Another Daniel Silva novel. . .The Defector

I wish I was a little more organised in my reading and less impatient.  I saw this Daniel Silva novel in the library and it was the only one there so I just had to borrow it.  Again I am reading a series not in the correct order.  For this particular novel I should have read Moscow Rules beforehand but didn’t realise that until I was finished.  It can be read as a stand alone but I would have preferred to have read Moscow Rules first.  Anyway I will now put in an order at the library to borrow Moscow Rules.  The Defector is actually the 9th book in the Gabriel Allon series so there are many books I have missed. From the cover:

Gabriel Allon brought down the most dangerous man in the world but he made one mistake, leaving him alive.

Spy turned art restorer Gabriel Allon is trying to resume his honeymoon in the secluded hills of Umbria with his new wife, Chiara, when shocking news reaches him from London.  The defector and former Russian intelligence officer, who saved Gabriel’s life in Moscow Rules, has vanished without a trace.  British intelligence suspect the defector was always a double agent, but Gabriel is convinced otherwise.

Gabriel and his team find themselves in a deadly duel of nerve and wits with one of the world’s most ruthless men: the murderous Russian oligarch and arms dealer Ivan Kharkow.  It will take Gabriel from a quiet mews in London to the shores of Lake Como, to the glittering streets of Geneva and Zurich, and, finally, to a heart-stopping climax in the snowbound birch forests of Russia.  Faced with the prospect of losing the one thing he holds most dear, Gabriel will be tested in ways he never imagined possible.  And his life will never be the same.

This story takes place in Russia, London and Switzerland and it keeps your attention throughout. You are hooked. It is indeed one of those books you can’t put down.  It is edge of the seat stuff with just the right amount of action although it can be rather gruesome and gut-wrenching in parts.  If you are going to read this book I recommend you read Moscow Rules first.