The most recent Gabriel Allon thriller by Daniel Silva is a pleasure to read. I was sucked back into the Allon-universe in less than ten pages. 
The story in The Rembrandt Affair is intelligent, intriguing and rich. There is perhaps slightly less action than in some of the earlier books in the series – which to some extent is fitting, as Gabriel and his beautiful wife Chiara are still trying to recover in Cornwall from the ills that befell them in Russia in The Defector – the previous thriller in the series. Silva more than makes up for it in other ways: with a smart, devious plot, very well-drawn characters, well-founded views on the state of the world, stimulating discussions and conversations, and a story that is very engaging.
Gabriel is asked by his friend, the eccentric London art dealer, Julian Isherwood, to recover a stolen painting – a masterpiece by Rembrandt. It has been stolen from a colleague of Gabriel’s, a fellow art restorer, and as Isherwood – who was responsible for it – has no insurance and the painting is worth 45 million or so, Isherwood is now in dire straits. As usual.
We soon learn the Rembrandt is a masterpiece with a legacy written in blood. As Gabriel and Chiara start to track it down, from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires to Switzerland, and people begin to die, they find clues pointing to a Nazi war criminal who amassed a fortune by theft and extortion. The man who controls this fortune is a popular Swiss industrialist and billionaire. And while his business empire has been built on blood, he has carefully constructed and cultivated a public image as a modern industrialist with ethical business practices, concerned with the protection of the environment and with corporate responsibility. But in reality “Saint” Martin Landesmann hides behind elaborate corporate structures and straw corporations, and controls a business empire that employs child workers, pollutes with the worst, destroys the rain forest, and furnishes Iran with all it needs to build nuclear weapons. He is a man that must be stopped.
To stop him, Gabriel has to forge a powerful alliance and to recruit a woman who is having an affair with “Saint” Martin – a woman who loves him; an extremely intelligent and gorgeous financial investigative reporter, a proud, haughty and tough woman – a most unlikely ally. Gabriel knows it will take all of his considerable skills to win this battle, and that he will have to bend rules, break laws, and be smarter than the bad guys in order to win.
The Rembrandt Affair is a wonderful spy thriller – one of Daniel Silva’s very best. It reads like a flowing river, is well-crafted and smart, truly a joy to read. A spellbinding novel about spy, assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon – a delicious roller coaster of a book!
“Of those writing spy novels today, Daniel Silva is quite simply the best.”
-The Kansas City Star“The perfect book for fans of well-crafted thrillers … the kind of page- turner that captures the reader from the opening chapter and doesn’t let go.”
-The Associated Press
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