Espionage

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The Black Widow by Daniel Silva is the 16th book in the Gabriel Allon series, following the aging spy/art restorer as he gets ready to become a bureaucrat, leaving his dangerous life behind.

Gabriel Allon is happy to spend his days restoring masterpieces and spending time with his Italian wife, Chiara, and two one-year-old twins, Raphael and Irene. A few days before he is set to take his place as director of the “Office” from Uzi Navot, a huge terrorist attack takes place in a Jewish neighborhood in France.

Gabriel is pulled back to investigate the attack, where a friend of his was murdered. An ISIS terrorist who calls himself Saladin seems to be the mastermind behind the attack. Gabriel recruits a French-born Israeli, Dr. Natalie Mizrahi, to infiltrate ISIS at huge stakes to her, Israel, and Europe.

Reading The Black Widow by Daniel Silva in 2024 seems strange, almost surreal. Unfortunately, even when the book was published in 2016 it seemed almost prophetic. I know that governments around the world have meetings with authors who seem to almost know the future, I hope Mr. Silva is one of those.

I try to read this series in order. Even though the books are a bit formulaic, I find the slow evolution of the characters to be a major reason I’m enjoying the series so much. I just wish

One of the reasons Silva’s books work so well is the three-dimensional characters he creates, and this book is no different. I almost felt bad for Gabriel , who finally found some form of happiness, only to be pulled back into the field.

Mr. Silva also introduces a fantastic new villain, Saladin. Who matches the best the intelligence agencies have to offer in tactics, as well as ruthlessness. I hope to see him again, he is a worthy adversary and an interesting, complex character who can match wits with the best of Silva’s characters.

Once again, this book was difficult to put down, and I do think it is so far probably the best book in the series. The narrative moves at a good pace, not too fast, not too slow, but always makes me want to turn the page. The new characters are interesting and charming, and the reader has a vested interest in their well-being. ( )

This is just the second book I have read by this author but so far this series is amazing. I plan to read the next book in the series and then go to the beginning.
Yes I know it is fiction but a lot of what is covered in his books is rooted in fact, The explanation of how Isis recruits and trains and develops suicide bombers was excellent. Not to mention the in depth explanations and history of how their ideology came about is fascinating ( )

Una red terrorista.
Una telaraña de engaños y mentiras.
Un juego letal cuyo objetivo es la venganza.
Gabriel Allon está a punto de convertirse en jefe del servicio secreto israelí, pero en vísperas de su ascenso los acontecimientos se confabulan para que el legendario espía y restaurador de arte acepte una última misión. El ISIS ha hecho estallar una devastadora bomba en el distrito parisino de Marais y el gobierno francés, desesperado, quiere que Gabriel elimine al responsable antes de que ataque de nuevo. Le apodan Saladino, y es una mente criminal de ambiciones tan grandiosas como su sobrenombre: un individuo tan esquivo que incluso su nacionalidad se desconoce. Oculta tras un sofisticado software de encriptación, su red terrorista se comunica en total secreto, dejando a Occidente a ciegas respecto a sus planes y a Gabriel sin otra alternativa que introducir a un agente en el grupo terrorista más peligroso que haya conocido el mundo.
Natalie Mizrahi es una joven doctora tan valiente como hermosa. A petición de Gabriel, se hará pasar por miembro del ISIS a la espera de que llegue el momento de actuar, convirtiéndose así en una bomba de relojería con el cronómetro en marcha, en una viuda negra sedienta de sangre. Su peligrosa misión la llevará desde los apacibles barrios residenciales de París a la isla de Santorini, y del mundo brutal del califato del Estado Islámico a Washington, donde el implacable Saladino prepara una apocalíptica noche de terror que alterará el curso de la historia. La viuda negra es un thriller apasionante y de absoluta actualidad, pero también es un viaje de descubrimiento hacia el nuevo corazón de las tinieblas, que permanecerá en la memoria de los lectores mucho después de que hayan pasado la última página.

Terrifying story but well done ( )