Let me direct your attention to Gabriel Allon. Gabriel is one of the finest art restorers in the world today. He is fluent in several languages, and has set a new standard in the restoration of painted masterpieces. He is a dedicated spouse, lover, and friend, has mixed views of international politics (almost to the point of being apolitical at times), and has plenty of problems with his boss. Just like the rest of us.

Gabriel is also a very accomplished assassin.

After a debut novel set during World War II, Daniel Silva began a series of novels about a CIA officer named Michael Osbourne and an international hit man named Jean-Paul Delaroche. They were all best-sellers, but not on a rock star level.

Something – perhaps book sales not matching the critical acclaim of his first three novels – prompted Silva to write about a new character, Israeli spy Gabriel Allon. Cue up the fireworks clip at this point, because readers loved Gabriel.

Set in the up-to-the-minute mid-East socio-polical arena, Silva portrays good guys and bad guys on all fronts. Jews, Arabs, and Christians are treated in an equally fair light that manages to attribute the evils of the world to a select few power brokers.

Personally, I sometimes get lost when names like Sabri al-Khalifa and places like Beit Sayeed come up, but I learned long ago to treat such details as if they were created for a science fiction story. Those details don’t matter to the story as much as the raw emotions, the personal motivations, and the battle for truth, justice, and, well, the Golden Rule.

Mr. Silva is an excellent writer. His books are in the international spy genre, full of exotic local details, fascinating subplots, and character studies. His former day job as a CNN executive producer no doubt left him with some astonishing insight, and his books will very likely open your eyes to a new way of looking at things.

Check out his work:

The Unlikely Spy (World War 2 Spy Thriller)
The Mark of the Assassin (Michael Osbourne series #1)
The Marching Season (Michael Osbourne series #2)
The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1)
The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon #2)
The Confessor (Gabriel Allon #3)
A Death in Vienna (Gabriel Allon #4)
Prince of Fire (Gabriel Allon #5)
The Messenger (Gabriel Allon #6)
The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon #7)
Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon #8)
The Defector (Gabriel Allon #9)

Six-Eye Jackson

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