This has been a good month for me. Karin Slaughter, author of my favourite crime series, released book number 7 in the Grant County series and Daniel Silva, author of my favourite thriller series, released book number 10 in the Gabriel Allon series, The Rembrandt Affair. Awesome.
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Espionage, Art
Publisher: Century
Year: 2010
Rating: 4/5
Determined to sever his ties with the office, Gabriel Allon has retreated to the windswept cliffs of Cornwall with his beautiful wife, Chiara. But once again his seclusion is interrupted by a visitor from his tangled past: the endearing eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood. As usual, Isherwood has a problem. And only Gabriel can solve it.
In Glastonbury, an art restorer is brutally murdered and a long-lost portrait by Rembrandt mysteriously stolen. Despite his reluctance, Gabriel is persuaded to use his unique skills to search for the painting and those responsible for the crime. But as he painstakingly follows a trail of clues leading from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires and, finally to a villa on the graceful shores of Lake Geneva, Gabriel discovers there are deadly secrets connected to the painting. And evil men behind them.
Gabriel will once again be drawn into a world he thought he had left behind for ever, and will come face to face with a remarkable cast of characters: a glamorous London journalist who is determined to undo the worst mistake of her career, an elusive master art thief who is burdened by a conscience and a powerful Swiss billionaire who is known for his good deeds but may just be behind one of the greatest threats facing the world.
Keeping true to Gabriel Allon, this novel did not disappoint. It was full of mystery, action and suspense which made me want to keep turning the pages. It's the kind of book where you keep telling yourself, 'just one more chapter'.
I love the character of Gabriel Allon. He is a sensitive art restorer, a romantic and an extremely skilled and lethal Israeli spy. He has a strong sense of morals, always willing to hunt down evil men and bring them to justice... even if that justice is the muzzle of his gun. He is damaged, not only by the things he has had to do in his life, but by the legacy left to him by his mother who was a holocaust survivor. Gabriel Allon is one complex character.
This novel, like Gabriel Allon, is multi-layered. We begin with a stolen painting but soon find that behind this painting lies a secret and a web of lies, spanning generations. We are taken on a journey through a child holocaust survivors guilt to the mansion of a billionaire. A billionaire who portrays himself to be the perfect saint, but little does the world know, his billions are built on the deaths of millions, with many more deaths to come.
Can Gabriel and his team find the Rembrandt? Can they bring this billionaire down before he causes more destruction? Can they overcome the many obstacles in their way to get at a man who is heavily guarded by some of the most ruthless body guards in Switzerland? Can they save Israel from a major threat, a threat which could wipe them out completely?
Can Gabriel and his team find the Rembrandt? Can they bring this billionaire down before he causes more destruction? Can they overcome the many obstacles in their way to get at a man who is heavily guarded by some of the most ruthless body guards in Switzerland? Can they save Israel from a major threat, a threat which could wipe them out completely?
If you love a good mystery, thriller or tale of espionage then you will love this novel. I recommend this series to anyone who loves a good, fun read! The best part about it, you don't have to start at the beginning to get into it, each book makes sense as a stand-alone, but they are so good, you will want to read them all!
