The Defector Daniel Silva

Daniel Silva's latest, The Defector, takes up where previous novel, Moscow Rules, left off. Controversial hero Gabriel Allon, was recruited at an early age by the "Office", a covert Israeli group dedicated to one purpose: keeping the state of Israel safe. His specialty is assassination, fed by a vengence after witnessing his wife and young son gunned down.

Gabriel is enjoying an extended honeymoon with new wife Chiara, also an agent with the Office. He is immersed in restoring a painting for the Vatican, art restoration being his second vocation. He and Chiara are staying in an isolated Italian Villa under heavy guard. Gabriel receives word that former Russian intelligience agent, Grigori Bulganov, has gone missing in London. Gabriel had assisted Bulganov in defecting from Russia, and in the process Bulganov had saved Gabriel from a certain death. Against orders from his superiors, Gabriel leaves to investigate and finds numerous strange clues to Bulganov's disappearance.

But the worst is yet to come. Chiara is kidnapped from the villa, and her body guards brutally murdered. The trail to both Chiara and Bulganov leads back to Russia. Gabriel and fellow agents devise a plan to rescue them both, so fraught with danger, success seems impossible.

Silva's reputation as a superb storyteller is well deserved. The characters are well developed and Gabriel Allon is drawn as a true hero. Action packed, and swift moving, this book and past Silva works make for time well spent. However, hostile and violent killing are the norm, and dialogue can be a bit rough. On a scale of 1 to 10 I rate this one a 7.