Book Review: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva

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

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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 into their country. This time the enemies are Russian oligarchs and heavy handed politics which seem to be a welcomed departure, yet still in the espionage genre.

At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read Moscow Rules but I’m glad I did. Silva managed to find another adventure to our aging spy which is not laughable and keeps up with current events. The author does an excellent job explaining the current (or current when it was written) conflicts in the former USSR, as well as keeping up with his ability to write people and characters which keep the story moving and are interesting to follow.

The ending of the story did get tied up but the emotional aspects seemed to be tied up in a rushed way, a page or two more wouldn’t have hurt. Otherwise I felt the book was nicely paced, a quick read and another excellent addition to the exciting thrillers of the Allon repertoire.

Synopsis:

Gabriel Allon and his new wife, Chiara, are on their honeymoon in Umbria, Italy. But Gabriel never stops working and is restoring a painting for the Vatican. A Russian newspaper reporter contacts the Israeli embassy in Rome requesting a meeting with Allon who reluctantly agrees.

The meeting never happens and Allon is thrown into the world of Russian businessman, European politics, arms dealers and the mix of old enemies with new money.

Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account