The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon) |
Daniel Silva
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Hardcover |
| List Price
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$25.95
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$17.13
(Save 33%)
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| Published by | Putnam Adult |
| Release date | 2007-07-24 |
| ISBN | 0399154221 |
| Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours |
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In Amsterdam, a terrorism analyst named Ephraim Rosner lies dead, brutally murdered by a Muslim immigrant. The Amsterdam police believe the killer is a deranged extremist, but others know better. Just twenty-four hours before, Rosner had requested an urgent meeting with Israeli intelligence. Now it is Gabriel Allon's job to find out what Rosner knew, and when he does, it confirms his worst fears: a major terrorist operation is in the works. But not even Allon could have predicted what it is.
In London, a young woman vanishes. She is the daughter of the American ambassador-and goddaughter of the president of the United States-and the kidnappers' demands are at once horrifically clear and clearly impossible to meet. With time running out, Allon has no choice but to plunge into a desperate search, both for the woman and for those responsible, but the truth, when he finds it, is not what he expects. In fact, it is one that will shake him-and many others-to the core.
Intense and provocative, filled with breathtaking double and triple turns of plot, The Secret Servant is not only a fast-paced international thriller but an exploration of some of the most daunting questions of our time.
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Customer Reviews - courtesy of Amazon.com ( Marked4Sale.com is not responsible for review content )
The Sound Is No Secret
The premise is intriguing; a terrorist plot perpetrated at locations around London causes death, destruction and a diversion to the kidnapping of the daughter of the ambassador from the United States.
Through a mysterious link used by a murdered author - who had maneuvered within the shadows of terrorism and intelligence - Israeli spy Gabriel Allon finds himself on the trail of the perpetrators and the mysterious mastermind who goes by the codename of the "Sphinx."
Author Daniel Silva does a masterful job in linking stories culled from the front pages of newspapers and magazines - along with little-known historical facts - to lend an air of credibility the pursuit through Europe, but ultimately falls short with the use of typical scenarios found in less than thrilling thrillers.
Allon has unbelievable recuperative powers - though he is viciously pistol-whipped, assaulted by several thugs and near a massive explosion - which makes him more super hero than human agent. The dialogue between Allon and the terrorists seems best in a cartoon-styled plot, as the tough guy banter sounds like boasting juveniles on a school playground. And there are story lines that come to an abrupt halt, which lead to many more puzzling questions than answers.
Silva has built a franchise with the exploits of Allon. But this novel builds up to a large thud...and it isn't just the noise of the bad guys getting their comeuppance in the end.
Masterful
I find it amazing that the author keeps coming up with fresh plots and an exciting story with mostly the same key characters. Gabriel Allon, the Israeli operative, comes out on top once again. Islamic terrorists kidnap the daughter of the U.S. ambassador to England while she's taking her daily run in Hyde Park. They request a swap for an important sheikh who is in prison in Colorado. Then, when that request is refused they accept a ransom offered by her wealthy father. However, they deviously plan on killing her in a spectacular fashion on Christmas morning. Allon is, of course, the hero. But even though Allon seems super human he does it in a believable fashion.
New to Silva & Allon...and hooked!
`The Secret Servant' by Daniel Silva
This was my first time reading Silva and his Israeli Spy / Assassin / Art Restorer, Gabriel Allon...I was not disappointed. In fact, I've already gone and ordered his other Allon novels with plans on reading them chronologically.
In `The Secret Servant', our hero, Gabriel Allon tracks a radical Islamist terror cell responsible for the abduction of a prominent American. The story is smart, current and incisive that you'll find a frolic of a read.
For fear of giving anything away, I'll say simply, that Mr. Silva has woven a fine spy tale that hooked this generally strict non-fiction reader and it comes with my recommendation...for whatever that's worth.
- Johnny
Not a bad read, but just not what I was hoping for
I heard Mr. Silva promoting his book on a radio show and although I've kind of burned out on the super-spy genre, the book was so highly recommended by the show's host, I thought I'd give it a read.
This is the first book by Mr. Silva that I've read, although this is the 7th(?) of the series so I came to this book not knowing the characters. Perhaps I'm just burned out on the genre, or maybe I hadn't developed loyalty to the characters that one might get after reading the series, but I just didn't get in to this book very much. It was a decent read and had some exciting parts, but it also had a number of moments of boredom that put it in the 3 star category with me. I can't really say what I objected to without spoiling things, but it seemed to me there were lots of loose ends, unnecessary digressions, and improbable plot twists that kept the story from being as coherent and suspensful as I had hoped it would be. If I had it to do again, I think I'd rather have picked this one up from the discount bin.
good reads, but.........
An excellent writer of thrillers but is Silva an Israeli agent? He seems to be propagandizing on behalf of the Cheney-Netanyahu clique.
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