About two months ago I began reading The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva. It was gifted to me along with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books of a series of spy novels about Gabriel Allon. At the time, I figured I would read one and blog about them as I have done with all my other reads over the years. After flying through the first book and beginning the second, I realized how addicting these books were and also how similar the stories. Realizing it would be four very similar blog posts, I decided to read them all and then review the lot of them; so here we are.
While all four novels are slightly different, they all revolve around an Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, who is posing (and is) one of the greatest art restorers in the world. Through the different stories he gets torn out of his pedestrian life to help Israel and their CIA type organization go after or kill bad people. While his Jewishness is at the core of the books, the last few novels have a much stronger focus on bringing people to justice who supported or were Nazi's in the 40's. And, while these books are fiction, based on the acknowledgements and endnotes, it's clear that much of the story is based in fact and there are many, many people who never faced justice for their hand in supporting the deaths of 12 million people during the Holocaust. This includes those in a number of non-German countries and some non-Jewish religious organizations.
While Silva, the author, clearly attempts to make the reader aware of certain parts of history swept under the proverbial rug, these novels captivate the reader mostly due to the great storytelling. From the moment I started the first book, I was pretty hooked as the author has a knack for making the reader stays engaged while also layering enough background to really keep the reader interested in the characters. While there are some memorable actions sequences, much of the novel is most interesting because of the spycraft and details included. Understanding the preparation, strategy, and implementation of plans are often the most satisfying parts of the story.
As the link above noted, there are 22 books in the Gabriel Allon series. I read the first four. While I think the first two or three were my favorite (the fourth wasn't quite as strong in my opinion), I am going to give it a break for a while before taking on the other 18. While I think I probably would enjoy them and continue to be entertained and they are fairly quick reads, there are so many great books out there and want to keep moving on. Gabriel Allon - really enjoyed getting to know you! ☺️
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