The Collector: The next thrilling book in the bestselling action-packed Gabriel Allon series from the author of PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, THE NEW GIRL and HOUSE OF SPIES
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4.3 • 322 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In the electrifying new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva, Gabriel Allon undertakes a search for a stolen Vermeer masterpiece and uncovers a conspiracy that could bring the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon.
On the morning after the Venice Preservation Society's annual black-tie gala, art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon enters his favorite coffee bar on the island of Murano to find General Cesare Ferrari, the commander of the Art Squad, eagerly awaiting his arrival. The Carabinieri have made a startling discovery in the Amalfi villa of a murdered South African shipping tycoon-a secret vault containing an empty frame and stretcher matching the dimensions of the world's most valuable missing painting. General Ferrari asks Gabriel to quietly track down the artwork before the trail goes cold.
"Isn't that your job?"
"Finding stolen paintings? Technically speaking, yes. But you're much better at it than we are."
The painting in question is The Concert by Johannes Vermeer, one of thirteen works of art stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. With the help of a most unlikely ally, a beautiful Danish computer hacker and professional thief, Gabriel soon discovers that the painting has changed hands as part of an illicit billion-dollar business deal involving a man code-named the Collector, an energy executive with close ties to the highest levels of Russian power.
The missing masterpiece is the lynchpin of a conspiracy that if successful, could plunge the world into a conflict of apocalyptic proportions. To foil the plot, Gabriel must carry out a daring heist of his own, with millions of lives hanging in the balance.
Elegant, meticulously plotted, and filled with a cast of unforgettable characters, The Collector moves swiftly from the graceful canals of Venice to the windswept coast of northern Denmark to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia-and, finally, to a heart-pounding climax in Russia as current as tomorrow's headlines.
'Silva builds suspense like a symphony conductor' Booklist
'A master of his craft' Adelaide Advertiser
'Gabriel Allon never fails' President Bill Clinton
'World-class' Washington Post
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Daniel Silva’s excellent The Collector, retired Mossad chief Gabriel Allon once again finds himself entangled in a relentless spy adventure, despite having retired in Venice. When he’s called on to authenticate a recovered Van Gogh, his investigation leads him to the young Danish art thief Ingrid Johansen, who recently stole a Vermeer on the Amalfi Coast. The interplay between these two characters, and their exchange of trade secrets, creates an intriguing contrast between the world of espionage and the world of burglary, and will delight fans of the genre. Silva keeps up his customary brisk pace as the plot unfolds, and his dialogue is particularly absorbing.
Customer Reviews
Wow
!!!!!!
Disappointed
I have read most of Silva’s work, can honestly say this offering is the least enjoyable. Far too many tangents, far too many characters and excessive apparently irrelevant detail. Not recommended.