Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva is the 22nd book in the Gabriel Allon series, where the retired Israeli spy is investigating an art forgery ring

Israeli art restorers/ spy Gabriel Allon is called one more time into service to investigate the mysterious murder of his friend Benjamin Stern

reluctant Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, is joined by a world famous woman, this time though she is a violinist named Anna Rolfe, on his adventures

Reading The Black Widow by Daniel Silva in 2024 seems strange, almost surreal. Unfortunately even when the book was published in 2016 it seemed almost prophetic

J.I.M. Stewart was a novelist, professor, and critic from Scotland. He is known for his crime fiction books featuring Inspector John Appleby.

The stars of this book are the characters, which I feel I can say for the whole series. They are interesting, as well as intelligent

About: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva is the eighth in the Gabriel Allon series. Even though there are numerous references to the previous books, I thought this novel was still a good read and could be read independently. 352 pages Publisher: Signet Language: English ISBN-10: 0451227387 My rating for Moscow Rules – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* Thoughts: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (web­site) is another solid, well-written and dependable adventure in the Gabriel Allon chronicles. After reading the 8th book in the series it is obvious that Silva has created a character that is strong, subtle and conflicted with an interesting background story and engaging future. At this point in his life, Allon and the readers aren’t really sure what he is. Allon is too old to be the James Bond style agent, too young to retire, too cynical to take a desk job but he is a patriot in every bone in his body and is still able to contribute. Silva realize that he can’t keep his spy young forever and basically ruined his spying career in several books prior by having his face splashed across newspapers and European agencies not allowing him entry…

Article first published as Book Review: The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva on Blogcritics. About: The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva brings back Israeli spy Gabriel Allon in this seventh installment. This time we find Allon as a weary, tired agent ready to hang up his holster and, unwillingly, accept his fate in management. 385 pages Publisher: Putnam Adult Language: English ISBN-10: 0399154221 My rating for The Secret Servant – 5 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More Books by Daniel Silva Thoughts: I found The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (web­site) to be a more current, at least in atmosphere, of the Gabriel Allon series. As usual with the rest of the series, the book is difficult to put down, a fast paced adventure and thriller which brings back familiar characters. The characters age with the books, which I like. None are superheroes, but people with issues and problems who only justify their acts to themselves by holding a high moral ground. However, this high moral ground must be broken from time to time which leaves them feeling confused and filled with regrets. The book is filled with many characters, bumbling politicians, Islamic extremists, non-extremists Islamic people and other hot button issues from current day world. However,…

Article first published as Book Review: The Messenger by Daniel Silva on Blogcritics. About: The Messenger by Daniel Silva is the sixth novel in the Gabriel Allon series. Allon is an Israeli agent who is more interested in restoring works of art than the world of espionage. 352 pages Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons (July 25, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0399153357 My rating for The Messenger – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More Books by Daniel Silva Thoughts: The Messenger by Daniel Silva (web­site) is more of a thriller than the previous five books. The book is quite violent and Allon’s ruthlessness comes out in several highly charged scenes. While I didn’t think The Messenger was the best in the series, it did fill in some missing gaps in the relationships between the characters. As in many book series this one also is a standalone, but it’s always nice to read them in order. I was glad to read about the return of Chiara, Allon’s love interest which we lost in the previous book. I also loved the way Silva wrote the Pope (“the” Pope, not some mobster or terrorist with a nickname), he was approachable and seemed like a good leader. Silva incorporated current events…

Here are the books I enjoyed the most this year. This list is of books I read, not only published in 2011. First and foremost – this is THE best book I’ve read this year. From some reason it didn’t get much attention in the US. We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen “We, The Drowned” (Web­site) by Carsten Jensen is a spell­bind­ing, award win­ning (Danske Banks Lit­ter­atur­pris) fic­tional book which spans 100 years in the lives of the inhab­i­tants of the small Dan­ish coastal town Marstal. Jensen’s debut novel is already hailed as an instant clas­sic and right­fully so. Non-Fiction: Auschwitz by Dr. Miklós Nyiszli Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eye­wit­ness Account by Dr. Mik­lós Nyis­zli is a non-fiction mem­oir of a Jew­ish Hun­gar­ian med­ical doc­tor who per­formed “research” on other Jews with the evil Dr. Josef Men­gele aka “Angel of Death”. This is not an easy book to read, but an impor­tant one. Elizabeth and Hazel by David Margolick Eliz­a­beth and Hazel: Two Women of Lit­tle Rock by David Mar­golick is a non fic­tion book about two ladies who were made famous by the press. The book looks his­tory square in the eye and doesn’t flinch. Gated Grief by Leila Levinson “Gated Grief: The Daugh­ter of a GI Con­cen­tra­tion Camp Lib­er­a­tor Dis­cov­ers a Legacy of Trauma” by Leila Levin­son who started the…