The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon)

by Daniel Silva

2008

Status

Available

Publication

Berkley (2008), Edition: Reprint, 512 pages

Description

Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:A terrorist plot in London leads Israeli spy Gabriel Allon on a desperate search for a kidnapped woman in this thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva.While in Amsterdam, Israeli intelligence officer and master art restorer Gabriel Allon discovers a plot that is about to explode in the middle of London. The daughter of the American ambassador is to be brutally kidnapped. But Gabriel arrives too late to save her. And when he reveals his face to the plot�??s masterminds, his fate is sealed as well. Drawn once more into the service of American intelligence, Gabriel desperately searches for the missing woman as the clock ticks steadily toward the hour of her execution. The search will thrust him into an unlikely alliance with a man who has lost everything because of his devotion to Islam. It will cause him to question the morality of the tactics of his trade. And it might very well cost him his life�?� A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year … (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Talbin

The Secret Servant, by Daniel Silva, is the seventh book to feature Israeli spy and master art restorer Gabriel Allon. While on a mission to the Netherlands to clean up the files of a murdered terrorism expert (and undercover Israeli contact), Allon discovers a militant Islamic plot to wreak havoc

in London. Allon arrives at the scene just seconds too late - while bombs go off in the London Underground system, the US Ambassador's daughter is kidnapped. During the operation, a bystander with a cell phone camera snaps a photo of Allon that is published in the London newspapers, making him a target of the terrorists as well. Allon works with the British, US and Egyptians to search for Elizabeth Halton and to stop her public execution.

Once again, Silva has managed to write an exciting nail-biter with a topical plot. Silva is one of the best "best seller" writers out there - his writing is excellent and his plots well-crafted. However, I'm finding I'm not enjoying Silva's recent books as much as I did the first few in the Allon series. Over time, Silva has pared down his books so that they focus almost exclusively on the search for whatever terrorist Allon is seeking. At one point, Allon's "cover" as a master art restorer played a larger part in Silva's novels, but no longer. It's too bad, because I enjoyed that aspect of his previous books. Additionally, this is probably the 4th or 5th book to focus on Islamic extremists as the "bad guys." Silva is pretty good about ensuring that the reader knows that not all Muslims are extremist terrorists, but given his focus on them as the villains, it's getting a bit harder to see that there is another side to all of this.

Additionally, it seems as if the Allon books are getting a bit formulaic: there is a terrorist plot to blow up something; a beautiful woman is kidnapped or is a major part of the bad guy's plot; politics between the Israelis, the US and European foreign services make it harder for Allon to do his job; the Israelis must keep their presence secret or else the "liberals" in various countries will be angry that they were involved. In other words, there are fewer and fewer surprises in Silva's books. On the bright side, though, Silva's next book, Moscow Rules, promises to take Allon into a new milieu - Russia - and I hope that the change in scenery will re-energize Silva's writing and bring a breath of fresh air to the Gabriel Allon series.

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LibraryThing member MSWallack

Another excellent entry in Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series. It has taken some time, but the protagonist has even developed a bit more of a sense of humor which I found to be refreshing. The epilogue is one of the most entertaining parts of any Gabriel Allon story so far.

LibraryThing member CarolynStrickland

Excellent! Fast paced and thought provoking.

LibraryThing member marilynr

Another block buster with Gabriel Allon!

LibraryThing member Doondeck

Clever and interesting continuation of Allon's story.

LibraryThing member lchav52

This is a page-turning thriller, well worth the time to read. Gabriel Allon, legendary agent of Israel's intelligence agency, known only as the Office, discovers a terrorist plot threatening London while he is going through the files of a deceased Israeli asset in the Netherlands. On flying to

England to warn the British, he becomes involved in the rescue of the daughter of the American ambassador. Well written, tightly plotted, with fully-drawn characters, the book gives an authentic feel to its story of the covert - and overt - war against terrorism.

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LibraryThing member PghDragonMan

Daniel Silva has a winning formula down pat with The Secret Servant, another entry in the Gabriel Allon series of spy novels. What keeps you from getting bored is the timeliness of Silva’s plot devices. The writing is on par with perhaps the best known spy, Ian Fleming’s James Bond, and like

Bond, I wonder how well received Allon will be when read forty, twenty or even ten years from now. I think we will still appreciate Silva’s mastery of description, but the plot may no longer be relevant. For that matter, the Bond character is still alive, but the old plots have been done away with and all new stories have been created for Bond to live in.

If you are a fan of spy novels, there are no major surprises here. What I like about Gabriel Allon is that he is a spy that relies more on his wits, planning and subterfuge, than on high tech gadgets to complete his mission. This is an action based story with a realistic plot to keep you locked in.

Excellent travel reading or for old school spy novel fans. Short of four stars, but worth searching out if you enjoy the genre.

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LibraryThing member chinquapin

Gabriel Allon, the infamous Israeli spy and intelligence agent, prepares for another battle with radical Islamic terrorism. While in Amsterdam on another mission, Allon uncovers an al-Qaeda type plot which is about to take place in London. Unfortunately, he is unable to convince the British to take

appropriate counter-measures and the American ambassador's daughter is kidnapped. The mission to recover her and prevent more terrorist incidents leads him on a harrowing path through Europe.

While this is primarily an action thriller novel with a plot that is not particularly new, Silva's writing is different in that there is also an underlying message or warning about the decline of Europe as we know it, culturally, in the rapid rise of radical Islam there and the well-publicized demographics. There is blunt, realistic and, sadly, bleak discussion of the threats facing the West in general, and Europe in particular. There is also an ongoing critique of the way politicians and governments handle terrorism and the Middle East and how it makes things worse. The afterword, in particular, serves to alert the reader to the state of affairs in the world today regarding radical Islam and terrorism.

Although being somewhat bleak and dreary in its forecasts of the future, I loved the suspense and intrigue, the political machinations, and the characters. This is the seventh novel in the series, and I think that I will probably try and go backwards and read some of the earlier novels.

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LibraryThing member HankIII

I found this work to be very current to our post-911 age. Having read one of Silva's novels years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well he continually writes in this genre. Toward the end of the novel, Gabriel's revenge tends to take some time, and that's the only negative I can think of.

LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35

Many thanx to Donna828 for turning me on to Daniel Silva! I love Gabriel Allon! He's a hero, but he's real enough to get his butt kicked in the process. I liked him in The Messenger, but I'm hooked now and ready for the next one.

Silva does a magnificent job of using current headlines and trends to

make his plots believable. I like that he explains at the end of the book that he made up many of the places and organizations in the book so that conspiracy theorists can recognize that this really is fiction. :)

Silva also gets the dialogue right. Books are so much better when characters speak like real people! Phil Gigante's narration is great.

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LibraryThing member ricaustria

Quite a guilty pleasure, these Gabrielle Allon books. Israeli James Bond with a conscience, no frivolous sex and always ready to sacrifice himself. You can guess who the bad guys are.
Anyway, after four books, I've figured Silva out. For this book, I skipped the setup chapters, much of which is a

recounting of previous books or re-introduction of characters anyway, and went straight to where the action gets going. And when I've had as much as I can take, I quit before the wrap-up ... until the next Allon book on my reading list.

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LibraryThing member kd9

I think Daniel Silva is a good writer. I enjoy his stories about Gabriel Allon, the Israeli secret agent. I have learned a lot about Middle East politics from reading his books. But I have to admit that there is a repetition to these books now that makes them less than compelling.

Gabriel is off on

a simple mission when he stumbles into a complex plot. Only he can see how serious it is, even though he tells other authorities about it. When they ignore his advice, bad things happen. Even though his superiors tell him to step away from the problem, Gabriel feels duty bound to try to solve the issue. He travels across Europe tracking down Islamic militants. Eventually they capture and torture them. He escapes, kills them all, and saves the day. A good structure for a spy story, but all in all, predictable.

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LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader

After reading this novel, it brings to mind some of the same thoughts and feelings that I had after reading Nelson DeMille's "Night Fall." I went to look at my own book review for "Night Fall" and discovered that it began with these words: "This novel has been on my bookshelf to read for a long

time. I’m not sure why it took me so long to begin reading it." I could say the same for this title.

But however long it has been on my bookshelf to read, it is a novel not only riveting and engrossing at the time of the 'read' but will remain thought-provoking particularly as the world stage continues to evolve. I would encourage everyone to read this novel 'sooner than later.' I would also encourage the reading of the Author's Note and Acknowledgments for further background and understanding of the depth of Daniel Silva's work.

It is also humbling to pause particularly on the July 4th holiday weekend and think not only of the military and law enforcement who have served and/or are in service to their country to protect our freedom and democracy, seeking justice, for the simple pleasure of attending a fireworks display last evening in peace and with ease of personal safety for myself and my family, but for all of those in service - whose names we do not know who have given their lives or are continuing to serve at home and abroad to keep us free. We should also never forget that particularly for those that go above and beyond more than we could conceptualize are not American citizens. I am thankful for all they give and all they and their loved ones endure as part of their daily lives.

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LibraryThing member Olivermagnus

Gabriel Allon is an art restorer who also works for Israeli Special Ops from time to time. When one of the department’s agents in Amsterdam is killed by a Muslim fanatic, Gabriel is sent to look through his files and make sure nothing that leads back to Special Ops is in there. In the process of

doing that, he gets involved in a trying to stop a plot to kidnap Elizabeth Halton, an American diplomat’s daughter, followed by a string of terrorist attacks around the world. Gabriel almost stops the kidnapping but then becomes embroiled in efforts to get Elizabeth back. The case will lead him all over Europe and into the heart of fanaticism.

This novel proves that Silva is among the best in the business at crafting thrillers. The Gabriel Allon series has at its core the persecution of Israel and the Jews, and while Silva leaves little doubt where he stands on the complex questions of the Middle East, his books are no less thrilling merely because they are about current events.

The Secret Servant a page-turner in the classic sense and Daniel Silva gets better with each book. His research and attention to detail makes this series one of the best spy thrillers out there. It's filled with fast paced, exciting entertainment. I've read the entire series and have been listening to them this time around. The narrator, Phil Gigante, did an okay job but not as great as some of the earlier ones done by George Guidall or John Lee. However, he's narrating the next few so I'm sure it will take just a little while to hear a new “voice” as Gabriel.

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LibraryThing member buffalogr

Well crafted thriller. Israeli James Bond works on recovery of UK AMEMB's daughter. The book has an undertone of Muslim encroachment into Europe...seems like there's a Muslim behind every corner. Exciting read with some amount of literary formula.

LibraryThing member trish4

Love these books!

LibraryThing member raizel

Similar to other books in the series so far. Gabriel Allon senses danger before others, who don't always take him seriously enough. The epigraphs (quotes) at the beginning of the book show the points he is trying to make in the story.

LibraryThing member judithrs

The Secret Servant. Daniel Silva. 2007. Why did I wait so long to read another Gabriel Allon book? My mistake, and it was a big mistake. Allon is an artist and well-known art restorer. He is also a spy for the Israeli government. The daughter of the American ambassador to Great Britain has been

kidnapped. It is up to Allon and his team to rescue her before she is killed. The suspense reminds me of an episode of “24.” Allon must deal with well-meaning interference of the CIA, M16, and the Danish secret service to save her. It isn’t necessary to read the books in order, but, as just as other books in a series, it does make the reading more enjoyable.

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LibraryThing member RonWelton

Gabriel Allon, who is now characterized as "... the legendary but wayward son of Israeli intelligence, is sent to the Netherlands by Ari Shamron to gather the papers of assassinated agent, Professor Solomon Rosner. While there he falls upon information suggesting a terrorist attack in London. An

impression left on a yellow pad by one of the terrorist leads him to believe that the attack will include the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square. Allon notifies his CIA friend, Adrian Carter and Graham Seymour of MI5 and is present when the attack goes down. He is able to kill several of the attackers but is not able to prevent the abduction of Dr. Elizabeth Halton, the daughter of the American ambassador.
Silva's novel usually include some connection to the current events of the years in which they are written. This novel's terrorists are Egyptians attempting to eliminate the secular leadership of their country and replace it with an Islamic state. Appropriately, the leader of the terrorist is Dr. Yusuf Ramadan, professor of Near Eastern history at American University in Cairo who is known as the Sphinx.
Allon teams up with Adrian Carter, of the CIA who provides him with an assistant, Sarah Bancroft whom we met in The Messenger: "She had shoulder-length blond hair, skin the color of alabaster, and eyes like a cloudless summer sky." Of course, we know that Gabriel is faithful to only Chiara whom he is to marry in May and his mentally incapacitated ex-wife, Leah.
In a violent and fast moving attempt to find Elizabeth, Gabriel Allon lives up to his "legionary" status and then some.

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LibraryThing member Rockhead515

It's good to see some well placed humor in this one, particularly from Gabriel.
Makes it all seem a little more realistic.

LibraryThing member utbw42

Following right in the footsteps of the previous Silva entry, this one ratchets up the tension somewhat as Allon seems to be more emotionally involved in the kidnapping of a diplomat's daughter. This pursuit leads to the discovery of a massive terror plot, and the culimination of these events near

the end of the book make for a fast, exciting read. Silva is really in stride with the character of Gabriel Allon and what his limitations and capabilities are.

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LibraryThing member dooney

Excellent espionage novel. Both a page turner but also a fairly in-depth and astute observation of the complexities of middle-eastern politics and how they have infiltrated the world. Thought provoking and entertaining then.

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