Description

"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

Gabriel Allon, master art restorer and assassin, returns in a spellbinding new novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author.

Over the course of a brilliant career, Daniel Silva has established himself as "the gold standard" of thriller writers (Dallas Morning News) who "has hit upon the perfect formula to keep espionage-friendly fans' fingers glued to his books, turning pages in nearly breathless anticipation" (BookPage). But now, having reached "the pinnacle of world-class spy thriller writing" (The Denver Post), Silva has produced his most extraordinary novel to date-a tale of greed, passion, and murder spanning more than half a century, centered on an object of haunting beauty.

Two families, one terrible secret, and a painting to die for ...

Determined to sever his ties with the Office, Gabriel Allon has retreated to the windswept cliffs of Cornwall with his beautiful Venetian-born wife Chiara. But once again his seclusion is interrupted by a visitor from his tangled past: the endearingly eccentric London art dealer, Julian Isherwood. As usual, Isherwood has a problem. And it is one only Gabriel can solve.

In the ancient English city of Glastonbury, an art restorer has been brutally murdered and a long-lost portrait by Rembrandt mysteriously stolen. Despite his reluctance, Gabriel is persuaded to use his unique skills to search for the painting and those responsible for the crime. But as he painstakingly follows a trail of clues leading from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires and, finally, to a villa on the graceful shores of Lake Geneva, Gabriel discovers there are deadly secrets connected to the painting. And evil men behind them.

Before he is done, Gabriel will once again be drawn into a world he thought he had left behind forever, and will come face to face with a remarkable cast of characters: a glamorous London journalist who is determined to undo the worst mistake of her career, an elusive master art thief who is burdened by a conscience, and a powerful Swiss billionaire who is known for his good deeds but may just be behind one of the greatest threats facing the world.

Filled with remarkable twists and turns of plot, and told with seductive prose, The Rembrandt Affair is more than just summer entertainment of the highest order. It is a timely reminder that there are men in the world who will do anything for money.

Details

• Published on: 2010-07-14
• Released on: 2010-07-20
• Format: Kindle Book

Reviews

Silva's at the top of his game--and that's saying something
Too few of today's espionage novelists deliver well-drawn characters, rich prose, or depth of philosophical thought. Daniel Silva, like John le Carre or Alan Furst, is an exception to that rule.

The plot follows the search for a lost Rembrandt portrait, a masterpiece with a legacy of bloodshed. But what makes the book special is that Silva uses this straightforward device as a springboard to explore issues ranging from the value of art--both fiscal and emotional--to international financial scams to global politics, all without ever letting the tension lag. The prose is exceptional, the research impeccable, and the characters compelling.

If you like your thrillers relentless and smart, this is one for you.

Simply outstanding!
I am a long-time fan of this series; the quality of Mr. Silva's writing has reached a very high level, and remains there with The Rembrandt Affair. There's a little less action than in some of the recent books, but the read is still quick and spell-binding. I fear that the series will be winding down soon, but I hope it continues for at least another ten books, especially if the quality remains as high as exemplified by The Rembrandt Affair.

Several commenters have given the book a single star rating for issues they have with the pricing of the Kindle edition. I don't think that is fair, since the quality of the writing is so extraordinary. I think the reading value of this book justifies the price. Incidentally, I bought the hardback edition, but I think the Kindle verison is fairly priced too. I use the ratings a great deal, but I use them to judge the quality of the product; pricing you can always evaluate yourself, but that shouldn't be a factor in the rating of the product quality.

work of art/art of work
Whew. I remember this guy, Daniel Silva. He wrote the most marvelous thrillers -- action plus ideology, art, politics, a strong sense of place, memorable minor characters. Then he took a sabbatical that lasted 3 novels. Three novels in which the hero became a self-involved action figure.

But now he's back. And Gabriel Allon is back in Cornwall, although not yet out to sea or in the studio. He's tracking again, but tracking down a missing Rembrandt, a portrait of the artist's mistress, a never-displayed lost treasure. Julian Isherwood is much in evidence and the watching little boy of the early novels, Peel, is now a young man and back in the picture. The coast is described in general, if not in loving particular, and it looks like Gabriel is taking on an investigation that is personally significant, but not significantly personal.

While Silva -- a former reporter -- is always good at investing his plots with current issues, this meditation on the economics of art in a time of financial distress is particularly shrewd. The gap between rich and poor is exacerbated by those private collectors who buy paintings stolen from museums, only to hang them on the walls of their private galleries. So much more than monetary value is the world's loss to the Museum of the Missing.

Giving his reader non-stop-thrill-ride-nail-biting-OMG action has never been a problem for Silva. (The only problem has been giving so much of it that there's no room for anything else.) Here the background and subject matter of the painting itself are gracefully woven into the fabric of the story so that the reader learns and thinks while also being riveted.

The plot is more like the early books than the last 3: there's more thinking and less blood. Silva's research is both impressive and heart-breaking. He introduces a minor character in Paris who is an activist in post-Holocaust politics and with her he introduced me to the term "memory militant."

In addition to being an outstanding writer, Silva is himself a dedicated memory militant who honors all aspects of that monumental subject.