The Heist

by Daniel Silva
496 pgs  (Gabriel Allon series #14)

In this latest offering in Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, Allon is called on to find the killer of an English diplomat named Jack Bradshaw. Julian Isherwood, an art dealer, and long-time associate of Allon, discovered the body of Bradshaw and is now being held as a suspect in his murder. Bradshaw, it has been learned, has been secretly trafficking priceless pieces of art stolen from museums and churches around the world for years and selling it to an unknown collector. The Italian police have threatened to accuse Isherwood of Bradshaw’s murder unless Allon is able to discover the identity of the true killer.

Allon soon discovers that Bradshaw’s murder is connected to the disappearance of Caravaggio’s famous, and long-lost masterpiece The Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence. Stolen in 1969 from the Sicilian church it had hung in for centuries, The Nativity has become one of the most famous and valuable missing pieces of art in history.   

In order for Allon to find the killer and free his friend, he must track down the masterpiece and uncover this mysterious and powerful art collector. As the story unfolds, and Allon and his team of Israeli operatives devise a plan to draw out the collector, Silva’s strengths as a storyteller are evidenced.

This is the 14^th book in the Allon series, and remarkably, Silva continues to keep the series as fresh and captivating as ever.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆