Gabriel Allon, Mossad Officer extraordinaire, has decided to retire from the espionage business. He and his wife, Chiara, nestle into a faintly reclusive life in a small British community. Allon, however, cannot get away from his past. No matter how many paintings he restores, restoring normalcy in his own life escapes him and he finds himself again at the center of terrorism's storm.

I love Silva's novels. They were my introduction into the thriller genre, and I look forward to them so eagerly that I willingly shell out the ridiculous prices charged for the e-book version. I'm not complaining, I could refuse to pay it and check the book out of the library. But the truth is, I love coming back to Allon's stories again and again. Silva has created a tremendous, strong character; multi-faceted and complex.

That being said, there was less story in this story than process. I happen to be fascinated by the intelligence and espionage process, so this doesn't bother me in the least. If it had been the first book in the Allon series, though, I probably wouldn't have picked up another. Not at the prices the legacy publisher e-books are selling for.

For those who do pick up the book, I can only say that no matter how you feel reading about espionage process - you must read this through to the end. It is the end of this book that will stay with you, haunting your thoughts from time to time until Silva's next book is released.