The Defector

Gabriel Allon, Book 9

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Over the course of a remarkable career, Daniel Silva has established himself as one of the world's finest writers of international intrigue, a craftsman worthy of comparison to John le Carré and Graham Greene. His latest bestseller, Moscow Rules, was not only superior entertainment, but a prescient cautionary tale about the emergence of the New Russia. Now he takes that tale to the next level.

Six months after the blood-soaked conclusion of Moscow Rules, Allon is in Umbria, trying to resume his honeymoon with his new wife, Chiara, when a colleague pays him a shocking visit. The man who saved Allon's life in Moscow and was then resettled in England has vanished without a trace. British intelligence is sure he was a double agent all along, and they blame Allon for planting him. To discover the truth and clear his name, Allon must go immediately to London - a decision that will prove to be the most fateful of his career.

In the British capital, he finds himself once more on the front lines of the secret war between East and West, where Russian spies and dissidents engage in the old game of cat and mouse. There, Allon uncovers a much greater conspiracy, a plot by an old enemy to resurrect a network of death, to bring the world to the precipice of a new confrontation, and in order to stop it, he must risk everything: his ties to an organization he has served since his youth, his new marriage . . . even his life.

©2009 Daniel Silva (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

The Defector is more than the most explosive thriller of the summer. It is a searing tale of love, vengeance, and courage created by the writer whom the critics call "the perfect guide to the dangerous forces shaping our world" ( Orlando Sentinel)

Another winner!

I have always loved the candid, dry humor laced throughout these wonderful reads….and the visual details take you away to other places.

A Maze of intrigue.

could not put it down. Thats how operates work. You never know what will happen or where it will take place. The countries involved. Thank you for another wonderful read. carolm20009

This Review Needs a Title...So, I

Pretty good book about Garbiel Allo, an IIsraeli "office" assassin. This book was an exciting and complex novel. I love a good spy story and Daniel Silva never disappoints.

The Light Triumphs

Very good follow up story to previous. Gabriel born again and the next level to come. Can't wait.

Another Hit by Daniel Silver!

Gabriel Alon and the team do it again. Please keep writing these books. You have a fan here.

Gabriel Alon at his coldest

As always, it builds slowly, and then quickly, and then resolves satisfactorily. We see sides of Gabriel that we may have suspected but very rarely viewed. A very good addition to the canon.

Another excellent thriller

Yet another excellent, engaging and exciting spy thriller. Don't have to have read or listened to prior books in series.

Clarity of the spoken word.

Although I have read most of the books by Daniel Silva, I have enjoyed listening to them also. 

Soap opera assassin

I am finding I need to suspend disbelief more and more with each Daniel Silva novel. Much as I enjoy these novels about Gabriel Allon, Israeli assassin, I'm having trouble believing that a professional killer could possess such romantic inclinations. Of course, I know nothing about the subject, but it seems to me that a person who murders people for a living -- even though he only murders bad guys -- could harbor such a soft, artistic heart inside that hard outer shell. Can a person coldly kill without remorse, and then turn around and grow heartsick about a lost love? I don't know, but I will continue listening to every novel Mr. Silva delivers ... just with a grain of salt on the side.

Another hit for Silva.

Daniel Silva has done it again, Gabriel Allon has done it again. Love the book, have loved all the books in this series.