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In the first chapters of THE HEIST, the new thriller by Daniel Silva, an international art dealer with a shady reputation is found brutally murdered, hanging in his Italian villa on Lake Como. Gabriel Allon, a superspy whose daring adventures have been the focus of thirteen other Silva works, is coerced into finding his killer. When we first meet Allon in this book, he appears to be a talented art restorer, working on a priceless altarpiece in an Italian church. But we soon learn that he is a spy and sometime assassin, employed by the Israeli secret service. Indeed, he is next in line to head that organization. If you are new to Silva's Gabriel Allon, as I am, this information about Allon seems unique and intriguing. Silva provides enough background to provide context for a new reader and also to stimulate a desire to read the earlier books.
General Cesare Ferrari is the head of the Italian government's organization that pursues stolen art—called the Art Squad. Ferrari, a battle-scarred veteran with one missing eye and two missing fingers, is most interested in finding a missing Caravaggio. He convinces Allon to track down the killer and to look for this masterpiece as well. Allon is concerned about the safety of his now pregnant wife, but he agrees because Ferrari says this will help a friend who had saved his life and the life of his wife Chiara.
Allon's search leads him to an international ring of art thieves. Chasing the money, he discovers that the mysterious person collecting stolen art is one of the world's worst dictators. This world leader is hedging his bets by putting billions into stolen art that he can squirrel away for his future. Not to give too much away, but this person is someone currently in the news, and the novel is very timely in its ideas about him. The Israeli secret service is very interested in bringing him down, and they stage an elaborate hoax. In order to entrap the banker who procures the art for this dictator, Allon tempts him with the promise of an original Van Gogh. The Israelis have, indeed, stolen a Van Gogh from the Amsterdam museum that houses the artist's work. And Allon creates a copy that is impossible to tell from the original, down to the inclusion of dirty fingerprints, mimicking Van Gogh's own sloppy handling of the canvas.
If you have ever wondered about the world of those who sell and restore priceless works of art, this thriller is for you. Or if you have ever wondered about the underworld of those who daringly steal masterpieces from public museums, then this thriller is also for you. If you enjoy a spy story with strong elements of current world politics, then Daniel Silva's The HEIST is definitely a book you will want to read.
§ Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, July 2010
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