The secret servant

Silva specializes in thrillers of international terror--a subgenre that some readers feel can be exploitative and sensationalistic, playing at terror for titillation in a post-9/11 era that really needs none. But within this squirm-producing takeoff on real events, Silva is an adept craftsman and chronicler (though his own views are often stridently presented). What really works in his novels, though, is his main character, Gabriel Allon, whose name indicates his aloneness, both in his personal life, with a wife in a psychiatric hospital and a dead son, and professionally, since he is an agent in Israel's Special Operations branch of the Foreign Intelligence Service. What makes Allon so interesting is his straight-life profession as an art restorer (he specializes in Italian Old Masters); his work gets him through many barred doors and enhances his ability to remember visual details. This time out, the murder of a sociology professor, whose recent book asserts that Holland is under attack by jihadist Islam, sends Allon to Amsterdam, where he cleans out the professor's files and discovers that five members of an Amsterdam mosque have disappeared and are plotting something big. Meanwhile, Allon is charged with finding the kidnapped daughter of the American ambassador to London. This fast-paced international espionage tale suffers a bit from clichéd prose, but it's compulsive reading nonetheless.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2007 Booklist

In this sequel to The Messenger, Israeli intelligence officer Gabriel Allon scours the world to find the kidnapped daughter of an American ambassador. Silva capitalizes on current affairs by focusing his thriller on the machinations of European-born Islamic terrorists. Gigante does as skillful a job performing the myriad accents and languages-American, British, Danish, Dutch, German and Egyptian. He even modulates the English accents of the Arab terrorists to reflect whether or not they were born in Europe. When Silva places men and women from various cultures in the same room to converse or argue, Gigante slips from one voice to another without missing a beat. Gigante's performance is as fast-paced as the novel. He also artfully uses his vocal skills to delve into Gabriel's complex character-calm, tough and indestructible but also artistic, sentimental and romantic. This excellent matchup between reader and author makes this a chilling and riveting listen and one of the best audio productions of the year. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, May 21). (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In New York Times best-selling author Silva's eighth Gabriel Allon thriller (following The Secret Servant, an LJ Best Audiobook of 2007), the master Israeli spy and talented art restorer must stop a former KGB colonel-turned-wealthy capitalist from selling Russia's most sophisticated weapons to Middle Eastern terrorists. Reader Phil Gigante (The Secret Servant) does an excellent job with the dialog-heavy text, effectively using different accents to bring the international cast of characters to life. Highly recommended for public libraries. [Audio clip available through library.brillianceaudio.com; the Putnam hc, released in July, was a #1 New York Times best seller and received a starred review, LJ 7/08.--Ed.]--Ilka Gordon, formerly with Marcell Community Coll., Cleveland (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Silva specializes in thrillers of international terror—a subgenre that some readers feel can be exploitative and sensationalistic, playing at terror for titillation in a post-9/11 era that really needs none. But within this squirm-producing takeoff on real events, Silva is an adept craftsman and chronicler (though his own views are often stridently presented). What really works in his novels, though, is his main character, Gabriel Allon, whose name indicates his aloneness, both in his personal life, with a wife in a psychiatric hospital and a dead son, and professionally, since he is an agent in Israel's Special Operations branch of the Foreign Intelligence Service. What makes Allon so interesting is his straight-life profession as an art restorer (he specializes in Italian Old Masters); his work gets him through many barred doors and enhances his ability to remember visual details. This time out, the murder of a sociology professor, whose recent book asserts that Holland is under attack by jihadist Islam, sends Allon to Amsterdam, where he cleans out the professor's files and discovers that five members of an Amsterdam mosque have disappeared and are plotting something big. Meanwhile, Allon is charged with finding the kidnapped daughter of the American ambassador to London. This fast-paced international espionage tale suffers a bit from clichéd prose, but it's compulsive reading nonetheless.

Silva stalwart Gabriel Allon is back, investigating the murder of terrorism analyst Ephraim Rosner by a Muslim immigrant in Amsterdam. The plot thickens with the kidnapping of the U.S. ambassador's daughter in London. With a three-week tour. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Israeli operative Gabriel Allon (The Messenger ) is back again in Silva's excellent new thriller, and that means truly bad news for terrorists and other bad guys. In a typical Silva plot that is extremely exciting, suspenseful, and complex, Allon must investigate why a Muslim immigrant murdered a terrorism analyst in Amsterdam and find the kidnappers of Elizabeth Halton, the goddaughter of the U.S. President. His hunt occurs as bombs explode all over Europe. The terrorists hope repressive actions to find Halton will result in an Islamic fundamentalist revolution in Egypt. Almost as chilling as the terrorists' actions is Silva's depiction of the inertia afflicting several European countries that, for all intents and purposes, do not believe there is a threat from Islamic extremists and whose immigration policies make them prime candidates for their own Islamic revolution. At any rate, the exploits of Allon and his team make for great entertainment and a thought-provoking cautionary tale. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/07.]—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Bestseller Silva's superlative seventh novel to feature Gabriel Allon, "the legendary but wayward son of Israeli Intelligence," puts Silva squarely atop the spy thriller heap. When Solomon Rosner, a professor in Amsterdam who's also a secret Israeli asset, is assassinated for his strident reports and articles detailing the dangers of militant Islam within the Netherlands, Gabriel gets the job to clean out the professor's files. In Amsterdam, the Israeli agent and his old partner, Eli Lavon, unearth a plot that leads to the kidnapping by Islamic extremists of the daughter of the U.S. ambassador in London. While most intelligence agencies consider Gabriel persona non grata because of his unorthodox methods and the trail of bodies he leaves in his wake, he once again proves invaluable as he and his stalwart team hunt down some of Israel's—and the world's—most violent enemies. While you don't have to have read the earlier books in the series (The Messenger , etc.), knowing the history of the returning characters adds depth and color to the overall story. (July)