cover image The Secret Servant

The Secret Servant

Daniel Silva, . . Putnam, $25.95 (400pp) ISBN 978-0-399-15422-5

Bestseller Silva's superlative seventh novel to feature Gabriel Allon, “the legendary but wayward son of Israeli Intelligence,” puts Silva squarely atop the spy thriller heap. When Solomon Rosner, a professor in Amsterdam who's also a secret Israeli asset, is assassinated for his strident reports and articles detailing the dangers of militant Islam within the Netherlands, Gabriel gets the job to clean out the professor's files. In Amsterdam, the Israeli agent and his old partner, Eli Lavon, unearth a plot that leads to the kidnapping by Islamic extremists of the daughter of the U.S. ambassador in London. While most intelligence agencies consider Gabriel persona non grata because of his unorthodox methods and the trail of bodies he leaves in his wake, he once again proves invaluable as he and his stalwart team hunt down some of Israel's—and the world's—most violent enemies. While you don't have to have read the earlier books in the series (The Messenger , etc.), knowing the history of the returning characters adds depth and color to the overall story. (July)