The New Gabriel Allon Series: The Cellist by Daniel Silva

 

For a good couple of years, every mid-summer I am not only waiting to enjoy the warm sunny days, but I am also waiting for the next book by Daniel Silva. I don´t have too many predictable moments in my life, but his books are always a fix, enjoyable over a long summer day, or two.

The series centered around the veteran Israeli spymaster Gabriel Allon combine excitement, suspense and stories where fragments of immediate geopolitical reality are fictionalised.

The latest, his 21st, The Cellist is taking place in the immediate Corona-hit reality, where there are discussions about the virus and masks and vaccinations, but this does not deter Russian spies to spread their poisonous agents all over the world, but especially in London. The Russians are more present than ever and the Mossad in this depiction seems more interested in deterring the old Cold War foes than the mullahs from Tehran. Indeed, there are a couple of references in the book to them, including the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh but cutting up the ties of the Kremlin laundromat is a more important task. Putin and his vicious ways are the focus of most of the story, with some late hour episodes involving the last moments of Trump´s administration.

I love stories packed with contemporary political references more than I can admit, but this time, more than ever, the context takes over the story. There are more back-off references than actions that may put them into context. There are many characters, a few from the other stories, but many new ones. Gabriel Allon himself seems to turn too sentimental, revealing so many details about various connections and operations, only charmed by a young German-born cellist. Arkadi, Putin´s best friend is also too sentimental for his KGB rank. 

Despite the many ups and downs, I´ve listen to The Cellist (vividly read by actor, producer and director Eduardo Ballerini) in a couple of short sittings, interrupted only by the everyday work emergencies. Nevertheless, I am waiting for the new Daniel Silva already, but really hope that will take a spectacular, less nonfiction-oriented book. After all, I am reading news all round the day and the night, what I miss is a good work of fiction based on all those stories. 

Rating: 3.5 stars