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Portrait of a Spy

March 21, 2012 by Elizabeth

Gabriel Allon is retired from the Israeli secret service, living in a small Cornish village, and restoring a Rembrandt. When he and Chiara (his drop-dead gorgeous wife, de rigeur for international spies) go up to London for a weekend to visit an art gallery, Gabriel sees a suicide bomber heading towards Covent Garden. He tries to intervene and is stopped by the British police. Haunted by his failure and the growing amounts of dead bodies after simultaneous bombs in Paris and Copenhagen, he allows himself to be drawn back into the game.

He and his colleagues from Israel, Britain and America hatch a daring plan—fund a terrorist network, and in so doing gain access to their masterminds and destroy them. But in order to do this, they need to find someone with impeccable jihadist credentials who is actually on their side. They have someone in mind—the only daughter of a multi-millionaire Saudi businessman. Unfortunately, Gabriel is the one who killed her father, in front of her, several years earlier. Why would she now risk her life for their scheme?

Portrait of a Spy is gripping stuff. As Gabriel and team race across continents, visiting desert strongholds in Dubai, safe houses on the shore of Lake Geneva, or CIA-owned apartments in Duluth, Virginia, the stakes ratchet up. There’s plenty of frustration between the different nationalities and their governments, plenty of interference from the “suits” who aren’t on the ground and don’t understand potential results. There’s definitely some bias, which may or may not bother you.

Portrait of a Spy is well-done for its genre. It’s the sort of book that is perfect for the beach or an airplane ride—good plot, keeps moving, characters fleshed out and interesting enough to make you care about them. This was my first book by Daniel Silva, but it’s the 11th in this series about Gabriel Allon. It stands alone.

I’m thrilled to announce that we have a copy to give away! Just leave a comment below to be entered to win. The winner will be announced on April 4th. This giveaway is now closed.

  • The winner of Losing Clementine is #8 Cindy Brooks.
  • The winner of the Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life DVD is #16 RiTa.
  • The winner of the Vincent Shadow books is #4 RiTa (believe it or not!!)

Don’t miss a thing: Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed or video reviews on YouTube. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter or on Facebook.

Elizabeth enjoys a wide variety of genres, from international spy thrillers to classic literature. Read more at her blog Planet Nomad.

Filed Under: Elizabeth, Fiction

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Comments

  1. Margaret says

    March 21, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    This sounds like a great book! I’d love to read it!

    Margaret
    singitm(at)hotmail(dot)com

  2. rica berg says

    March 21, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    Sounds interesting! Would love a copy!

  3. Barb says

    March 21, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    Sounds perfect for an airplane ride!

    • Elizabeth says

      April 4, 2012 at 10:19 am

      Then I hope you’ve got an airplane ride coming up, because you won! Congrats! Please send us your mailing address.

  4. Jenn says

    March 21, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    This does sound like an interesting book, one my husband and I both would enjoy.

  5. Marjorie says

    March 21, 2012 at 3:11 pm

    Sounds like an interesting mystery and I would love to read it.

  6. Beth C says

    March 21, 2012 at 3:15 pm

    I’d really enjoy this book. Thanks!
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

  7. Alison S. says

    March 21, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    This looks like a fun book!

  8. Dianne says

    March 21, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    I really enjoy reading Mr. Silva’s books. Thanks for the giveaway.

  9. Carol M says

    March 21, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    This sounds like a book I would enjoy! Thank you for the giveaway!

  10. paige says

    March 21, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    Fun story. Count me in.

  11. Joy says

    March 21, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    Sounds good 🙂 Thanks for the opportunity.

  12. Tammy Gordon says

    March 21, 2012 at 9:26 pm

    sounds like a good book!

  13. Liz says

    March 21, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    Have read some of this series but not in order. Would like to read the latest.

  14. Natalia says

    March 21, 2012 at 10:59 pm

    Would like to win this book.

  15. John says

    March 21, 2012 at 11:00 pm

    Sounds interesting, count me in!

  16. Cindi says

    March 22, 2012 at 2:02 am

    It sounds like a fast paced, action
    plot…
    Love it!
    Many thanks, Cindi

  17. Mary Preston says

    March 22, 2012 at 11:45 pm

    PORTRAIT OF A SPY does look like a great read thank you.

  18. Jeff says

    March 24, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    Will read for sure.

  19. Linda Kish says

    March 24, 2012 at 11:33 pm

    I would love to read this book.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  20. Dianne says

    March 27, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    Really enjoy his books and would love to have this one to read.

  21. Patricia says

    March 30, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    Would love to win this one.

  22. nan says

    March 31, 2012 at 11:26 am

    LOVE this series. Thanks for the giveaway!

  23. Angela E. says

    April 2, 2012 at 9:24 am

    Please enter me, thanks

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