The Order
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4.2 • 3.8K Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
#1 New York Times Bestseller • #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
From Daniel Silva, the internationally acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author, comes a riveting new thriller featuring art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon.
It was nearly one a.m. by the time he crawled into bed. Chiara was reading a novel, oblivious to the television, which was muted. On the screen was a live shot of St. Peter’s Basilica. Gabriel raised the volume and learned that an old friend had died …
Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into Venice for a much-needed holiday with his wife and two young children. But when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, Gabriel is summoned to Rome by the Holy Father’s loyal private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati. A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the pope died of a heart attack. Donati, however, has two good reasons to suspect his master was murdered. The Swiss Guard who was standing watch outside the papal apartments the night of the pope’s death is missing. So, too, is the letter the Holy Father was writing during the final hours of his life. A letter that was addressed to Gabriel.
While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book …
The book is a long-suppressed gospel that calls into question the accuracy of the New Testament’s depiction of one of the most portentous events in human history. For that reason alone, the Order of St. Helena will stop at nothing to keep it out of Gabriel’s hands. A shadowy Catholic society with ties to the European far right, the Order is plotting to seize control of the papacy. And it is only the beginning.
As the cardinals gather in Rome for the start of the conclave, Gabriel sets out on a desperate search for proof of the Order’s conspiracy, and for a long-lost gospel with the power to put an end to two thousand years of murderous hatred. His quest will take him from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, to a monastery in Assisi, to the hidden depths of the Secret Archives, and finally to the Sistine Chapel, where he will witness an event no outsider has ever before seen—the sacred passing of the Keys of St. Peter to a newly elected pope.
Swiftly paced and elegantly rendered, The Order will hold readers spellbound, from its opening passages to its breathtaking final twist of plot. It is a novel of friendship and faith in a perilous and uncertain world. And it is still more proof that Daniel Silva is his generation’s finest writer of suspense and international intrigue.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
When the pope may have been murdered and that’s only the start of the intrigue, you know you’re in for a wild ride. This explosive installment in thriller master Daniel Silva’s long-running Gabriel Allon series finds the Israeli art restorer turned intelligence operative investigating the holy man’s mysterious death in Rome, where politics, wealth, and religion all intersect. But as Allon looks into the Vatican’s shady power plays, he soon finds himself tangled in an even bigger mystery—one involving a lost Gospel that could change Christianity forever. Part international espionage thriller and part head-scratching whodunit, this Allon adventure is a spy story that’s as clever as it is action-packed. It’s also absolutely loaded with intensively researched background on the fascinating history of Biblical scripture. With a mystery that spans centuries and a conspiracy that could destabilize half the world, The Order is like Jason Bourne meets The Da Vinci Code.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Silva's improbable 20th thriller featuring Gabriel Allon (after 2019's The New Girl) opens with the unexpected death of Pope Paul VII, who succeeded John Paul II in the author's alternative universe. Allon, the director-general of Israeli intelligence, who once saved the pontiff's life, is on vacation in Venice when he gets a call from Archbishop Luigi Donati, Paul VII's closest confidante. Donati doesn't buy the Vatican's story that a heart attack was the cause of death, fearing that those opposed to the pope's liberal policies had him murdered. Shortly before his death, Paul VII had begun writing a letter to Allon about a discovery he made in the Vatican's secret archives that would "ignite a global sensation." Allon and Donati believe that the Holy Father was killed to prevent him from sharing the find, and the pair set out to determine what it was and who was behind the murder. The wild plot includes cartoonish bad guys who belong to the evil Order of St. Helena and seek to manipulate the election of the next pontiff. Newcomers may find the contrivances too much to swallow; series fans will know to leave their disbelief behind.
Customer Reviews
The Order
Not as good as some but still an interesting read
Skip it
Others in this seri have been so much better. Slow read.
First DS book I didn’t finish
I was recently recommended to try Daniel Silva’s books and read 12 in quick succession. Great reads. However I just couldn’t get through this one. It felt like a different author and the plot and subject never really grabbed me like the previous books. Moving on to the next one and hope it is better.