Portrait of a Spy

A Novel

By: Daniel Silva

Narrated by: Simon Vance

“A bona fide thrill ride.”
—Miami Herald

“Silva builds tension with breathtaking double and triple turns of plot.”
—People

Portrait of a Spy is Silva’s eleventh thriller to feature art restorer and master spy Gabriel Allon as he races from Great Britain to Washington to New York to the Middle East on the trail of a deadly and elusive terrorist network responsible for massacres in Paris, Copenhagen, and at London’s Covent Garden.

Can't get enough Gabriel Allon

I'm a sucker for Gabriel Allon. I cannot get enough of these books. If you feel the same way, this one won't disappoint. (I also like Vivaldi even though he wrote the same concerto a hundred times.) It's not his most "believeable" work, but then are any of them? Isn't that why we love them?

I prefer the books with ex-Nazi or Russian crime lords as antagonists, as opposed to middle eastern terrorists (too close for comfort?) but if you are hooked on this series like I am, this one will satisify.

I'm not sure how long this series can go on, though. Gabriel and gang are getting a little old for this line of work--he must be at least 60 so, how old must chain-smoking Shamron be by now?

If you are just beginning to read Daniel Silva, this is not the best one to start with... I'd recommend "The English Assasin" which is still my all-time favorite.

What is the Real Theme ???

While this is another Gabriel Allon novel, it seemed to illustrate a few real issues/peeves of the author: treatment (bad) of women in the islamic world, dedication of the radical jihad adherents against western morals and views and spy trade craft...to name a few. I couldn't help drawing those conclusions even though the story was fictitious. Well researched, I'd say.

Miss Philip Gagante

It was hard to listen to this one following Philip Gagante’s performance on prior books.

Exciting and well woven

True that the pace may slow, but it sweeps up into an enthralling whirlwinds. Novel carries a great pace

Attention grabbing from the start

Mr Silva did another fantastic job crafting a very believable story. it held my attention throughout and had a few unexpected twists. The performer did a terrific job. look forward to the next book in the series.