A DEATH IN CORNWALL, the latest and Book 24 in the Gabriel Allon series by author Daniel Silva.
This time around the retired director of the Intelligence Service and the famous ex-spy is in London for an art gallery event. In his present life as an art restorer in a well-known Viennese firm. Where the ex-spy goes, he is unfailingly followed by a complicated art-related crime. While in London, there's Charlotte, an art historian following up on the provenance of a famous Picasso in Cornwall. She is killed and when the current detective sergeant of the area finds details of her current project he calls upon Mr. Allon his old friend.
Detective Sergeant Timothy Peel is a blast from the past when Allon spent time buried in grief, in a remote cottage in Cornwall. Timothy, a kid back then, was his neighbour and the kid was fascinated by his quiet neighbour who painted and seldom spoke to anyone. Their unlikely friendship still stands and so does Timothy's love and loyalty for Allon and his family.
A death in sleepy Cornwall, on one side, and government change in London keep Allon from returning to Venice. As things unravel the Cornwall death, a prime minister's change, an attack, and the kidnapping of Allon, create an action-packed story. We also meet Allon's latest recruit the Danish professional thief who helps him in London and follows him to Paris, Monaco. All in a couple of weeks as a painting is stolen, corrupt politicians along with their white-collar criminals are brought to justice.
What I enjoyed -
- The resonance story has with current events like dirty money being laundered, governments being brought and crushed, art being used as collateral, and most stolen commodities in high-flying circles.
- The latest recruits, old proteges and dear friends of the ex-spy. Many beloved old friends make an appearance, which is always a plus when reading a series.
- The sheer scale of things be it art, data, or information being stolen and how the stealers keep a straight face while doing it, it's pure fun and wonderful to witness.
I will always pick up the latest in a series by this author and that goes for my other favourite series /authors too. It's the comfort and familiarity paired with elements that will still surprise and thrill you that make this a bingeable series which always makes for a happy reading experience.
A brutal murder, a missing masterpiece, a mystery only Gabriel Allon can solve . . .
Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception at the Courtauld Gallery celebrating the return of a stolen self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall Police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary.
The victim is Charlotte Blake, a celebrated professor of art history from Oxford who spends her weekends in the same seaside village where Gabriel once lived under an assumed identity. Her murder appears to be the work of a diabolical serial killer who has been terrorizing the Cornish countryside. But there are a number of telltale inconsistencies, including a missing mobile phone. And then there is the mysterious three-letter cypher she left behind on a notepad in her study.
Gabriel soon discovers that Professor Blake was searching for a looted Picasso worth more than a $100 million, and he takes up the chase for the painting as only he can—with six Impressionist canvases forged by his own hand and an unlikely team of operatives that includes a world-famous violinist, a beautiful master thief, and a lethal contract killer turned British spy. The result is a stylish and wildly entertaining mystery that moves at lightning speed from the cliffs of Cornwall to the enchanted island of Corsica and, finally, to a breathtaking climax on the very doorstep of 10 Downing Street.
Supremely elegant and suspenseful, A Death in Cornwall is Daniel Silva at his best—a dazzling tale of murder, power, and insatiable greed that will hold readers spellbound until they turn the final page.
No excerpt available.
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