Daniel Silva – The English Spy
I've become a Gabriel
Allon fan, it has taken me a few of Silva’s books to get here, but after The English Girl and now The English Spy, I’m hooked. In The English Spy, Silva takes us on a
tour of nastier underside of Europe (and some of the nice spots as well). From
the dark alleys and country lanes of Northern Ireland to the sunny ruas of
Lisbon, there are no shortages of touristy stops and dead (as in body) ends.
London, Rome, even Corsica come into play as an international terrorist and
bomber, who works for the highest bidder, pushes his way back into Allon’s
tragic past. All the big players are here: British intelligence, Israeli
Mossad, Russia, and the IRA. As usual Silva plays his spy games across the
world.
If there is one
complaint is that Silva has become more brutal. There seems to be a moral
ambivalence seeping into his characters, and sadly Allon as well. There was
always a morality and justification to Allon’s assassinations, in this book it
seemed to be more about vengeance and retribution, anything goes in trying to
find the killer of women, children and possibly the man who killed Allon’s son
and destroyed his wife.
As always Daniel
Silva leaves the door slightly ajar at the end giving us a peek into the next
chapter in Gabriel Allon’s life – as father and head of Israel’s intelligence
operations. Boy, is Allon’s life about to get complicated.
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