The Jews of France are being targeted, ISIS has struck
again, this time in Paris, and Gabriel Allon's friend
Hannah Weinberg is dead. Gabriel, is an art restorer,
when he is not an Israeli masterspy, and Hannah has left
him a priceless painting in her will, a painting that has
a history for the Diaspora. After another deadly ISIS
strike in Amsterdam, the world's secret services, led by
the Israelis, must take action to prevent the most deadly
act of terrorism the world has ever seen. It all comes
down to the ability of a young French-born Israeli
doctor, Natalie Mizrahi, to infiltrate the terrorist
group as a Black Widow, a woman who has lost her spouse
or fiancé to the hands of the infidels and is bent on
revenge.
I had long felt that the spy thriller had suffered
greatly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. As a long-time
fan of spy novels, it seemed to me that something was
lacking, a spark was missing; the new foes were not as
interesting as the Nazis or the KGB, but that was
counting without Daniel Silva, who with THE BLACK WIDOW
has reinstated my faith in spy thrillers. Mr. Silva's
encyclopedic knowledge of the Middle East spying world is
so astounding, as to be almost prescient: as he was
writing his novel, uncannily similar events happened in
real life; that's when you know you're in good hands. THE
premise for THE BLACK WIDOW reminded me a bit of the
great John Le Carre's The Little Drummer Girl, as the
subject is similar, but that's where any resemblance
ends.
Daniel Silva is an exceptionally gifted writer, his prose
is beautiful and very evocative, and while globetrotting
along with the spies, I got the flavor of every country
that was part of the operations. The same thing goes for
every single character, which all were so vivid, it was
like watching a movie, or more precisely at times, like
being right there with the spies, the terrorists, and the
heads of states keeping an eye on the monitors while
cameras record every single event. This is where lies the
genius of Mr. Silva: creating characters so credible that
they matter to you, that make you feel interested in
their destiny, and that goes for the "other side" as
well. And this is what makes a spy thriller great: a foe
who is not a caricature, but a mesmerizing, polarizing
individual you believe in, and you understand his need to
vanquish the infidels.
For the most part, THE BLACK WIDOW is not fast-paced, and
neither is spying, however it is far from sluggish:
watching the set-up and preparations for Natalie's
mission is enthralling, scary, and even I, a spy-novel
veteran, couldn't, wouldn't stop reading. And oof! I
would advise readers with a heart condition to think
twice before picking up THE BLACK WIDOW, because when
everything is set in motion, I think my heart was beating
as fast as Natalie's, sometimes I could hardly breathe.s.
The story becomes so tense, it is almost unbearable, my
stomach was in knots, and it was absolutely amazing; this
is what a great spy story is all about! THE BLACK WIDOW
is a thick book, and I wasn't bored for a single second,
and I bore easily. It had been a long time since I had
enjoyed a spy thriller as much, and since I'm not going
to give away any spoilers, I cannot help but wonder if
two characters are going to have starring roles in future
Gabriel Allon novels, but I cannot wait!
Daniel Silva delivers another stunning thriller in his
latest action-packed tale of high stakes international
intrigue featuring the inimitable Gabriel Allon. From its
shocking opening in Paris, The Black Widow reveals itself as
Silva’s most timely and powerful novel yet.
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