There is no such thing as a bad Daniel Silva Gabriel Allon thriller. Some are just better than others.

It's hard for me to describe the book. All of the usual characters are here, almost like old home week. When I finished the book I had the feeling that I had read the last Allon book by Silva. Using the time markers that Silva has put in the 12 or so Allon novels, Gabriel would be somewhere in his early 60's. In The Fallen Angel, Allon is kinder, more gentle than in previous novels. He doesn't More...

My weekend reading; can't wait! I've loved every Gabriel Allon book since the series started. Just came across an on-target review by Hugh Hewitt, parts of which I thought I'd share with anyone unfamiliar with the series:

"Silva's books are wonderful entertainment and Silva is widely regarded as at the very top of the thriller writers working today, but the far deeper value of the books is in the education they provide on the precarious situation of Israel in the world today. The nature of that s More...

Another well written thriller from Daniel Silva, this time moving from restoring art in the Vatican, dealing with antiquities throughout Europe and finally accompanying the Pope on a visit to Israel. As always there is good and evil and those who are good are somewhat compromised, like Gabriel Allon. There is also the continuing age-old battle of the Middle East which is front and center in most suspense writing now. Allon has been part of this struggle since just after the Munich Olympics. How More...

As a ferocious reader of mysteries/thrillers, I never thought I would find the perfect novel to satisfy my love of art and mystery combined. I considered the hunt for novels or books or articles especially regarding the Baroque painter Caravaggio would be everlasting! The bad boy of the art world* has inspired some fascinating narratives. This novel, THE FALLEN ANGEL by Daniel Silva, is reading after only a few chapters....as the epitome of such novels. (Many an Amazon customer reviewer has decr More...

As usual, Gabriel Allon is dragged out of retirement (or in this case, restoration work) to help the Israeli intelligence as well as the Pope. With laundered money from stolen and illegal antiquities going into Hezbollah's coffers, and the Vatican's bank an unknowing partner in the procedures, Gabriel is asked to find the link from the Vatican to the terrorists and stop the potential scandal. Of course, this evolves delving into a global criminal enterprise which has tentacles far more reaching More...

In Gabriel Allon's world, a world of art restoration and beauty, lies n undertone of the spy he once was for the Mossad, where life is precious.

While restoring a Carvaggio to its former glory, a girl falls from near the top of the Basilica at St. Peters. Only in Gabriel's world would a Catholic priest ask him to "look into it, but don't ask too many questions". This is the same Catholic church that in our world is one scandal away from oblivion. The death of a young female curate from one of the More...

*Genre* Suspense/Thriller
*Rating* 4.0

*Review*

As “The Fallen Angel” opens, Gabriel Allon, renowned art restorer, retired Israeli Spy and assassin, and savior of the Holy father, is working at the Vatican in an effort to restore a 17th century painting by Caravaggio. This, of course, doesn't last very long.

Once again Gabriel is called to duty. This time it’s by his friend Monsignor Luigi Donati who asks for Allon's help in investigating the appearance of a suicide by Claudia Andreatti, curator of More...

There is a reason Bill Clinton likes Gabriel Allon (and Daniel Silva). The books provide an instant education on geopolitical events as well as dramatic plots and great action.

The books are largely the same; Gabriel is ensconced in some place doing art restoration work when a dire threat of some kind surfaces and off he goes to save the world. This book is no exception, and the reader gets a great first look at issues such as Islamic denial of the existence of a Jewish temple on the Temple Moun More...

Having read and enjoyed Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series, I great each new thriller with a certain anticipation and a bit of trepidation. Can Silva keep us the pace? Is this latest installment going to be the one where deadlines result in careless plotting?

The answer to all my doubts came in the Fallen Angel. Gabriel Allon, fine art restorer and former Israeli operative, is working on the restoration of a Caravaggio, when a staffer falls to her death within the Vatican. Summoned by the Pope's More...

BEWARE OF SPOILERS. I DON'T HIDE OR PROMOTE MY REVIEWS.

I'm a diehard fan of Silva, and Gabriel Allon, his Israeli secret agent hero.

Key concepts: Holocaust denial, Temple denial (denial by some radical Muslims that Solomon's Temple ever existed).

Key activities: Art restoration, art theft, protection of the Catholic Pope on a fraught visit to Jerusalem during Holy Week.

There's a symmetry that a death occurs at book's start and end, each time by a person falling from a high balcony in a chapel at More...

I've now read all of the Gabriel Allon books by Silva and I've enjoyed them all, despite his writing being formulaic and predictable. I really enjoyed this book though, as he went a slightly different direction. Allon is an Israeli spy who is also a famed art restorer. In each of Silva's books, there is lots of history and many art references but pretty dumbed down so that I, as someone ignorant of the art world, can absorb it and don't feel like he is being snobby and showoffy the way some auth More...

Daniel Silva's latest Gabriel Allon novel still brings the thrills and suspense despite being the 12th volume in this increasing formulaic series.

In this novel, Allon is tasked by the Vatican to look into the death of an employee of the Vatican, who herself was looking into whether the Vatican had any problems with the provenance of its art collection.
This is an actual issue that has come to plague major museums in the world as art that has been on display for the masses is now sought by the ori More...

THE FALLEN ANGEL. (2012). Daniel Silva. ***.
I am a fan of Mr. Silva’s espionage novels, but this one goes over the top. It starts off well: His hero, Gabriel Allon, is in Vatican City working on the restoration of a painting by Caravaggio when he is called into the basilica to view the body of a young woman who has either fallen or was pushed from the dome to her death below. Allon immediately knows that she was murdered because he sees that her neck has been broken, and that a cross that she n More...

Gabriel Allon a master spy from Israel and one of the worlds leading art
restorers is once again in Rome restoring a Caravaggio masterpiece for the
Vatican. Early one morning he is summoned to the Basilica by Monsignor Luigi
Donati the all powerful secretary to the Pope. He has found a body beneath
Michaelangelo's dome. The Vatican police rule this a suicide but Gabriel thinks
otherwise and so does the Monsignor. Concerned about a scandel the Monsignor calls
upon Gabriel to use his talents and pursu More...

As usual, Gabriel Allon is doing what he likes best, restoring a masterpiece, this time in Vatican City, when there he is asked to investigate a death by his friend, the pope's private secretary.
His investigation leads him to the world of the theft of priceless and irreplacable art and artifacts. Telling what he discovers could destroy people he likes as well as the Catholic Church.
Locations include not only the Vatican but also Switzerland, Vienna, and Jerusalem. Not only art thieves but terro More...

Time for the yearly Gabriel Allon novel. This one was slightly better than usual because it had Donati and the Pope. Gabriel was less insufferable than usual. I read this one super fast and couldn't put it down, however, as I get older I'm realizing the difference between not being able to put something down and 5 stars. These books are great beach reads, but I try to reserve 5 stars for books that have changed the way I think or even caused me to reconsider something. These books are not that, More...

Gabriel Allon is one of my favorite characters...I love his professionalism (both professions, assassin and art restorer), I love Chairi, his wife. I love his friends Eli and Ari. I love the fact Gabriel -- OK, really Daniel Silva, informs me about the Middle East and its complications. I can always plan to LEARN something reading about Gabriel...and this book does not disappoint. For this book, we learn about the connections between Iran and Hezbollah, described by a US federal agent as "the Ga More...

Not going to repeat the plot line as others have already done so.

The given is that somehow the story has to end up with Allon and his team saving Israel from yet another potential catastrophe. The trick is how do we get there? And that is what seemed contrived to me: the whole death in the Vatican leading to antique theft to an international smuggling ring to -- oh finally -- they're connected to a terrorist organization that has a bomb ticking under Jerusalem. Almost forgot -- we throw in a Pop More...

A fast paced story with plenty of twists and turns: imagine cramming great artwork, Vatican intrigue, an Israeli spy, the head of the CIA, and Hezbollah all into a story that careens from Rome to Washington to Vienna to Jerusalem and back again all into a 370 page book.

I enjoy Silva's book's immensely and look forward to their annual publication; I guess I would wish for more. He writes very well, and pulls off an admirable amount of character develop and pathos efficiently. Its light reading th More...

Gabriel Allon, master Israeli spy, is drawn out of retirement by his current employers at the Vatican where he is restoring Carvaggio's The Deposition of Christ. A woman has fallen from the heights of St. Peter's Basilica, and the pope's private secretary, Monsignor Luigi Donati, is asking for Allon's help. To Gabriel and Donati, it is apparent that the woman has been murdered, although the official story that is released by the Vatican is that her death was a suicide. Gabriel discovers the root More...

It's a wonderful feeling when you know within the first page of a book that reading it will be a pleasure - if only I could put my finger on how to make that happen I'd be writing my little heart out. Daniel Silva has no such problem, though - and he's done it again with a riveting book that's really, really hard to put down.

Gabriel Allon, a larger-than-life art restoration expert and former Israeli intelligence agent, takes on the task of finding the murderer of a young female curator who worke More...

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva takes the reader into the world of terror, murder, and espionage between Israel and Palestine. The added clandestine maneuvers of Iran and nefarious dealings in the Vatican make a compelling story. This is the 12th novel starring Gabriel Allon, a former officer of Israeli intelligence who is also a master art restorer. He is living in Rome and restoring a Caravaggio masterpiece in the Vatican when he is asked to investigate a suicide or murder. A curator in the a More...

Great book that wanted me to keep listening--fast-paced thriller based partly in the Vatican with art restoration and partly a novel dealing with the Muslim/Israeli conflict.

After narrowly surviving his last operation, Gabriel Allon, the wayward son of Israeli intelligence, has taken refuge behind the walls of the Vatican, where he is restoring one of Caravaggio's greatest masterpieces. But early one morning he is summoned to St. Peter's Basilica by Monsignor Luigi Donati, the all-powerful priv More...

I bought this book because it was touted to be like THE DA VINCI CODE. This is the first book of Daniel Silva's litany of books that I have read. It will not be the last.

The main character, Gabriel, is a very talented man. He is a restorer of art, a spy, and an assassin. Quite a collection of careers. Gabriel is called to the Vatican to restore one of the famous pieces of art. Although he is Jewish, he appears to have a trusting relationship with the Vatican.

Gabriel has several tantalizing adve More...

Taqiyya. From Sharia law: displaying one intention while harboring another. A feint or a misdirection.

The concept of taqiyya plays a central role in Silva’s most recent, sensational outing for Gabriel Allon, his wayward son of Israeli intelligence. It is a technique mastered by both terrorist and theologian in this gripping thriller.

We travel from the Vatican, where Gabriel is restoring a masterpiece by Caravaggio, to San Moritz to Vienna and on to the Holy Land. (Anyone who has visited the Temp More...

I enjoyed this book and I respect and like this author. Well written, great attention to detail, as always and sometimes beautiful use of the English language. There was a point in the story where the author hooked the reader; however, the denoument and conclusion felt blase. I experienced less immediacy than within previous Daniel Silva novels. Did it need more literal descriptive detail of action? I'm not sure. Perhaps the Gabriel Allon franchise has become a bit formulaic for me as Allon, the More...

I enjoyed this story with a twist. Daniel Silva brings back Gabriel Allon to save the day and the Pope. As Gabriel is healing physically and emotionally from his last assignment he has supposedly retired and is back at his true love restoring classic paintings. he is at the Vatican restoring a Caravagio when a murder happens in the Basilica. A woman who is working on a secret project for Donati the private secretary to the Pope and the one who brought Gabriel in for the restoration project. When More...

I worry about Gabriel Allon. With a past hovering in the world of terror and intrigue, the poor guy just can't get away from it all. In his latest thriller, Daniel Silva writes another winner featuring his renowned art restorer and hero/assassin (depending whose side you're on) that taps into the current political upheaval in the Middle East.

A murdered woman in St. Peter's Basilica leads to a trail of illicit art smuggling, money laundering, and fanatical terrorism. Content to restore a painting More...

This book was recommended to me by a friend based on my obsession over a TV series called Homeland. I now understand that it truly is very close to the underlying premise of the show - which is based on how intelligence agencies of a nation prevent and uncover terrorist plots. It is a hugely interesting premise and one that makes for good reading.

The fallen Angel is a well researched book and names places and events that make it seem real. Initially slow, it builds pace gradually and gets quite More...

I love this series. I actually slowed down my reading so that the book would last longer. In this book the characters have aged. They're all worn down after 12 books in which they face one fight for Israel's survival after another. Suppose Canada or Mexico were to launch rockets into border cities, how would we react? Once would be unacceptable, as an ongoing threat we would not tolerate either country.
This book also feeds my fascination about fundamentalists of any religious persuasion, espec More...