certain American politicians and their subordinates whose short-sighted and self-serving attitudes he finds repugnant.

Portrait of a Spy is an intricate, powerful, well-researched, and engrossing tale of deception, betrayal, and self-sacrifice. The most memorable character is thirty-three year old Nadia al-Bakari, a savvy businesswoman who is highly intelligent, secretive, and one of the richest women in the world. Her late father was a known supporter of terror networks. Will she follow in his footsteps or choose a different path? Silva brings back many of Allon’s comrades, including the amusing Julian Isherwood, an aging but still sharp-tongued Ari Shamron, and art curator/CIA operative, Sarah Bancroft.

The author choreographs his story perfectly and manages an extremely large cast with consummate skill. The sharp and clever dialogue, meaningful themes (including a description of how women are demeaned and manual laborers are exploited in Saudi Arabia and Dubai), as well as the nicely staged action sequences all combine to make this one of the most entertaining espionage thrillers of the year.

AMAZON READER RATING: from 446 readers
PUBLISHER: Harper; First Edition edition (July 19, 2011)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Daniel Silva
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Bibliography:

Michael Osbourne series:

Gabriel Allon series:

]]> THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR by Daniel Silva /2010/the-rembrandt-affair-by-daniel-silva/ Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:47:33 +0000 /?p=11208 Book Quote:

“Gabriel had been cursed with an exaggerated sense of right and wrong. His greatest professional triumphs as an intelligence officer had not come by way of the gun but through his unyielding will to expose past wrongs and make them right.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky (AUG 8, 2010)

As Daniel Silva’s The Rembrandt Affair opens, Gabriel Allon, expert art restorer and former Israeli intelligence agent, is enjoying a well-earned vacation in Cornwall, England, with his beautiful wife, Chiara. Alas, he will be soon be dragged out of retirement because of a missing painting, a series of outrageous thefts dating back to World War II, and an international financier with a great deal to hide. The work of art is a striking portrait of Rembrandt’s mistress, which was once owned by a Dutch Jew. It subsequently passed through a number of hands until it suddenly resurfaced and was put up for sale.

Julian Isherwood, proprietor of Isherwood Fine Arts, was planning to have the forty-five million dollar painting restored before its unveiling with great fanfare at Washington’s National Gallery. Unfortunately, a thief has absconded with the Rembrandt and Julian is beside himself. In despair, he turns to his old friend and colleague, Gabriel Allon. Although his immediate reaction is to reject Isherwood’s plea, Gabriel confers with Chiara who urges her husband to look into the matter. While checking the painting’s provenance, he makes some startling discoveries that broaden the case’s scope and importance. “Cursed with an exaggerated sense of right and wrong,” Gabriel is “a restorer in the truest sense of the word.” He not only repairs paintings. He also exposes misdeeds and tries to restore justice to a world where it is sometimes little more than a lofty concept.

This is Silva’s finest novel since The Prince of Fire. The author brilliantly and seamlessly explores such themes as the lucrative world of art theft, the tragic fate of Jews living in Holland after Hitler’s invasion, international smuggling of sensitive equipment to rogue regimes for profit, and the ways in which Israel, England, and the United States reluctantly work together to protect their vital interests. There is the usual tradecraft, including surveillance, safe houses, and interception of communication and computer data, but the personalities take center stage. They include Lena Herzfeld, a survivor of the Holocaust who is wracked by guilt and agonizing memories; Zoe Reed, a prominent and attractive investigative journalist who may be the ideal person to assist Allon; Alfonso Ramirez, a fiery Argentinean human rights activist and dissident; Maurice Durand, a disciplined art thief with a conscience; Paul Voss, the son of a vicious and unrepentant Nazi; and Martin Landesmann, a philanthropic billionaire whose “shiny image is nothing but a carefully constructed cover” designed to hide his corrupt business dealings.

One of the qualities that set The Rembrandt Affair apart is its careful construction and restraint. For all of its length, complexity, and variety of settings (England, America, Holland, Switzerland, France, Israel, and Argentina) this is a well-researched, lucid, and logical book. The dialogue is lively and natural, and there are a number of eloquent and exceptionally moving passages. This perfectly paced, timely, and suspenseful story moves briskly towards its nicely calibrated conclusion–one that is free of over-the-top theatrics and melodrama. Although there are episodes of violence, they do not dominate the narrative. This is a literate, enlightening, witty, and entertaining work of fiction that will delight Daniel Silva’s ardent fans and earn him a legion of new admirers.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-5from 357 readers
PUBLISHER: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (July 20, 2010)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Daniel Silva
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Bibliography:

Michael Osbourne series:

Gabriel Allon series:

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