On a bright morning in Rome, a terrible explosion rips a hole in the Israeli embassy. Moments later, four gunmen cut down survivors as they stagger from the burning building. Gabriel Allon is hastily recalled to Israel and drawn once more into the heart of the secret service he'd hoped to leave behind. For the blast has led to a disturbing revelation: a dossier that strips away Allon's secrets and lays bare his history. A dossier that had fallen into terrorist hands ...
Review
"Silva's latest novel to feature art restorer/Israeli agent Gabriel Allon (after 2004's A Death in Vienna) is a passionate, intelligently crafted entry that cements the series' place among today's top spy fiction. The structure is classic-the semireluctant spy, Gabriel, is pulled from his cover to hunt down terrorists who have committed a horrific crime, in this case the bombing of the Israeli embassy in Rome. The mastermind behind the bombing is French archeologist Paul Martineau, aka "Khaled, son of Sabri, grandson of Sheikh Asad. Khaled, avenger of past wrongs, sword of Palestine." Orphaned as a child after his father is killed by the Israelis, Khaled is also the adopted son of Yasir Arafat, who has now activated Khaled to wreak vengeance on his mortal enemies. Gabriel assembles a team of crack young agents and sets out to find when and where Khaled will strike next. The determined team tracks down the terrorist, but when Gabriel goes in for the kill the plot takes a stunning twist; the lives of all, plus hundreds of innocent bystanders, are threatened. Gabriel is a complex character with a rich past. His wife, Leah, is confined to a psychiatric hospital in London, mentally damaged and physically disfigured from the bombing that killed their son. He lives with the beautiful Chiara, whom he can't marry out of loyalty to Leah, even though she seems to barely know him. Silva hints at further entries in the series in which Gabriel must step up and assume new duties: "Gabriel, you are the mightiest," his former mentor tells the agent. "You're the one who defends Israel against its accusers. You're the angel of judgment-the Prince of Fire." Publishers Weekly
Author Biography
Daniel Silva is also the author of the bestselling thrillers The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The Confessor, The English Assassin and A Death in Vienna (the last three also published by Penguin). He lives in Washington, DC.
