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Fiction. Thriller. HTML: #1 NYT Bestseller #1 USA Bestseller #1 WSJ Bestseller An Amazon Editors' Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Best Fiction Book of the Year An iBooks Book of the Month "Fascinating, suspenseful, and bated-breath exciting.... Silva proves once again that he can rework familiar genre material and bring it to new life." �?? Publishers Weekly, starred review "Silva builds suspense like a symphony conductor.... A winner on all fronts." �?? Booklist, starred review Bestselling author Daniel Silva delivers another spellbinding international thriller�??one that finds the legendary Gabriel Allon grappling with an ISIS mastermind. Gabriel Allon, the art restorer, spy, and assassin described as the most compelling fictional creation "since Ian Fleming put down his martini and invented James Bond" (Rocky Mountain News), is poised to become the chief of Israel's secret intelligence service. But on the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field for one final operation. ISIS has detonated a massive bomb in the Marais district of Paris, and a desperate French government wants Gabriel to eliminate the man responsible before he can strike again. Acclaimed novelist Daniel Silva has thrilled, entertained and educated readers with eighteen thoughtful and gripping spy novels featuring a diverse cast of compelling characters and ingenious plots that have taken them around the globe and back�??from the United States to Europe, Russia to the Middle East. From its shocking opening to its explosive denouement in Washington, D.C., The Black Widow reveals itself as Silva's most timely and powerful novel yet. Following the success of his smash hit The English Spy, this electrifying thriller showcases Silva's consummate skill and brilliant imagination, and is sure to be a must read for his multitude of current and futur… (more)
User reviews
I have read all of the titles and they keep getting better - thrilling, sizzling with danger and intrigue.
The characters, the subject matter, the geography and historical references - all aspects of this book come together in a
The story begins with an ISIS
A decision was made to identify a woman that could infiltrate the upper reaches of the ISIS organization to gain intelligence about upcoming attacks. I really don't want to spoil any of the additional action (and this book is chock full of action), but suffice to say that the remainder of the story revolves around the identification of a candidate, her training, her recruitment into ISIS, and the subsequent activities surrounding the attack on American soil.
The writing, plot development, tradecraft, and dialogue are all top notch. The pace is fast and there's a good bit of violence involved (which makes sense since, after all, it's ISIS). The last section of the book is the really scary part- suffice to say I hope we have several Gabriel Allons on our side in the 'war against terror'.
This is a dynamite book, one of Silva's best, and I highly recommend it.
The story beings in Paris where ISIS has detonated a massive bomb that kills hundreds including an old friend of Gabriel's. Surprisingly the French government uses a subtle form of blackmail to convince the Israeli spy agency to help them find Saladin, the alleged mastermind. Gabriel believes the only way he can find this man is to infiltrate ISIS. He recruits Natalie Mizrahi, a French-born doctor of Algerian-Jewish descent, who takes on a high-risk deep cover operation pretending to be the widow of a dead jihadist. In a surprising twist, Natalie becomes the real star of the book and Gabriel more of a supporting player.
No other author can write the kind of sophisticated and literate spy thrillers that Daniel Silva is a master of. Once again he has delivered a stunningly brilliant and timely plot. If you are already a fan of his books you will be thrilled when you read this one. I look forward to the changes that are coming for Gabriel but I have no doubt the author is committed to keeping this franchise alive and fresh. This is my favorite book of 2016 at this point.
One of Silva’s repeating themes is Israel as the champion of the Jews. His characters come to Israel from places where Jews are powerless and victimized. Silva’s Israeli characters are the antithesis of that image. Mikhail, one of the stronger characters in the novel represents this theme. “He was a new person, a new Jew. He was an Israeli.” Dr. Natalie Mizrahi is another. Born and educated as a doctor in France, she emigrated to Israel and displays exceptional courage and resourcefulness as a lead character in this novel. Posing as Leila Hadawi, a Palestinian refugee, she is tasked by Israeli intelligence to infiltrate an ISIS-like terrorist network to learn the identity of its mysterious leader, Saladin.
Of course, this is genre fiction, so many of the characters are one-dimensional. Saladin is the evil enemy mastermind; Safia Bourihane is the terrorist, who as the “black widow” of the book’s title, has a monomania: to revenge the death of her terrorist lover. Spy networks from Israel, France, Jordan and the US collaborate but, as characters, most lack nuance. In fact, they seem to be present mainly as foils for Gabriel Allon.
Natalie Mizrahi and Gabriel Allon are the notable exceptions. These characters are well developed, nuanced and interesting. Natalie is a skilled physician, but expresses doubts about her competence. She is close to her parents, also living in Israel. She is ambivalent about her assignment and doubts her ability to masquerade as a “black widow” in the caliphate. Remarkably, Silva shows moments when her Leila persona so completely takes over her consciousness that the reader wonders if her psyche may be permanently damaged.
Of course, Silva has been developing the Gabriel Allon character over multiple novels. Throughout, he resists presenting a superhero. Instead we see a complex man. He is passionate about his work and Israel, but fatalistic about it. Unlike Israel’s leadership, he senses that his cause is, in the final analysis, hopeless. He is both an action figure and an artist, restoring priceless artworks. He despises violence, but has been an assassin. He has lost one family, but found another and is extremely protective of the latter.
The writing is detailed and unrelenting leading to a satisfying, yet ambiguous ending. Silva’s many settings are all skillfully evoked. These include Israeli intelligence, which he calls “the Office,” Paris, Washington, Jerusalem and Syria. The locales are so meticulously described that one is tempted to look them up on Google Maps.
It is undeniable that Silva writes spy novels. But their literary value is also undeniable. They argue elegantly for less polarity in the literary vs. genre debate.
In the book, three 12-year olds, two boys and a girl, were viciously attacked by Islamic extremists, in an apparent overt act of anti-Semitism. The attackers were heard to chant a statement in Arabic referring to the Caliphate. The rise of these attacks against Jews in recent months, which had been treated lightly by the French government in an attempt to maintain a politically correct environment, avoiding unnecessary incidents within the Muslim community, led to a gathering of prominent Jewish leaders who will attempt, together, to find a solution to the re-emergence of assaults reminiscent of the 1930’s and 40’s and the rise of Hitler.
As the meeting begins, there is an enormous explosion that takes the lives of most of the attendees. This bombing is followed by the cold-blooded murder of all those who managed to survive the attack, even those already gravely injured. Then the attackers disappeared into the street, seemingly without a trace. The Isis inspired assault was part of a plan for a series of more and more devastating attacks, some which would soon reach the shores of the United States. The Isis leader wanted to draw America more fully into the conflict between Radical Islam and the rest of the world, hoping that doing so would further the spread of the Caliphate throughout the modern world.
Stage left, enter Gabriel Allon, an Israeli who had been rumored to be dead and duly mourned, a master spy who is very much alive and planning to soon come out of his “retirement” to take over the leadership of the Mossad, commonly referred to as “The Office”. Israelis had attended the important meeting of Jewish leaders who fought for the cause of Judaism, and they had been assassinated along with all the others. Israel had been provoked into action by this mass murder and was anxious to find the perpetrators and prevent further violence.
At first, the search began quietly, with Israel, France and Jordan working together, but soon, America and England were drawn into the effort, as well, as attacks spread and continued. Would they find the assassins before there was another attack? How many would die in America and abroad before the assassins were brought to justice? How would they capture them when their trail was cold and the moving parts were not necessarily aware of each other? Even those involved within the corps of Isis were eliminated at the drop of a hat if they are thought to be compromised and a leak was possible. Isis is a brutal enemy that must be brought down, but will the forces attempting to defeat them be successful?
When it was discovered that a man called “Saladin”, whose true identity was unknown, was leading the current violent effort for radical Islam, all agreed that he must be stopped. An Undercover agent was planted within the organization, against all odds, and she faced grave danger. Would she survive? Will she alone be successful in bringing this Isis cell and Saladin down? The thriller twists and turns as the terror spreads and the investigation becomes more and more dangerous for all involved.
The book is narrated really well by George Guidall who always does a good job of keeping the listener engaged with his expressive presentation, however, the book often rambles and becomes confusing, as it travels from country to country and more and more characters enter each scene. Perhaps a print version would be beneficial.
In a tale that seems snatched from the headlines, this powerful tale of intrigue and terror
Highly recommended.
I thought that the primary story reflected in the Black Widow of a French, Jewish, female doctor being indoctrinated to infiltrate ISIS was not only interesting, but timely. The book was also quite informative with regard to the historical confrontation of the Jewish state, Israel, with that of Palestine. Within the context noted above , I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for a quick read.
But of course spy thrillers don't generally need too much background and set up. In this one, Allon is restoring art and inactive, and the world believes he is dead, a ruse that was apparently necessary as part of a previous mission. He is also in line to become Chief of the Office, the Israeli spy agency, at which time it will be announced that he is indeed alive and well.
But before that, there is a terrible terrorist attack in Paris, masterminded by a new villain, "Saladin", who is an ISIS operative. In this attack, one of the victims has a history with Allon, and leaves her previously unknown Van Gogh painting to him in her will. French intelligence wants the Legend to help them in the investigation, so Allon works this one last case before ascending to chief.
The book then follows the recruitment and training of a French-Israeli Jewish woman of Morrocan extraction who speaks fluent Arabic and is tasked to infiltrate the ISIS network. We then follow her and her handlers as they penetrate the network and try to stop the next big attack, in Washington.
Lots of cliche, but of course that's the genre. Silva's books are a little heavier on spycraft and tension, and lighter on gratuitous violence. Great airplane/beach reading, though, a real page-turner.
The payoff has plenty of gratuitous violence, of course, and sets us up for the next book. I didn't love the ending, but don't want to say more as I don't want this to be a spoiler review.
The second purpose is perhaps not so strong in the main section of the book, but the prologue fleshes this out. The book covers displacement of peoples when modern Israel was established, the actions of ISIS locally and internationally (in its effect on people, bombings, destruction of monuments), and also the recruitment of foreign nationals to its cause.
The details of surveillance are interesting, but I suspect a tiny bit fanciful at times.
It you are into thrillers, this one is worth reading.
Yes I know it is fiction but a lot of what is covered in his books is rooted in fact, The explanation of how Isis recruits and trains