Narrator George Guidall brings back the many characters we have come to know and appreciate in Silva’s Gabriel Allon series. Once again, Silva leverages current headlines to engage listeners, this time taking them into the intrigues of the House of Saud and the political ramifications of shifting alliances within it. Gabriel Allon, now having two years under his belt as director of Israeli Intelligence, is compelled to help the Crown Prince rescue his 12-year old daughter from kidnappers. Guidall provides perfect English, French, German, Israeli, and Arab accents. Though his tone remains calm, he conveys the high tension of scene after scene through his pace and cadence. Listeners are treated to a gripping story from beginning to end performed by a master narrator. E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
08/05/2019
In bestseller Silva’s sophisticated 19th thriller featuring art restorer and Israeli intelligence director Gabriel Allon (after 2018’s The Other Woman), Crown Prince Khalid bin Mohammed, the future king of Saudi Arabia, secretly seeks Allon’s help to rescue his daughter, who’s been kidnapped from her school in Geneva, Switzerland. Though Allon is a former enemy, the prince believes Allon is the best man for the job. Allon reluctantly agrees for political reasons, only to have the rescue attempt come to a tragic end in Southern France. He soon realizes, however, that the kidnapping is part of a bigger plot involving members of the Saudi royal family and his old adversaries, the Russians, who hope to permanently alter the balance of power in the Middle East. Allon and his crew of veteran agents race around the world on a mission to thwart the bad guys. Though order is ultimately restored, the novel ends with an unexpectedly violent conclusion. As always, Silva delivers sharply drawn characters, a complex plot, and vivid backgrounds that add to the book’s realism, even if at times Allon’s own abilities seem too good to be true. Series fans will find plenty to like, and this is an excellent introduction for new readers. 10-city author tour. (July)
“Sophisticated .... As always Silva delivers.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Fascinating.... An irresistible thriller, built on the realpolitik of today’s Middle East but deepened by the universality of human tragedy.” — Booklist
“Enjoyable as ever. Allon is a smart creation…. There is a pleasing yin and yang here, of destruction and (re)creation.” — Financial Times
“[A] chess game of intrigue…. Daniel Silva spins an addictive yarn.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“At times a brilliant novel tells us as much about the times we live in—and the struggles of the world, the global deceptions and tragedies—as well or better than journalism. Daniel Silva’s The New Girl is such a novel. Eye-opening and a joy to read.” — Bob Woodward
“#1 NYT bestselling author Daniel Silva always gives you a summer treat. This summer’s treat is The New Girl.” — Hugh Hewitt
“One year after producing what might be the best spy novel since John le Carre’s The Spy who Came in from the Cold, Daniel Silva is back with another riveting, twisting tale of espionage that further cements his legacy as one of the greatest novelists the genre has ever known.... It’s hard to fathom that Silva could ever top himself after last year’s The Other Woman, but he’s done just that. “ — The Real Book Spy
“First-rate.... For the person who likes a great story of espionage and intrigue, Daniel Silva’s art restorer and master spy, Gabriel Allon, is a great match for Ian Fleming’s 007.” — The Daily News
Fascinating.... An irresistible thriller, built on the realpolitik of today’s Middle East but deepened by the universality of human tragedy.
#1 NYT bestselling author Daniel Silva always gives you a summer treat. This summer’s treat is The New Girl.
[A] chess game of intrigue…. Daniel Silva spins an addictive yarn.
At times a brilliant novel tells us as much about the times we live in—and the struggles of the world, the global deceptions and tragedies—as well or better than journalism. Daniel Silva’s The New Girl is such a novel. Eye-opening and a joy to read.”
First-rate.... For the person who likes a great story of espionage and intrigue, Daniel Silva’s art restorer and master spy, Gabriel Allon, is a great match for Ian Fleming’s 007.
One year after producing what might be the best spy novel since John le Carre’s The Spy who Came in from the Cold, Daniel Silva is back with another riveting, twisting tale of espionage that further cements his legacy as one of the greatest novelists the genre has ever known.... It’s hard to fathom that Silva could ever top himself after last year’s The Other Woman, but he’s done just that. “
Enjoyable as ever. Allon is a smart creation…. There is a pleasing yin and yang here, of destruction and (re)creation.
Enjoyable as ever. Allon is a smart creation…. There is a pleasing yin and yang here, of destruction and (re)creation.
Fascinating.... An irresistible thriller, built on the realpolitik of today’s Middle East but deepened by the universality of human tragedy.
2019-07-01
Gabriel Allon partners with a dubious ally in the Middle East.
When a 12-year-old is abducted from an exclusive private school in Geneva, Allon, head of Israeli intelligence, is among the first to know. The girl's father is Khalid bin Mohammed, heir to the Saudi throne, and he wants Allon's help. KBM was once feted as a reformer, ready to bring new industries and new freedoms to his country. When he makes his appeal to Allon, though, KBM is the prime suspect in the murder of a journalist. If KBM immediately makes you think of MBS, you are correct. Silva mentions Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's real-life heir apparent, in a foreword. But anyone who recognizes KBM as a fictional echo of MBS might find this book to be more old news than fresh entertainment. In his last few novels, Silva has turned his attention to current world affairs, such as the rise of the new Russia and the threats of global terrorism. In novels like The Other Woman (2018) and House of Spies (2017), the author was inventive enough that these works felt compelling and original. And, in The Black Widow (2016), Silva wrote much of the story from the point of view of the French-born Israeli doctor Allon recruited for an undercover mission while also expanding the roles of a few familiar secondary characters. Allon is a wonderful creation. In the first several novels in this series, he posed as an art restorer while working for Israel's intelligence service. He adopted a variety of personas and gave readers access to people and places few of us will ever see. Now that he's a public figure who can no longer invent alter egos, his world is smaller and less fascinating. The pacing here is slow, and any sense of urgency is undercut by the matter of what's at stake. Ultimately, this is a narrative about removing one horrible Saudi ruler in order to reinstate a less horrible Saudi ruler. This might be solid realpolitik, but it's not terribly compelling fiction.
It may be time for Silva's hero to retire from the field and let his protégés take over.
