Publishers Weekly
★ 07/03/2017
In Thriller Award–finalist Silva’s outstanding 17th novel featuring Israeli art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon (after 2016’s The Black Widow), Gabriel has little time for art restoration, as he has now become chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service. His first order of business is to find and eliminate the man who has become the face of Islamic terror, who operates under the nom de guerre Saladin. After the terrorist’s successful attack on Washington, D.C., he turns his wrath on the U.K., unleashing 12 suicide bombers on the streets of London’s West End. More than 900 Londoners and tourists perish. The head of MI6, Graham Seymour, enlists Gabriel in joining him in the hunt for Saladin. As usual, Gabriel devises an incredibly intricate plot involving a score of team members buttressed by millions of dollars in support money, sets his agents in motion, and sits in the background directing events until the enterprise succeeds—or fails. The introduction of new characters, in particular master spy Christopher Keller, keeps the story fresh. Readers will eagerly await the next installment in this deeply fulfilling series. (July)
From the Publisher
“Silva spins his web, lays his traps, stuns the reader with mind-curdling suspense and sudden twists.... Breathtaking.” — Providence Journal
“An irresistible thriller…. The phrase ‘#1 New York Times best-selling author’ gets bandied about a lot (Which list? For how long?), but in Silva’s case, it means exactly what it says.” — Booklist, starred review
“Written by one of our greatest living spy novelists, House of Spies gives us protagonist Gabriel Allon in his 17th adventure. The novel features Silva’s taut and compelling dialogue and keen insight into the human psyche.” — Dallas Morning News
“Silva’s success lies in his mix of authenticity and charm; his swings from global fears to domestic comforts.… There’s exotic scenery, insight into both history and current events, wit, romance, and a lot of heart.... It’s a recipe that keeps his readers coming back for more.” — Pittsburg Post-Gazette
“Riveting…. Silva’s writing has lost none of its elegance. He provides readers with just enough real-world geopolitics to make sense of his narrative, and his depictions of the different styles of the world’s diverse intelligence services is fascinating as always.… Another chilling glimpse inside global terror networks from a gifted storyteller.” — Kirkus, starred review
“One of Silva’s most entertaining books.... It’s uncanny how Daniel Silva keeps doing this. The opening chapters... feel like they were ripped from the headlines.... But when Silva created the scenario in his book, the headlines hadn’t been written yet.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Outstanding.... Readers will eagerly await the next installment in this deeply fulfilling series.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
Dallas Morning News
Written by one of our greatest living spy novelists, House of Spies gives us protagonist Gabriel Allon in his 17th adventure. The novel features Silva’s taut and compelling dialogue and keen insight into the human psyche.
Providence Journal
Silva spins his web, lays his traps, stuns the reader with mind-curdling suspense and sudden twists.... Breathtaking.
starred review Booklist
An irresistible thriller…. The phrase ‘#1 New York Times best-selling author’ gets bandied about a lot (Which list? For how long?), but in Silva’s case, it means exactly what it says.
Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Silva’s success lies in his mix of authenticity and charm; his swings from global fears to domestic comforts.… There’s exotic scenery, insight into both history and current events, wit, romance, and a lot of heart.... It’s a recipe that keeps his readers coming back for more.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
One of Silva’s most entertaining books.... It’s uncanny how Daniel Silva keeps doing this. The opening chapters... feel like they were ripped from the headlines.... But when Silva created the scenario in his book, the headlines hadn’t been written yet.
There's Something Good Here
Silva... is a whip-smart writer.
NPR's All Things Considered on The Fallen Angel
It’s become almost obligatory for lovers of high level thrillers to read each new Daniel Silva novel as soon as it appears.
Stuff I Like
Entirely satisfying every turned page.... A testament to the masterful storytelling abilities of author Silva. Now I’m faced with a great situation. There are a bunch of Daniel Silva’s books I’ve not read, but I’m going to rectify that. Clear a bookshelf!
Huffington Post on The Black Widow
A master storyteller.... Silva has his finger on the pulse of modern events and has an uncanny ability to predict the future.
Hugh Hewitt on The Black Widow
The Black Widow probably is the most important book of the summer, no matter who you are or where you live in America.
Washington Post on The Black Widow
Heart-stopping.
Minneapolis Star Tribune on The Black Widow
An exceptional spy thriller, well written and timely, weaving history seamlessly into a sumptuous page-turner of a novel.
Hugh Hewitt
The Black Widow probably is the most important book of the summer, no matter who you are or where you live in America.
Washington Post
The novel’s grand finale is heart-stopping, unexpected and deeply unsettling.
Library Journal
03/01/2017
No title, no plot, no details, but the next Gabriel Allon novel follows The Black Widow, Silva's best-selling book to date. With a 500,000-copy first printing.
AUGUST 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator George Guidall’s voice stays calm even when his characters are in dire situations. That makes him the perfect choice for Daniel Silva’s 17th novel featuring spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon. ISIS leader Saladin is masterminding terrorist attacks, including a major blow in London. Allon, head of Israel’s intelligence service, works with a drug dealer, an assassin, a doctor, an art gallery owner, and other spy agencies to try to bring him down. The tense story is often too close to reality to be entirely enjoyable. Guidall doesn’t overdo the drama—it’s inherent in the book. He lets the characters and plot carry themselves. Listeners are better off for it. G.S.D. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2017-06-22
Gabriel Allon is back in the field.Well, that didn't take long. By the end of Black Widow (2016), spy Gabriel Allon had finally agreed to become chief of Israel's intelligence services. All it takes is a terrorist attack on London's West End—and a whisper that Allon's current nemesis was the mastermind behind it—to get this storied spy out from behind his desk and back into the thick of it. As they track the man known only as Saladin, Allon and his team travel from Britain to Saint-Tropez and Morocco. They enlist the grudging assistance of a glamorous French entrepreneur (who is in reality a drug smuggler) and his partner, a beautiful onetime model. And they discover the Islamic State has plans that go beyond suicide bombers and vehicular homicide. As usual, Silva has crafted a story that feels ripped from the headlines—possibly tomorrow's headlines. His characters are confronting an Islamic State that is redefining itself as a virtual entity as it loses physical territory. They're also fighting against an organization that is shifting its focus from building a caliphate in the Middle East to inflicting casualties in Europe and the United States. This is a less psychologically intense novel than Black Widow, and fans drawn to this series by Gabriel's sideline as a restorer of Old Master paintings might miss the art history. But this is still a riveting thriller, and Silva's writing has lost none of its elegance. He provides readers with just enough real-world geopolitics to make sense of his narrative, and his depictions of the different styles of the world's diverse intelligence services is fascinating as always. What's different in this installment is the sense that the role of the United States is diminishing in the world. Even though the U.S. asserts itself into the search for Saladin, there's a clear sense among the British, the French, and the Israelis that their American counterparts are no longer reliable allies. Another chilling glimpse inside global terror networks from a gifted storyteller.
