The Fallen Angel audiobook

Is there any Gabriel Allon book that is bad? Even if the story is recycled and you know pretty much what is going to happen, this series has never ceased to be fun to read.This time Allon goes against the Mafia which is linked to terrorism of course. Yada yada yada. Who cares? Allon and his team kicking ass are why we are here and this book delivers it in spades.

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 situation first became very obvious to millions of Americans in my generation when terrorists attacked the Israeli Olympic team in Munich in 1972, ecventually killing 11 Israeli athletes and coaches on September 6, 1972. Most American 50 and older can tell you exactly where they were when this atrocity unfolded, and as the 40th anniversary looms, we can only hope the organizers of the London Games are not only committed to remembering that awful massacre but also to remembering its details correctly and without concern for the political winds blowing once again against Israel all across Europe. The Fallen Angel takes the reader not only to Vienna and Rome in another superb combination off pacing and plot, but also to Jerusalem and into the heart of the "Temple Denial" phenomenon, the all-to-real effort by the fanatical opponents of Israel's history to claim that the First and second Temples of Ancient Israel never existed. This appalling assault on truth obliges its proponents to condemn themselves as unthinking fanatics, but the world doesn't have to accomodate their extremism any more than it does the nuttiness of Holocaust deniers. Silva's thriller does a great deal to call attention to the phenomenon, and to the physical threats to Israel as well, especially those coming from Hezbollah. ...This kind of dual purpose in a novel is rare, and not to be missed, by ordinary beach-going vacationers or presidential candidates. "

I've read a number of the Gabriel Allon series of novels by Daniel Silva. They are all excellent, riveting, entertaining, and a little bit of education thrown in. Gabriel Allon is an art restorer, trying to retire from a career with the Israeli Intelligence service. In the beginning of the story, he is restoring a famous painting at the Vatican. A woman who works as an art historian is found having fallen from the upper level at St. Peter's Basilica. So, Allon is called in to investigate the death--is it a suicide, or is it a murder?The plot quickly thickens, and becomes a challenge to break up a couple of terrorist plots before mass carnage is instigated. Allon is troubled by his past, especially by his rarely conscious wife who was seriously hurt in a terrorist event in Europe, from years ago. He feels very guilty for the terrible outcome.While this book stands on its own, I would certainly recommend reading it after some of the earlier books, so that you can more fully appreciate the relations between the main characters. There is a lot of "history" here.I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook, narrated by George Guidall. He is an excellent reader; I have listened to many other audiobooks that he has read, and he is one of the best.

The gun was a .45 calibre Beretta, larger than the 9mm he generally preferred but necessary for a quick and decisive kill. The ammunition was hollow-point, which would help to alleviate the threat of collateral casualties due to over-penetration. Gabriel loaded ten rounds into the magazine and inserted it into the butt. Then he screwed the suppressor to the end of the barrel and, extending his arm, checked the weapon for balance.“What do you think normal people do when they come to Vienna?” Chiarra asked.12th in the Gabriel Allon series finds the former Israeli spymaster, assassin and art restorer working in the Vatican lab on Caravaggio’s The Deposition when he is called upon by his friend, Monsignor Luigi Donati, private secretary to His Holiness Pope Paul VII, to discretely investigate the death of a female curator of the Vatican art archives, her body found on the floor of the Sistine Chapel. Publicly a verdict of suicide is announced, in the inimitable Vatican way. Murdered, in Gabriel’s opinion, she had discovered “irregularities” and was on her way to meet the Monsignor.The search for answers leads Gabriel and Chiarra to the Etruscan tombs at Cerveteri, and an introduction from the head of the Carabinieri art squad General Cesare Ferrari (a regular in the Allon thrillers) to Dr Veronica Marchese, founder of the repository of Etruscan Art & Antiquities, who was a close friend of the dead woman and a former friend-with-benefits of the Monsignor, her husband involved with the Vatican Bank.The Marcheses lived on a quiet street off the Via Veneto where the ceaseless march of time seemed to have stopped, however briefly, in an age of grace. This was the Rome that travellers dreamed of but rarely saw, the Rome of poets and painters and the fabulously rich…Other clues point to a middle-east born art specialist David Girard, with a studio in St Moritz - funds raised through antiquities sales siphoned off to Hezbollah. Gabriel prevails upon former Parisian art thief, Maurice Durand, (another regular) to “acquire” a Cezanne and Etruscan antiquity. Add in stalwart assassin of “The Office” Mikhail Abramov, an explosion and yet another regular, Christoph Bittel, head of Swiss counter-terrorism.Much of the book follows a well-trodden theme: rumours of the Iranian enrichment program, whispers of a terrorist attack, “the Office” kidnapping a senior official from an Iranian Embassy, interrogation and thwarting of would-be suicide bombers, and just when all seems to be going well, Gabriel joins the security contingent against a terrorist attack, as the Pope travels to the Holy Land, to celebrate Mass at Easter.Jerusalem appeared before them, floating, as though held aloft by the hand of God. The pope peered intently out of the window as they crossed the city from west to east, new to old. As they passed over the Temple Mount, the golden Dome of the Rock sparkled in the midday sun. Gabriel showed the pope the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Dormition, and the Garden of Gethsemane.This was the eleventh book in the Gabriel Allon series I have read (in no particular order) and once again I was drawn in by the research, the details of the locations, the art works, and fiction wrapped around history. Not a biblical scholar but, at risk of being labelled a numbers geek, I was struck by the symmetry of numbers: roughly 600 BCE – the height of the Etruscan empire in North-west Italy, and the destruction in 526 BCE of the 1st Temple of Jerusalem, built by Solomon, son of David, by Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II, whose empire included Syria and Palestine. Fast forward to CE, Christ condemned by Pontius Pilate to death by crucifixion marked by the solemn march along the Via Dolorosa - and the siege of the 2nd Temple of Jerusalem by Titus. Then in 636-637 CE, the rise of Islam, holding siege to Jerusalem through to the First Crusade 1099. Then a final leap to the 1800’s and British archaeologist Charles Wilson, followed by engineer Sir Charles Warren (later Commissioner of Police), who explored and documented the ruins and tunnels under the Temple Mount.I won’t be drawn into comparing books in the series as they are all good, but this one will remain a favourite of mine.

Another great exciting Gabriel Allon story (I've read them all). Silva creates electricity, sometimes with very few words. There was the touching scene with Leah, the always acerbic yet moving interactions with Shamron, the amazing Dina, and the sometimes implausible action that is nevertheless gripping. And also, there is the constant reminder of what Israel means to the Jewish people and how perilous its existence still is. Silva states in his Author's Note at the end of the book that there could have been a Palestinian state, and peace, had Yasir Arafat "found the courage" to say "Yes" to Bill Clinton's proposal. This is a powerful reminder that, whatever the past fury, and neither side has been perfect, the only way out is for both sides to agree to ignore the past and go forward. In today's climate, the Israeli settlers are as much to blame for not doing that as are the Palestinian refugees.

What can I say about this book that I haven’t already mentioned in regards to Daniel Silva’s other terrific novels? The immortal and powerful character of Gabriel Allon, the legendary Mossad agent, is starring in an exciting plot, which begins in Vatican City in Rome and slowly advances towards the Holly city of Jerusalem in Israel. This book entails some of the dark secrets lying in the Vatican, and their possible connection to world worldwide terrorism. In his skilled and unique writing, Silvia manages to lead the plot in mysterious and cursive ways to unexpected places, which made me devour this book! I felt that in the current book, Silva expressed himself more in terms of his political views and his impressive and insightful reading of the political map in the middle east. I believe that his books do a great service to Israel, and that’s why I’m always intruigued to read what his worldwide fans read. On top of that, his books are a fast-paced, thrilling pleasure!

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 much longer before he can retire?

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 decried..."oh, no...not another Caravaggio plot" but one more may not be enough for this reader! Since I viewed the Caravaggio in the Vatican collection...ENTOMBMENT (1602)...at the MMOA in New York in 1984, my fascination has only increased.)Daniel Silva has been called "his generation's finest writer of international intrigue and one of the greatest American spy novelists ever. Compelling, passionate, haunting, brilliant: these are the words that have been used to describe" him. "Silva burst onto the scene in 1997 with his electrifying bestselling debut, The Unlikely Spy, a novel of love and deception set around the Allied invasion of France in World War II. His second and third novels, The Mark of the Assassin and The Marching Season, were also instant New York Times bestsellers and starred two of Silva's most memorable characters: CIA officer Michael Osbourne and international hit man Jean-Paul Delaroche. But it was Silva's fourth novel, The Kill Artist, which would alter the course of his career. The novel featured a character described as one of the most memorable and compelling in contemporary fiction, the art restorer and sometime Israeli secret agent Gabriel Allon, and though Silva did not realize it at the time, Gabriel's adventures had only just begun. Gabriel Allon appears in Silva's next nine novels, each one more successful than the last: The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, and Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant, Moscow Rules, and The Defector."Yes, Silva has written a bunch of Allon mysteries....but many of the stories have not concentrated on this Israeli spy's talent as an art restorer. If you haven't read Silva...and/or if you love forged, stolen, restored art in your mysteries, this entry is not a hit and miss title. In the first chapters of the book, the reader enters the Basilica in Rome and meets the sampietrini , the head of the official caretakers of the hallowed place, who proceeds to offer a tour of place and its treasures. And we learn that the fictional spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon is restoring within the walls the famed Caravaggio THE DEPOSITION OF CHRIST (1604).It's going to be a 5 STAR read....and I can highly recommend THE FALLEN ANGEL as your first Silva mystery. ANGEL has the most revealing portrait of Allon to be found in all of the series.....in only a few early paragraphs. And you will have ten or so more Gabriel Allon mysteries for an exciting backlist!* NOTE: Caravaggio...bad boy of the art world? In an article dated July 5, 2012... "Caravaggio Discovery: to find 100 new works in Italy is simply astonishing," UK Telegraph critic Mark Hudson says if 100 new works are confirmed it could throw fresh light on the artist's reputation. "Quite apart from his reputation as art's ultimate wild man - probable bisexual, almost certain murderer who died on the run from the Papal authorities - Caravaggio is one of art's few truly essential figures: the original dirty realist, who swept away decades of Mannerist frippery, introducing a stark new honesty and intensity."

Fast Paced This is about the fifth Gabriel Allon book that I have read and like the others, is a winner Great characters; fast paced and a superb plot.

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 worked in the Vatican's antiquities division. No stranger to the Holy See, Allon was chosen in the hope of solving the case without involving the church in another scandal. But when it becomes clear she apparently had unearthed some secrets that someone didn't want known, the chase is on -- and it continues to weave in and out of the Vatican to other cities like Berlin, Vienna, and the homeland Allon loves with all his heart and soul, Israel. The book also brings a look at some of the financial, cultural and political connections and agendas among the Palestinians, Israel, Iran and the Vatican. Clearly, Silva has done considerable research in the writing of this book, and he expertly weaves a learning experience in with the nail-biting action. Outstanding!

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 original country to be returned to whence it came.Allon immediately suspects foul play and enlists the help of the "Office", Silva's euphemism for Mossad. After figuring out that the fallen employee suspected that certain art pieces were missing and that Carlo Marchese, a member of the Vatican Bank and husband of a woman with ties to the Vatican was a smuggler, and was probably involved in some way, Allon starts to look into his background. It turns out that the smuggler may have been involved in financing Hezbollah activities with stolen pottery from the Middle East.Allon conceives of a sting operation to find the connection between the smuggler and Hezbollah, and wham bang, there are bombings and plotted terrorist attacks, a kidnapping of an Iranian terrorist mastermind, the thwarting of an attack, but is it the real attack or have the Iranians pulled a bait and switch. Its part whodunit and part thriller and all Silva. Allon is a great hero, cool, collected, and a great shot, but this story relies on a good plot to keep us guessing until the the penultimate scene.Its a good thriller.

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 Temple Mount, MUST read this compelling imagining by a writer at his height.) Silva combines Rick Steves’ sense of place and Ludlum’s sense of pace in an emotional counter-point to last year’s gripping “Portrait of a Spy.”Daniel Silva is the strongest at his art working today. This is the twelfth in the series and, remarkably, might make an excellent starting point for anyone seeking to embrace one of the strongest series in print today.

Exceptionally well researched! Mr. Silva writes intelligent, engrossing stories which enlighten and educate readers on fascinating historical tidbits as well as political events and their global impact. It is a rare treat to be immersed in such a high caliber of writing skill! The characters are well rounded, multi-dimensional, authentic, and likable. The plot is complex and riveting! Totally satisfying denouement! Well deserved five stars!