A Death in Cornwall: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 24)

If you're looking for a witty and intelligent tale of mystery and adventure with various upscale English and European settings, the world of fine art, and lots of skullduggery, then Daniel Silva's "A Death in Cornwall" may just be the book for you. It's a quick read starring master Israeli spy turned Venetian art restorer Gabrielle Alon and many of the characters Silva has created in past novels. If you've never read Silva's work before, this might not be the one to start with since it refers to but does not recount past events. But it is topical, laugh-out-loud funny in places, and includes interesting information about fine art and how it's used and abused by the super-rich and those who do their bidding. I had a lot of fun with it.

July, for more than two dozen years, allows one to enjoy a day or so of pure pleasure, reading the latest Daniel Silva book; once again inhabiting the enchanted world of Silva’s Gabriel Allon and spending time with the wonderful cast of characters we have to know and savor while, in the process of resolving the thriller, one can learn about art, art restoration and the art world, music,delicious food and exquisite wine, the world’s great restaurants and other elements of the high life,corruption in politics, climate change, the Holocaust, Venice, Geneva, Monaco, Cannes,London, Paris,and tons of other transporting details. And one is truly transported. But the trip can only last a day or so; no matter how one tries one can’t slow the reading down. This year’s book is no exception. I think it’s the best one yet. With the unraveling of a deep political plot- especially resonant in today’s England - murders, chases, heists and breathtaking suspense after an abduction until release ; all the elements of a marvelous thriller are there. You will love it, as I did and always do- July of every year- hopefully for years to come!

In what appears to be the threat of a serial killer, is actually a diabolical scheme for the extremely wealthy to maintain money and power. It is not enough for the super wealthy to be satisfied by their billions, they only want more money and more power. Allon's initial involvement was to find a serial killer. Allon finds that there is a global scheme to amiss an unlimited amount of wealth and unlimited access to power. And access to power through manipulation and bribery. This is another outstanding Allon book. It is so timely because the themes are consistent with global politics today. We are experiencing how the super wealthy not only want to hold to all of their money, but they also want all the power to control everyone's life.

As usual, Daniel Silva delivers enlightening details in his beautifully written word about the world we currently navigate. This time, it’s an expose on greed. Gabriel Allon — minus his usual Israeli intelligence team — leads us through the minefield of how the rich just keep getting richer, using art as a tool. Murders and mayhem again kept me reading way into the night, as did a tale that engages familiar Allon partners and foes with more twists and turns than the scariest roller coaster. Hang on to your innocence about becoming a billionaire: much evil is required. Can’t wait for the next one, Daniel Silva. Your contacts in our mad, mad, mad, mad world serve as powerful resources for the magical webs you weave.

Daniel Silva hit this one out of the park in his latest Gabriel Allon thriller. Allon is back in my favorite venue for him, the art world, with all its mystery, deceit, financial shenanigans and interesting characters. Likewise, a number of the most memorable players in previous stories have supporting roles, bringing depth and color to the story. Starting with a vicious murder in Cornwall the plot soon weaves its way into the world of illicit movement of billions in art and property secretly owned by everyone from legitimate collectors to heads of state to crime lords, all seeking to hide personal wealth.

I believe the underlying purpose of the book is to reveal how large the market is for those who hide wealth trying to avoid taxes, personal embarrassment and/or their criminal activity. In doing so, the author has written a compelling story featuring a protagonist people enjoy. The writing is smooth and fast moving. The plot is absorbing with plenty of things happening to keep the readers' interest. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, as I have most of the series. This is one of the best.

The tale begins with a gruesome murder, one of several. The murderer, known as the Chopper, uses a hatchet and we, fortunately, are spared having to watch. But then, there's something else. The victim, whom we never meet, was a professor of art history and was trying to determine the true ownership of a painting by Pablo Picasso. Timothy Peel, who was a child when he first met Gabriel Allon, is now a detective sergeant in the area surrounding Cornwall, England. Peel thinks there's a connection between the murder and the Picasso. The plot thickens, as they say. This novel is a revealing romp through the world of art thievery, high finance, tax evasion, and murder; in the case of the last, we're probably only told about the ones that move the plot along. Some beloved supporting characters appear as does one not so beloved by this reviewer; that's life. Some characters we've come to love are apparently off doing other stuff; that's also life. This is a great read. Silva does a good job of introducing the returning characters so that a new reader will not be lost in the relationships. In the author's note at the end of the book, Silva very clearly explains the real world behind the fiction; prepare to be educated. Silva continues to entertain. I wish him continued success.

For anyone familiar with the exploits of Gabriel, this book may be a bit repetitive, but the plot is very tangential to current international financial machinations. The reader learns about the workings of shell companies and their necessity for the very rich. The political maneuvers seem sadly realistic and believable even though they are cloaked in Great Britain, not the US. This book makes for goosebumps escapist reading within a realistic format.

Officially summer with the release of the latest Daniel Silva book. This was actually one of my favorites in recent years because he steered clear of the politics, Russia (mostly) and current events and wrote the thriller we all fell in love with. As an art nerd, I LOVED that this was heavy on Marco the restorer, although I admit to not remembering a lot of the details of Allon's time in Cornwall. I loved the parallels back with Peel who is aging in a manner consistent with the twins and yet not the Allon elders. I also love how he wove him into the story on several occasions without it seemig hamfisted. The secondary characters were strong and not too spread thin in this one with the focus being almost wholly on/in the UK and not spread across. Nice to see Don Orsati again along with Rene. An excellent read

<spoiler> I hesitated in tagging this espionage since Allon is finally for real retired and there's no appearance by the other members of nor mention of The Office, but is a spy ever really not a spy? Now that they're house poor in Venice and Cornwall, are the Allons winding down? I hope not. I'm loving the continued weaving of Christopher, Sarah and now Ingrid to see where this series could potentially go. I could have done without the wasted lines of the barman's crush on Chiara and the teasing infidelity there and with Anna. It's just a waste because as Christopher said, we all know Gabriel won't cheat and Chiara knows Gabriel is married to the job. If she was going to look elsewhere she would have already

</spoiler>

Another good story involving Allon and friends. Kudos to the author for not larding it up with a ton of paragraphs from previous novels with the excuse of providing “backstory”. Mr Silva has been quite guilty of that in the past but kept it to a minimum this time around. The plot was a tad lazy and familiar but I still read it in one sitting and will no doubt buy the next one!