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Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML: In a spellbinding new masterpiece by #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva, Gabriel Allon undertakes a high-stakes search for the greatest art forger who ever lived Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon has at long last severed ties with Israeli intelligence and settled quietly in Venice, the only place where he has ever truly known peace. His beautiful wife, Chiara, has taken over the day-to-day management of the Tiepolo Restoration Company, and their two young children are discreetly enrolled in a neighborhood scuola elementare. For his part, Gabriel spends his days wandering the streets and canals of the watery city, bidding farewell to the demons of his tragic, violent past. But when the eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood asks Gabriel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rediscovery and lucrative sale of a centuries-old painting, he is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems. Gabriel soon discovers that the work in question, a portrait of an unidentified woman attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck, is almost certainly a fiendishly clever fake. To find the mysterious figure who painted it�??and uncover a multibillion-dollar fraud at the pinnacle of the art world�??Gabriel conceives one of the most elaborate deceptions of his career. If it is to succeed, he must become the very mirror image of the man he seeks: the greatest art forger the world has ever known. Stylish, sophisticated, and ingeniously plotted, Portrait of an Unknown Woman is a wildly entertaining journey through the dark side of the art world�??a place where unscrupulous dealers routinely deceive their customers and deep-pocketed investors treat great paintings as though they were just another asset class to be bought and sold at a profit. From its elegant opening to the shocking twists of its climax, the novel is a tour de force of storytelling and one of the finest pieces of heist fiction ever written. And it is still more proof that, when it comes to international intrigue and suspense, Daniel Silva has no eq… (more)
User reviews
He was finally able to retire and moved to Venice with his wife, Chiara, and young children. Chiara
Allon uses his ability to forge paintings as a way to break up their illegal spread.
While there are references to previous experiences from his days with Mossad and some murders and hacking in PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, most of the action revolves focuses on the spread of forged art masterpieces, sold at excessively high prices to people who keep them in their personal collections, thereby making it difficult to discover.
The Author’s Notes provides information about what is genuine, based on fact, or purely imagination. It also lists books for additional information about the art forgery business.
Well-written with intricate plot twists, PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, provides a lot of information about how and why the racket works.
There has to be a limited number of tales left to tell about uber intelligence agent Gabriel Allison, so what's an authot to do. Well in the case of this beloved series, you focus lless on plot and more on characters. In
The latest episode finds Allanon in a state of retirement when he is suddenly drawn into a case of international art forgery. Past ccharacters weave in and out of a loosely constructed story that provides a surprising level of satisfaction.
Future editions in this series are definitly coming to an end, and that is all the more reason to treasure each and evryone of them.
Gabriel Allon has retired and has begun a new career as an art restorer. When his friend Julian believes he may have acquired a forged painting, especially after an attempt is made on his life, he calls Allon to help him
Although Allon is no longer an investigator, he agrees to help Julian. Soon his life is also in danger, as are those he calls in to help him. The familiar characters from past novels, Sara and her husband Christopher, join him in his effort. Sara is very much involved in the art world and may also have been duped into buying and selling fraudulent paintings. This could ruin her business as well as Julian’s.
In the quest for answers, they discover that there is a criminal enterprise engaging in the buying, selling of forgeries and then falsely authenticating them. It is a large network of criminals that are not afraid of engaging in violence. How to pursue the criminals is a problem, not only for their safety, but the revelation of this level of fraud could destroy the art world and the museums that may have been compromised with purchases of fakes.
For most of the book, the non-stop tension and excitement of the usual Allon mystery is missing, which is a disappointment. There is a lot of detail which is distracting. There is only a smattering of action, but there is danger afoot toward the end which captures the reader’s attention. Still, my favorite series has taken a dramatic turn in another, less desirable direction.
The author seems to have decided to use politics as a theme to promote his own progressive bent. His accusations of racism and his concern for global warming are negatively directed toward America. These opinions of his may or may not please all of his readers. Perhaps he should return to the action packed novels of the past and leave the political points of view to others. The narrator enhanced what would otherwise have been a slow read.
“When the eccentric art dealer Julian Isherwood asks (a retired) Gabriel Allon to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rediscovery and lucrative sale of a centuries-old
Every one of Daniel Silva’s books has left me spell-bound. Exciting, thrilling, filled with international intrigue and travel, art history and restoration, deception and fraud; the title is so intricately plotted as to cast an hypnotic spell on the reader. A ‘sting’ like no other. *****
Former spy, now art restorer, Gabriel Allon, is asked to confirm the authenticity of a painting by a London art dealer, Julian Isherwood. The painting, The portrait of unknown woman, attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck, is a forgery. Now,
Art fraud is a very lucrative crime, and the penalties are barely anything in comparison to the fraud. Interesting story.