If there is a current writer in charge of continuing in the wake of the Tom Clancy, Le Carré and other great spy novel writers that emerged from the cold war, that is Daniel Silva. This prolific and brilliant author, whose novels are arriving in Spain with some assiduity, although not all his bibliographic collection, stands out today as one of the biggest bestsellers of this genre of spies that flirts with the black genre and even with the thriller.
The dedication to writing came to good Daniel through that literary tangent that is journalism, the usual crossing line with fictional narrative. His work as a correspondent in countries of the Middle East would also serve to base some of his novels with themes that link to jihadism.
Undoubtedly an author full of experiences with which to expand at ease in so many good novels.
Top 3 recommended novels by Daniel Silva
the cellist
The twenty-first installment, that's nothing, in the Gabriel Allon series. An unusual character in the context of suspense with which Daniel Silva has won us over to the cause of his international thriller plots. A novel that fits the current patterns of a world run by capital and multinationals far above their own governments. A story with a double focus on the plot itself of the crime on duty while immersing us in the unfathomable depths of current world events.
The fatal poisoning of a Russian billionaire sends Gabriel Allon on a perilous journey across Europe and into the orbit of virtuosic music that may hold the key to the truth about his friend's death. The plot Allon uncovers leads to secret channels of money and influence that go to the very heart of Western democracy and threaten the stability of the global order.
The other woman
Who would have imagined it? Daniel Silva himself, a mixture of his predecessors in the Yankee espionage genre (the elegance of Patricia Highsmith and the intensity of Robert Ludlum), has stopped and dined in Spanish territory to take off with his latest international thriller novel.
From a peaceful retreat in Cádiz we are discovering one of those plots in which the past of the protagonists ends up returning to settle old scores. Because once inside the muddy terrain of international espionage, you are never completely free, neither in Cádiz nor in Timbuktu.
But in the case of the enigmatic protagonist who enjoys her pleasant life of leisure in the south of Spain, she is in charge of mentioning that past without weighing the consequences (or precisely wishing them for some reason that escapes us from the beginning).
The biography of this lady, French to be precise, is introduced in a bygone time in which she faced her particular tragedy by the simple fact of falling in love with one of those guys who walk a tightrope, a spy who moved around mission to mission and that she faltered with her lover, to the point of conceiving a son finally taken away.
It is not surprising then that the woman seeks revenge for events that even today steal her sleep and for whose resolution she wants to put the last thing that remains of her life.
She knows that what she writes will splatter a Soviet Union that knew how to infiltrate more than a spy a fundamental confidant for a long-term project in which, if the spy ends up gaining the trust of the enemies of the Russian homeland, the heirs of the KGB may end up conquering the world in the most silent way.
The testimony of the mysterious woman reaches Gabriel Allon, Silva's already emblematic character, behind whose back the shadow of the Mossad always looms. Gabriel's mission will focus on revealing that infiltrator from the darkest Russia who is sinisterly approaching the end of his mission. Everything that was expected of him has been fulfilled and now he is only one step away from conquering the world ...
A story that is linking the fascinating days (at least in the distance), of the Cold War, with some new current days that point to that same icy relationship of dark intentions and evil interests on both sides of the world.
The confessor
The good writer shows, especially, how much he decides to turn his work around, either in a timely manner, as is this case, or definitely. In this novel, Daniel Silva showed that he also performed perfectly in the genre of historical fiction.
From Nazism to the Catholic power, Daniel offers us a framework about different dark moments in history. A fictional look at the days of the Holocaust.
Great secrets that end up offering us synergies between Nazism and the papacy of Pius XII. One of the most macabre aspects of Nazism was the drift of what they called the Final Solution. How could they believe that there was something lawful about it? Every ideology has its foundation and its support ...
Other recommended books by Daniel Silva…
Spy house
Agent Gabriel Allon lives up to his long-established reputation as a great spy, half James Bond, half Jason Bourne. And it is that the good of Gabriel maintains that demeanor between elegant and mysterious Bond at the same time that his cases delve into the underworld of international conflicts that are closer to a Jason Bourne always on the edge of the precipice.
In fact, it is probable that the second is an evolution of the second, but in Gabriel's case his great virtue consists in maintaining the balance between the two stereotypes of practically Machiavellian superagents. Undoubtedly the international news is always in latent fear in the face of the threat of ISIS. And this novel, precisely, is responsible for fiction our most real fears with a proposal of maximum tension.
The head in the ISIS pyramid claims to be called Saladino. And without a doubt the terrible attack that shakes the West End of London bears his stamp. And precisely because of that, because of the unmistakable seal, Gabriel Allon will be able to cling to a thread to pull to get closer to Saladino. His hunt and capture has taken on a personal look for a Gabriel whose darker side only hopes to give cruel revenge.
From London to the south of France ... Now Gabriel already knows that in order to strike hit after hit at relevant points of his western enemy, he needs certain help. Because for the filthiest types, money justifies everything, or rather, covers everything.
In a luxurious French mansion Gabriel meets Jean-Luc Martel, his goal to bond with Saladino. It only needs to be used thoroughly to link the drug trafficker Martel with the Martel capable of selling his soul to the devil, threatening the entire Western civilization if it comes to making money ...
The new girl
The personal sphere of every spy, powerful leader or even police officer is always their Achilles tendon. Because having a private life as someone with enough power or knowledge to be hated can have an unaffordable price. Daniel Silva on this occasion he tackles that most personal space to convert his plot into a pure thriller.
In an exclusive Swiss private school, the mystery surrounds the identity of a girl with black hair who arrives every morning accompanied by an escort worthy of a head of state. They say that she is the daughter of a very rich businessman. In reality his father is the all-powerful Khalid bin Mohamed, the now-reviled Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and once hailed by the international community for his promise to undertake religious and social reforms.
Khalid is now the target of harsh criticism from all governments for his involvement in the murder of a dissident journalist. And when his only daughter is kidnapped, he turns to the only man who can find her before it's too late.
Gabriel Allon, the legendary head of the Israeli intelligence service, has spent much of his life hunting down terrorists. Among them, numerous jihadists financed by Saudi Arabia. Prince Khalid has vowed to finally break the close link between his kingdom and radical Islam.
For that reason alone, Gabriel considers him a valuable collaborator, despite the fact that he does not trust him. Together they will forge a precarious alliance in a secret war for control of the Middle East. The life of a girl and the throne of Saudi Arabia are at stake. Both Allon and Khalid have made numerous enemies for themselves. And they have a lot to lose.
Killer's mark
When a novel of this genre is presented as a quiet setting where civilians of all kinds and conditions roam peacefully, we know that something serious awaits us. If the scene also takes place in an airport, the tragedy is served towards the total thriller.
But the magic of Daniel Silva is to redirect the story towards a much deeper political background in which, behind the image of the murderer who ultimately pulls the trigger, you can always find sinister interests capable of anything.
Daniel Silva is a master of conspiracy as an argument, to the point of achieving a plot tension that leads you to read frantically towards the resolution of the case.
