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The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon) | 
 enlarge | Author: Daniel Silva
Publisher: Signet
Category: Book
List Price: $9.99
Buy Used: $1.86
You Save: $8.13 (81%)
New (47) Used (46) from $1.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  104 reviews
Sales Rank: 1209
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0451224507
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780451224507
ASIN: 0451224507
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ex library nice reading copy
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Product Description
A terrorist plot in London leads Israeli spy Gabriel Allon on a desperate search for a kidnapped woman, in a race against time that will compromise Allons own conscienceand life...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 99 more reviews...
 Daniel Silva September 19, 2008
An excellent mystery/thriller/spy novel and I look forward to reading the other books written by this author.
 Glad I Bought It!!!! September 13, 2008
Audio - Review of Secret Servant
Plot - Quick, flowing, until the very end, the bit about the wedding could have been left out or confined to a quick five or ten minute, at the most a short chapter. It was nice to know they finally did get married but the details, I found to be unnecessary.
The story was not only timely but also very realistic; the course of events could have easily been written in any newspaper. But we the reader or listener, get to hear or read all those little details that couldn't be released to the public. There's something tantalizing about knowing the details that the author stated that were not released in any official document. Pretend that only you and the characters are privy (along with the thousands of other people who read the book) to the book's `For Your Eyes Only' information.
Characters - I will definitely read or listen to more books in the series. I loved the characters. I found the fact that the main character not only serves in an intelligence role but is able to maintain a separate and normal existence as an art restorer as a relief to all those other one dimensional James Bond types. Gabriel Allon, the main character is perfect for the simple reason he isn't. He has to do what he has to do. He is not without feelings but he knows when and where those feeling are appropriate. He's not some young stud that runs around bedding women without a second thought; he has an ex-wife with major problems, though I wasn't sure of details. But still it's wasn't dismal, sad but it didn't drown in self-pity. I plan to go back and read the rest of the books in the series after I read Moscow Rules. He's a man who's lost a child, a grown son, so you know he's not some young whippersnapper. He's intelligent, well organized, a man that you want to know, at least as an art restorer.
The majority of the rest of the characters were well rounded, enjoyable and at times, scary. I wanted to know more about the characters and not just the good guys. It would be nice to learn what happened to them after the book ended which to me indicated an emotional investment that I developed for the characters. The use of characters were perfect, some had small but crucial roles.
Settings - Wonderfully described, detailed without being boring or slowing the story down.
Narrator - Excellent, I enjoyed the narrator's work a great deal, while the voices of the females character were not perfect, they within a tolerant range. It's not easy for a man to do a female voice without it sounding awful or laughable. Don't get me wrong it's no better for a female doing a male voice. It is truly an art when a narrator can nail the voice of a character of the opposite sex.
Bottom line, a fantastic book with great characters and a terrific story.
 The Sound Is No Secret September 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The premise is intriguing; a terrorist plot perpetrated at locations around London causes death, destruction and a diversion to the kidnapping of the daughter of the ambassador from the United States.
Through a mysterious link used by a murdered author - who had maneuvered within the shadows of terrorism and intelligence - Israeli spy Gabriel Allon finds himself on the trail of the perpetrators and the mysterious mastermind who goes by the codename of the "Sphinx."
Author Daniel Silva does a masterful job in linking stories culled from the front pages of newspapers and magazines - along with little-known historical facts - to lend an air of credibility the pursuit through Europe, but ultimately falls short with the use of typical scenarios found in less than thrilling thrillers.
Allon has unbelievable recuperative powers - though he is viciously pistol-whipped, assaulted by several thugs and near a massive explosion - which makes him more super hero than human agent. The dialogue between Allon and the terrorists seems best in a cartoon-styled plot, as the tough guy banter sounds like boasting juveniles on a school playground. And there are story lines that come to an abrupt halt, which lead to many more puzzling questions than answers.
Silva has built a franchise with the exploits of Allon. But this novel builds up to a large thud...and it isn't just the noise of the bad guys getting their comeuppance in the end.
Masterful August 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I find it amazing that the author keeps coming up with fresh plots and an exciting story with mostly the same key characters. Gabriel Allon, the Israeli operative, comes out on top once again. Islamic terrorists kidnap the daughter of the U.S. ambassador to England while she's taking her daily run in Hyde Park. They request a swap for an important sheikh who is in prison in Colorado. Then, when that request is refused they accept a ransom offered by her wealthy father. However, they deviously plan on killing her in a spectacular fashion on Christmas morning. Allon is, of course, the hero. But even though Allon seems super human he does it in a believable fashion.
New to Silva & Allon...and hooked! August 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
`The Secret Servant' by Daniel Silva
This was my first time reading Silva and his Israeli Spy / Assassin / Art Restorer, Gabriel Allon...I was not disappointed. In fact, I've already gone and ordered his other Allon novels with plans on reading them chronologically.
In `The Secret Servant', our hero, Gabriel Allon tracks a radical Islamist terror cell responsible for the abduction of a prominent American. The story is smart, current and incisive that you'll find a frolic of a read.
For fear of giving anything away, I'll say simply, that Mr. Silva has woven a fine spy tale that hooked this generally strict non-fiction reader and it comes with my recommendation...for whatever that's worth.
- Johnny
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