#daniel silva

Damn Them All #7 (August 9, 2023)

If you would like to read an excerpt from Daniel Silva’s new thriller "House of Spies"* click above.

Daniel Silva is a best-selling American author of 20 thriller and espionage novels. The main focus Gabriel Allon, an Israeli art restorer, spy and assassin, who is a key figure in all but three of Silva’s titles. The series has been a New York Times bestseller since its first installment in 2001. As of 2016 eight of the series’ titles hit number one on the New York Times list of best sellers. Some of his novels are set against Islamic terrorism, some relate to villains set in Russia, and some are about historic events related to World War II and the Holocaust. Silva did not come into the Allon series with a significant understanding of the world of art restoration but was able to use a neighbor’s expertise to help him turn a spy-assassin into an artist. Gabriel Allon is the main protagonist in Daniel Silva’s thriller and espionage series that focuses on Israeli Intelligence. The main characters refer to their employer as ‘the Office’, although it is not specified that it is Mossad (known internally in the Israeli intelligence community as HaMisrad[עברית: המשרד], literally ‘the Office’). Allon’s career began in 1972 when he, Eli Lavon and several others were plucked from civilian life by Ari Shamron to participate in Operation Wrath of God, an act of vengeance to hunt down and eliminate those responsible for killing the Israel athletes in Munich. Wrath of God is referenced in the books throughout the course of his life. Allon is portrayed as a sabra whose first language was German. He was raised Jewish, albeit in a secular home in the Jezreel Valley and was not familiar with Shabbat candles until he saw them as an adult. That his parents, specifically his mother, Irene, was a Holocaust  survivor (from Berlin) is a thread throughout the series; it is often alluded to that her unwillingness to discuss what happened to her is part of what makes Allon such a good spy and master of secrets. Not much is known about Allon’s father beyond his death in the Six-Day War, other than that he was a Holocaust survivor who was born and raised in Munich. According to Ari Shamron, Gabriel’s name was chosen for a reason, “Your mother named you Gabriel for a reason. Michael is the highest, but you, Gabriel, are the mightiest. You’re the one who defends Israel against its accusers. You’re the angel of judgment - the Prince of Fire.”