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THE SECRET SERVANT
Daniel Silva
Putnam
Thriller
ISBN-10: 0399154221
ISBN-13: 9780399154225
• Read an Excerpt
• Author Talk -- July 27, 2007
“Osama bin Laden flew airplanes into buildings in New York and Washington….And
everything changed.”
On September 11, 2001, the way we viewed the world changed. Terrorists took our
innocence, rocked our blind trust and sullied our naiveté. But they didn’t
kill our optimism. Predictably, we struck back the only way we knew how. Maybe
we didn’t understand the repercussions of our actions.
But a rogue ally, the infamous spy Gabriel Allon, understood. An Israeli agent
employing a cover as an Italian art restorer, Allon has studied more than the
techniques of the classical masters. He has studied how the mind of the radical
Islamic jihadist works. And he knows what drives their actions. The Israeli foreign
intelligence service Allon works for, known cryptically as The Office, has taught
him well --- well enough that he is in line for the top position. While it would
be a great honor (not to mention a lot safer), it is a position he doesn’t
want. Allon is a man of action. And a man of action is just the sort of person
called for in this latest crisis.
Professor Rosner, Office sympathizer, has gotten himself killed in Amsterdam.
Outspoken and free with his opinions, his death came as no surprise to many of
his supporters. Shocking or not, this tragedy left the Office with some problems,
notably a large number of files. These files contain sensitive information, including
the identity of a man who, in the past, has forewarned them of impending terrorist
attacks. Is he a mole or possibly a double agent? Even with his allegiances in
doubt, the man is critical to Allon. Information he provides leads Allon to suspect
a terrorist plot in London. Unfortunately, he figures out the target too late.
A young woman has been abducted. She has ties to people in high places, and her
safe return could mean more than just payment of an obscene amount of money that
could fund more attacks. Allon soon is dealing with the British government, embroiled
in proverbial red tape. Not one to play by anybody’s rules but his own,
he finds a more direct approach to ending the crisis.
Allon lost a child and his first wife to terrorists. The idea that another human
being would have to experience the pain he endured launches him headlong into
the hunt for the kidnapped American. He employs extraordinary measures and risks
great personal loss and injury to help a woman he has never met. But for him,
there is no question that he will undertake the task.
The clock begins ticking and the phone calls start coming. As do the demands.
A prisoner exchange or the woman dies. The kidnappers’ choreography is faultless.
Their plan has been a long time in the making, and now they execute that plan
with impeccable accomplishment, never a misstep. Gabriel, with his unorthodox
thinking, remains maddeningly a step behind. But he is getting closer. One can
only hope he will be on time.
THE SECRET SERVANT not only contains valuable insights into radical Islamic belief
and what has shaped the modern jihadists, but it is also a sobering novel that
will make the reader question government methods of dealing with terrorists. What
can we do to effectively fight the war on terror? Daniel Silva has some of the
answers, and he will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about Islam.
High praise for this blockbuster novel.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
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