"Portrait of a Spy", by Daniel Silva

Book 11 in the Gabriel Allon series

Once again Daniel Silva takes his readers on an exciting action-packed journey into the world of terrorism. This political thriller explores a lot of current events through the eyes of his protagonist, although meant to be entertaining above all it nevertheless leaves a breathtaking portrait of courage in the face of global terror.

The story opens when we learn an American cleric has set up an Al Qaeda like operation in Yemen and has unleashed a wave of suicide bombings. The bloody carnage leaves the citizens of Paris, Copenhagen and London in a state of fear and disbelieve and the world wonders where the terrorists will strike next? 

Gabriel Allon, a renowned art restorer and former Israeli spy, has retired to Cornwall England with his wife, Chiara, to follow his passion in the field of arts. One day, a chance observation at London’s Convent Garden jolts him out of retirement and into the service of the U.S government. He is recruited to devise a daring plan to destroy the network of death that is causing havoc and targeting more and more countries. With the help of Nadia al-Bakari, a reclusive Saudi heiress, Gabriel and his team will traverse the murky divide between two very different cultures. 

After reading a number of books very little has changed in this series, Allon is still trying to retire but after so many years with the Mossad as a spy it is hard to distance himself from the trade. King Saul Boulevard and their allies in the US always have one more mission up their sleeves and need an experienced professional to execute it, Allon is one of their preferred operatives and they always have a convincing story to entice him back. 

Mr. Silva has skillfully mastered a formula that combines the art world and counter-espionage to create a suspense filled plot with depth and endless action, guaranteed to sustain the reader’s interest for hours.