The Black Widow (Gabriel Allon, 16)

France had been seized with a rise in violence to Jewish citizens and their properties. The latest had been the murder of three children in Toulouse. Four thousand documented attacks in a year, were recorded and investigated by Hannah Weinberg and her team at the Isaac Weinberg Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism in Paris, France. Hannah had pressured France into protecting its plagued Jewish minority. Located on the rue des Rosiers, the center was on the most famous street in the city’s most visible Jewish neighborhood. With a conference title that would incite, Hannah decided to have a meeting concerning the recent waves of violence. She invited guests from the States as well as France; however, France’s Interior Ministry and Muslim spiritual leaders declined. A bomb leveled the center at the inception of Hannah’s meeting. A young woman known as “la veuve noir”—the black widow, along with her male accomplice, committed the heinous crime. The atrocity affected Hannah’s friend, Gabriel Allon, an Israeli operative. Allon had been appointed to become head of the Office, Israel’s intelligence service; however, France asked his aid in tracking down the killers’ and their leader, known only as Saladin, before he attempted his next target. Allon complied. Allon assembled his team of spies, operatives, and hired a non-operative, female physician, Dr. Natalie Mizrahi. Allon trained her, changed her name to Dr. Leila Hadawi, a Palestinian, and ordered her to delve deep into the Belly of the Beast (ISIS), uncover information and obtain Saladin’s true identity. Ultimately, she became the trusted physician of Saladin, a wily, dangerous character, who once worked for Iraq’s Secret Police. He planned to wreak havoc on his next destination. Without giving too much away, this is a great summer read. It’s full of suspense, and like a movie, at times, there are heart-stopping moments as you turn the page to find out what happens to Natalie. Plot and structure are good, as well as the characters and their emotional viewpoints. There are words that confounded me like the ‘minaret moon.’ I know what a minaret is, but I admit more than once my fingers did the walking to the dictionary concerning the author, Mr. Silva’s use of adjectives. Another was the word ‘ocular,’ which concerns the eye. The author used the word in describing the sun shading a room in the ‘house of many rooms.’ I found his description of some words new and fascinating. All in all, this is the second book I’ve read by Daniel Silva, and more than likely, I’ll read another. I gave this book five stars.

I started The Black Widow yesterday and finished it today because I couldn’t put it down – seriously, I only slept 3 hours last night because I had to keep going back to this book. I’ve read every book in Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, and this is one of the very best. The Black Widow takes the issue of ISIS head-on, dealing with things that have occurred already, and things that could occur, but hopefully won’t. This book really resonated with me because it brings most of the action to the United States for the first time in the Allon series – a nightmare scenario to be sure, but all the more interesting since we’re the subject. Also, the plot line of this book is well developed, crystal clear, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The book starts with a major act of terror by ISIS in France. In order to inherit a previously unknown Van Gogh painting willed to him by a prominent friend killed in the attack, the French government wants Gabriel to find the perpetrators. This leads the Office team to recruit a woman doctor in Jerusalem and train her to infiltrate ISIS. It’s discovered that a major ISIS strike in the United States is imminent, and the intelligence services of Israel, Jordan, France, England, and the United States work together to try to stop it from occurring. Writing from Gabriel Allon’s Israeli perspective, Mr. Silva is blunt in characterizing the strengths and weaknesses of the countries intrinsic to the story, including ours. He is so well-informed and prescient about what the bad guys of the world are up to, that whenever I read any of Mr. Silva’s books I wish they were required reading for everyone in government. That all this brilliant insight is given to us in the form of a story so well-written and engaging is Mr. Silva’s unique talent. I even devour the author’s notes and acknowledgements – even these are interesting. I can’t say any more than this – if international intrigue and a great story are things you enjoy, this book will give it to you in spades. Buy the book – it’s great!

I have been a fan of Daniel Silva since the beginning, since before Gabriel Allon showed up. He has an intriguing, very appealing writing style that makes whatever he says interesting. He can write about spies and action and adventure and superheroes, or he can write about nuclear physics or potato chips, and it all comes out in such way that you can’t put the book down. With the Allon series he has developed characters of such depth that, after reading even a few of the books, you feel as if you know them as well as you know some of your own family. The stories are always well thought out, and the plots are as modern as tomorrow. Plus, each book is a history lesson, containing information that is based very much in reality. In this book, ‘The Black Widow’, the Office (Israel’s intelligence agency) finds itself in the middle of a hunt for Saladin, the new leader of ISIS, who is planning a series of terrorist strikes in America. Gabriel and crew hook up with the French and the Jordanians, and somewhat reluctantly with the Americans, to locate and stop Saladin before he can complete his attacks. They recruit a French national and train her to pose as a radicalized Muslim who wants to join ISIS and help with the war against the West. The story follows her as she first infiltrates the organization, then receives training in Terror 101, and finally as she travels to America to participate in acts of terror in Washington, D.C. The story progresses as it usually does in an Allon book. He becomes aware of a grave situation, he confers with his sources and confidants and works out a strategy to defeat the problem, he recruits an outsider to infiltrate the organization, he invests himself emotionally, his group does amazing things to learn as much as possible about the bad guys, and then the outsider is rescued at the last second. This formula has worked well, but after many Gabriel Allon missions, it is starting to get a little bit predictable. What sets this book apart from the previous ones, and keeps it from getting lost in memory simply because it follows the formula, is its shocking departure from routine at the very end. The ending is actually not predictable; it is disturbing and even frightening. Because of the surprise ending, I give the book four stars instead of three. Why would I consider giving three stars to a well written book by one of the top three thriller writers in business today? It is precisely because of the formula that has worked so well in the past. There are several books in this series, and each is top notch. But you can only use the same trick a certain amount of times. Eventually the thing that worked in the past starts to seem a little stale. In this book you can predict what is going to happen next, and you can almost quote some of the dialog word for word. How many times have we read the following: “Oded and Mordecai, a pair of all purpose field hands.” Or “…his chin in his hand, head tilted to one side.” Or something about Chiara’s “riotous hair” or something about Ari “igniting one of his Turkish cigarettes.” If this were a standalone book, such things would not be noticed. But for the reader who has been with the series since its inception, the repetitiveness is annoying. So, three stars due to predictability and lack of creativeness in describing recurring characters. But it earns a star back based on its departure from the formula by having an ending that is very much not predictable. But don’t do that to us again. As I said, Daniel Silva is right at the top of the list of best thriller writers, but the pattern for his books is just a little shop-worn. As a stand-alone book, ‘The Black Widow’ is great. But for the faithful followers of Gabriel Allon and his band of merry spies, a little departure from the routine would be refreshing. And please don’t do that by blowing up the rest of the country next time.

Excellent.

There is a tremendous richness that Mr. Silva draws on for each of his Gabriel Allon books. Over the years, he has given us many, many characters to love, Gabriel Allon was the first, but far from the last, and Black Widow is no exception. Also, he as been a joiner of worlds for us, his readers: the world of art joined with the worlds of contemporary international politics, the stories behind the politics, espionage, religion, and the continual set of shockwaves coming out of the Middle East. Silva's connections to news bureaus and reporting serve him well, and often, I wonder where the fiction leaves off and the behind-the-scenes reality begins in his books. The Black Widow, in particular, is not just a nail-biting thriller, but a critique of the US's policy in the Middle East for the last 15 years or more, especially where Iraq, Arab Spring, and Syria are concerned. Other reviewers mention his anger with Mr. Obama. I think that it's frustration about the president's policies. And he rightly points to the rise of ISIS and the new "caliphate" in the Syrian and Iraqi territories, and the growing danger that it poses to the West. This book is also a critique of the US security apparatus, and, although I have no real insight into what's happening there, I think that his perspective is probably on target. He argues that the US's security technology capabilities are unparalleled, but that our security services are not as flexible as they need to be; are often blinded by geopolitical alliances; and are not able to operate on the ground nearly as much as they need to. Of course, all of this works to the benefit of his story setup, which is that a handful of brilliant operatives and analysts can work rings around the Washington colossus. And maybe in real life that's true, but we will never know. What I want to know now is, what's next? As Gabriel assumes the post that he's been avoiding for what, the last 10 books? Will he ever restore a painting again? Will he ever go operational again? If I were a betting person, I'd be betting on the Saladin Trilogy, with Gabriel continuing to match wits with this new terrorist mastermind. Maybe, in his new position, he is better positioned to fight this fight. I hope so. These are all characters that I have come to love. I am not yet willing to let them go.

I loved this well written book. The twists and turns were amazing and the characters were so interesting. I have read all of Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allen’s books and this was one of his best!

This was another great story that uses today's headlines as the backdrop for a fictional story which could very well be what the news will be reporting in the near future. Having read all of books in the series, however, it is clear that the books are being written for readers new to the series. There are a lot of parts of the book that retell portions of previous books and rehash the history of the characters. Many of these are not essential to the story itself but seem to be added as either refreshers for the reader or as a background for new readers. Considering that there is a new book every year, I think it is being done to bring new readers up to speed. As far as the story itself is concerned, it is a page turner and kept me very interested up until the end. But if you are looking for a story that has a clear resolution, you won't find it here. The last chapter attempts to do so with a marginal character but the story is left open for what for sure will become the next book in the series. Feels a lot like a movie that is cut in two to increase box office receipts. The audio version of the book is excellent. I read/listened to the book over the course of several days and the audio reading was great and very well done.

There are number of negative reviews on this site for "The Black Widow" from Obama supporters who did not like the way Daniel Silva depicted the American President in this work. The American President said that ISIS was a Jayvee team, precisely what Obama himself called ISIS. A fact is a fact. This is a timely work illustrating the horrors of ISIS. A foundation is bombed in Paris, killing its founder who leaves a priceless Van Gogh to Gabriel Allon. The authorities will not release the painting to Gabriel unless he comes to Paris and assist in finding the two who fled on a motorcycle from the bombing. Gabriel agrees. Gabriel decides to enlist a young, beautiful Jewish doctor, Natalie Mizrahi, to infiltrate the ISIS caliphate, controlled by Saladin. She is reluctant at first, but then agrees. Natalie speaks French, Arabic and Hebrew. Gabriel trains Natalie to become a radicalized Palestinian woman who hates Christians and Jews. Gabriel is in pursuit of this Saladin the ruthless leader of the ISIS caliphate who orchestrated the Paris bombing. He named himself after a 12th century hero who defeated the Crusaders and took control of Palestine. Natalie did infiltrate Saladin's camp in Syria, but what happened there will not be revealed in this review. The setting for this work moves from Paris to Amsterdam to Beirut to Syria to King Saul Boulevard and finally to violence in Washington, D.C. The plot is intricate and profoundly complex. The work is, as always in a Daniel Silva work, very well written. I regret coming to the end of a Daniel Silva work knowing full well that I won't get to read another Daniel Silva work for about a year or so. Daniel Silva is one of the best writers on the literary scene today. Amazon Verified Purchase.

I can't praise the author enough. But to the careful readers and cognoscente,I have a request. #PLEASE_PURCHASE_HOUSE_OF_SPIES_AND_BLACK_WIDOW_EN_MASSE . After finishing this 100miles/hr novel,you'd require only a day to muse the facts,scenarios,end results.Your body,your mind would demand you to unravel the "What next". Now coming to the novel, it's something more than worth reading.The way mr.Silva riveted the whole plot and it's boundaries ,it will greet you to the clandestine global terror network.And most importantly, you will get to know eventually that it's fiction in genre but truth in nature. Characters,places, phenomena are fictitious but it's a bare verity that, the WEST, Middle-east,in fact the whole world is under constant threats of leading Terrorism Hierarchy. And being an INDIAN I have enormous respect for MOSSAD, CIA,KGB alongside my indigenous secret service R&AW. At the end of the day, it's such a piece which would get you scolding from your parents and would give you tingle to your spine.

J'apprécie beaucoup tout que Daniel Silva écrit. Il y a de l'intrigue, action et romance. Recommande

A loved Daniel Silva books since the first one that I read many years ago. I have read all the his following books after the first. A think that this statement does not require more details. He is excelente.

This book was my first acquaintance with Silva and with his hero, the master Israeli spy Gabriel Allon, who has starred in more than a dozen novels. Allon is everything a thriller hero should be: taciturn yet passionate, intellectual yet a man of action, and basically invincible. Here The Black Widow converges with reality , because Silva’s fictional ISIS bombing was preceded and followed by a string of real-life ISIS atrocities, some directed against Jews, others against gays, still others against random Europeans and Americans. The intensely present reality of ISIS terrorism means that Silva’s fictional treatment of it has a difficult choice to make. The thriller form strongly pushes for a happy ending. And this is our strong whish in the present reality.

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