The number of books a character headlines is a testament to the resilience and the appeal of that character. That count becomes that character’s resume.
In 2000, novelist Daniel Silva created one of the most overqualified characters ever to star in a spy thriller book in Gabriel Allon, who has since appeared in 11 other best-selling novels. You can’t beat the combination of trades that Silva entrusted Allon with since Allon’s first appearance in “The Kill Artist” as he is actually a spy and assassin as well as a talented art restorer, as comfortable with a brush as he is with a suppressed handgun. Beat that, James Bond.
Legendary agent
Moreover, Silva made Allon a legendary agent of the Israel intelligence agency known popularly as Mossad, but called—accurately and simply—the Office in his books.
“The English Girl” (HarperCollins, New York, 2014, 531 pages) is already the 13th book starring Allon. The titular “English Girl,” Madeline Hart, is a pretty, popular, driven member of the British government, but is secretly the mistress of the married Prime Minister Jonathan Lancaster.
When Hart goes missing while on vacation in Corsica, Lancaster finds himself threatened with a DVD and a ransom demand by unknown individuals who clearly know just how important Hart is. After all, she confesses to the affair on the DVD.
Instead of going to the police, Lancaster turns to his inner circle and asks for the best man to find Hart. Even though he is neither British nor on the government payroll, Allon is clearly the best choice. After a favor is called in, he is soon on his way to Corsica, where he hires some local help and is warned by an old Corsican woman: “When she is dead, then you will know the truth.”
A disbelieving Allon is in no mood to wait; the kidnappers will kill Hart and leak the video unless Lancaster gives them 10 million euros in seven days. The key in finding Hart lies with identifying a person known only as “the forgotten man.”
Bigger ambitions
That’s already more than enough material for most books, but in the case of “The English Girl,” it’s just the setup. The novel has bigger ambitions. Suffice to say, things don’t go quite the way Allon expects and the remaining 75 percent of “The English Girl” deals with the fallout.
The book is intriguing and complex, building toward a breathless conclusion. As always, the pages turn ruthlessly and easily.
As a protagonist, Allon is always charismatic and haunted. Named after the archangel, he built his career on doing the difficult job, beginning with the famous Operation Wrath of God (the assassination of the Black September terrorists who struck at the 1972 Munich Olympics). But “The English Girl” challenges his very nature and triggers a dangerous feeling: the need for vengeance.
“The English Girl” takes Allon on an international search for the truth—and it will take him to places even he never expected to go. Along the way, he brings together his Office team of operatives from the previous books to back him up.
Part of what makes Silva’s Allon books so effective is how authentic everything is. Silva invests his novels with urgency and detail. This is real-world espionage, full of collateral damage and political ramifications. The body count in “The English Girl” is bracingly high, yet Allon remains both practical and philosophical about it. “It’s better to be a pickpocket than a mugger,” he says, talking about the nature of necessary evils.
At the end of “The English Girl,” Allon makes a decision that changes the books for good.
With the 14th Allon book, “The Heist,” set for release later this year and a motion picture in the works, Daniel Silva’s is one of the best in the fictional spy trade.
“The English Girl” is a perfect opportunity for new readers to make the acquaintance of Gabriel Allon, literally the most colorful spy plying his dangerous and fictional trade today.
Available in paperback from National Book Store.
