Review Tuesday: 'The Rembrandt Affair'

Today’s ‘Review Tuesday’. Sometimes I enjoy reading popular fiction. My favourite genre’s detective or spy yarns. And I especially like those written by Daniel Silva [1]. A 50-year-old American, Silva’s written 14 spy and espionage novels – comprising three early ones, then 11 in what’s termed the ‘Gabriel Allon series’. The son of Holocaust survivors, Allon’s an Israeli assassin and spy who between missions works as an art restorer. His missions are to eliminate or at least decommission Israels enemies – be they Arab or Nazi. He always succeeds. Though often only after being shot, tortured or otherwise harshly dealt with. I’ve read 10 of Silva’s books, i.e. the first 10 in the Allon series. In January, in four days, I raced though the tenth: The Rembrandt Affair [2]. Like its predecessors, its fairly well written but utterly unputdownable. However only two months after I read its last page, I recall little of its plot. But I don’t care. Because I read these books, and others like them, for entertainment and escapism – which are immediate and not ongoing satisfiers. All of Silva’s books have been New York Times and international bestsellers. His last three debuted at #1 on the NYT bestseller list. Clearly Silva’s commercial success guarantees Allon’s longevity. So I enjoy starting each Silva book knowing that at its end Allon, though bruised and bloodied, will be alive and kicking. Unlike his quarry. I can hardly wait to read Allon #11: Portrait of a Spy. It’s being released next July.