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Aug 27, 2015wyenotgo rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Somewhat in the style of Frederick Forsyth, Silva navigates the often violent world of international espionage, terrorism and the criminal underworld. Like Forsyth, Silva puts a lot of work into research of his subject matter (in this case the world of art and the people who buy it, steal it and fake it) along with the political realities of the Middle East and particularly the desperate struggle between Islamist forces and the secular "strong men" they strive to overthrow. He also enriches his narrative with plentiful local details about the several settings of his story -- Venice, Linz, London etc. A few quibbles: I find the character of his main protagonist rather far fetched (an extremely skilled restorer of Old Masters paintings, able to create an entirely convincing fake Van Gogh, whose day job is that of a top level Israeli spymaster and experienced killer; now that's a stretch!) I also found the story hard to get engaged with at first; there was little emotional involvement until we meet Jihan and begin to realize the extreme danger Gabriel and his team are prepared to subject her to. Then at the other extreme, the trade-off Gabriel is willing to make to save her doesn't seem to jive with his initially callous use of her as a pawn in his game. So, on the scale of believability Silva doesn't measure up to writers such as LeCarré or Forsyth, but his work makes for good diversionary reading. I may try one more of his, perhaps "The English Girl".