The Collector is a compelling chronicle chock-full of crime, close calls, and corruption. In the latest Gabriel Allong installment, Daniel Silva has cast aside any doubts or questions about what Gabriel’s universe will look like in “retirement”. With enough art, espionage, and geopolitical intrigue to satisfy long time readers, the new Allon is the same as the old… just with a few more scars and a lot more to lose.
With his family settling into life in Venice, Gabriel Allon is enjoying the slower pace of things in his golden years. That is until his old friend General Ferrari enlists his assistance in a case along the Alfami coast. It’s not the dead body or the recovered stolen painting sitting in a hidden room, rather an empty frame of unique dimensions laying on the floor that requires the talents of the legendary spymaster. With each passing hour the trail for the missing masterpiece goes cold. As Allon follows the clues, it is the missing painting's connection to a larger conspiracy that forces Gabriel to dip his toes back into his old life. With the help from the contacts he’s acquired over a long career in the shadows, Allon must face his greatest foe to keep an already barbaric war from turning into the last war.
Like no other author on the planet, Silva seamlessly intertwines varying thriller subgenres into something uniquely associated with Gabriel Allon. In this book alone there are heists, intelligence operations, and the ever looming threat of the world spinning out of control based on the decisions of a mad tyrant. Regardless if you’re an avid crime reader, a military thriller junkie, or spy novel aficionado, The Collector will satisfy your reading preferences.
With an almost melodic writing style, Silva slowly builds each scene, allowing readers to nestle comfortably into the story as we reacquaint ourselves with our fictional friends. Then almost without noticing, the tempo has increased with the introduction of new and complex characters we can’t wait to find out more about. Then to bring it all home, witty dialogue propels us to a crescendoing end. Like a maestro conducting his symphony, Silva utilizes all the instruments within his novel to craft an emotional experience for his readers that leaves spellbound and anxiously waiting for the next book to come.
To open the cover of a Silva novel elicits a similar set of emotions as when I walk into a rare book store. It is the feeling of logical expectations and limitless possibilities. Once inside, will you find the classics, accompanied by the nostalgia you get just from seeing them? Are there new tantalizing items that you didn’t know you needed in your life? Are you going to take something away from the experience that will stay with you long after? The answer is a resounding ‘Yes’ to all three.
Bravo, Mr. Silva. Bravo!
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