The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva
Gabriel Allon, accomplished art
restorer and retired Israeli spy, retreats to Cornwall with his wife to recuperate
following a disastrous mission in Russia.
Naturally he doesn’t get to simply relax. An old friend, a well-respected art dealer
named Isherwood, has a big problem. He
brokered a deal with the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. to sell
them a heretofore unknown Rembrandt on behalf of a client. In preparation of the sale he entrusted the painting
to a professional for restoration. The restorer is murdered and the painting is
gone. Isherwood didn’t mention the
painting to his insurers to forego paying the extra premiums so if the painting
is not found he’s out $45 million. That’s
why he’s extremely desperate to have the painting found and asks Allon for his
help.
Follows is a trip around the world
establishing where the painting has been in hopes that it will lead to clues to
where the painting is now. Nazi war
criminals, Swiss bank accounts and shady philanthropists all come together to explain
the hidden life of the painting. Allon
travels from the British countryside to Argentina, London and Switzerland to
track down the painting and assembles a team of Israeli agents after the
investigation leads to information that seems to show Iran is getting ready to
make nuclear weapons.
If you haven’t read any of the
fifteen Gabriel Allon thrillers this is one that can be read as a standalone so
you can try the series out. It is tenth
in the series, and events from past books are alluded to, but I never felt like
I didn’t know what was going on. A longtime
fan may have been happy to see characters from past books appear in this one,
but the characters were well-described and I was fine being introduced to them
here. I’m not a huge fan of spy novels,
but this one was more art heist and backroom double dealing than true full on spycraft. It was fast paced and adhered often to the
tenants of Murphy’s Law, things that could go wrong often did, but the good
guys prevailed in the end. Overall a
very enjoyable quick read.
