The Heist (Gabriel Allon Series) by Daniel Silva

Paperback: Gabriel Allon, art restorer and occasional spy, searches for a stolen masterpiece by Caravaggio in #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva’s latest action-packed tale of high stakes international intrigue.

Sometimes the best way to find a stolen masterpiece is to steal another one.

Gabriel Allon – art restorer and legendary spy – is in Venice when he receives an urgent call from the Italian police. The art dealer Justin Isherwood has stumbled upon a chilling murder scene, and is being held as a suspect.

The dead man is a fallen spy with a secret – a trafficker in stolen artwork, sold to a mysterious collector. To save his friend, Gabriel must track down the world’s most iconic missing painting: Caravaggio’s Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence.

Gabriel’s mission takes him on exhilarating hunt from Marseilles and Corsica, to Paris and Geneva, and, finally, to a private bank in Austria, where a dangerous man stands guard over the ill-gotten wealth of one of the world’s most brutal dictators.

Master novelist Daniel Silva has thrilled readers with nineteen thoughtful and gripping spy novels featuring a diverse cast of compelling characters and ingenious plots that have taken them around the globe and back - from the United States to Europe, Russia to the Middle East. His brilliant creation, Gabriel Allon - art restorer, assassin, spy - has joined the pantheon of great fictional secret agents, including George Smiley, Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne, and Simon Templar.

Following the success of his smash hit The English Girl (2013), Daniel Silva returns with another powerhouse of a novel that showcases his outstanding skill and brilliant imagination, and is sure to be a must read for both his multitudes of fans and growing legions of converts.

The Heist (2012) is the fourteenth book in the outstanding Gabriel Allon spy series.

About the author: Daniel Silva was born in Michigan in 1960 and raised in California where he received his BA from Fresno State. Silva began his writing career as a journalist for United Press International (UPI), traveling in the Middle East and covering the Iran-Iraq war, terrorism and political conflicts. From UPI he moved to CNN, where he eventually became executive producer of its Washington-based public policy programming. In 1994, he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, a surprise best seller that won critical acclaim. He turned to writing full time in 1997 and all of his books have been New York Times/national best sellers, translated into 25 languages and published across Europe and the world. He lives in Washington, DC.

Rating: 5/5

The English Girl (Gabriel Allon Series) by Daniel Silva

Paperback: He who lives an immoral life dies an immoral death. - Corsican Proverb

Seven days. One girl. No second chances.

Madeline Hart is a rising star in Britain’s governing party: beautiful, intelligent, driven by an impoverished childhood to succeed. But she is also a woman with a dark secret: she is the lover of Prime Minister Jonathan Lancaster. Somehow, her kidnappers have learned of the affair, and they intend to make the British leader pay dearly for his sins. Fearful of a scandal that will destroy his career, Lancaster decides to handle the matter privately rather than involve the British police. It is a risky gambit, not only for the prime minister but also for the operative who will conduct the search.

You have seven days, or the girl dies.

Enter Gabriel Allon - master assassin, art restorer and spy - who is no stranger to dangerous assignments or political intrigue. With the clock ticking, Gabriel embarks on a desperate attempt to bring Madeline home safely. His mission takes him from the criminal underworld of Marseilles to an isolated valley in the mountains of Provence to the stately if faded corridors of power in London—and, finally, to a pulse-pounding climax in Moscow, a city of violence and spies where there is a long list of men who wish Gabriel dead.

From the novel’s opening pages until the shocking ending when the true motives behind Madeline’s disappearance are revealed, The English Girl (2013) will hold readers spellbound. It is a timely reminder that, in today’s world, money often matters more than ideology. And it proves once again why Daniel Silva has been called his generation’s finest writer of suspense and foreign intrigue.

The English Girl (2013) is the thirteen book in the outstanding Gabriel Allon spy series.

About the author: Daniel Silva was born in Michigan in 1960 and raised in California where he received his BA from Fresno State. Silva began his writing career as a journalist for United Press International (UPI), traveling in the Middle East and covering the Iran-Iraq war, terrorism and political conflicts. From UPI he moved to CNN, where he eventually became executive producer of its Washington-based public policy programming. In 1994, he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, a surprise best seller that won critical acclaim. He turned to writing full time in 1997 and all of his books have been New York Times/national best sellers, translated into 25 languages and published across Europe and the world. He lives in Washington, DC.

Rating: 5/5

Eternity

The Garden of the Holy Spirit: Saint Iakovos of Evia (1920-1991) by Professor Stylianos Papadopoulos

Paperback: My heart feels like a garden. - Saint Iakovos

From his earliest years Iakovos Tsalikis wanted to become a monk, but he would have to wait. The world had to get to know him and he had to get to know the world.

Born in Livísi, a picturesque village in Asia Minor, the Tsalikis family was forcibly uprooted from their ancestral homeland. Leaving the life they knew behind, they took with them what was their true life - their Faith. Resettled in Northern Evia, the future Saint was raised in piety and trained in virtue by his grandmother Despina and mother Theodora. Iakovos worked hard alongside his father, Stavros, and eventually became the provider for the family.

At the age of 32, he realized his calling in life by entering the Monastery of Saint David the Elder in Evia, living the rest of his life there as a monk. He rose above insurmountable obstacles, laboured ascetically beyond what is human and suffered greatly for the sake of Christ. He received divine gifts as his reward, including clairvoyance and miracle-working, becoming an Elder of great stature.

The author of this book, Professor Stylianos Papadopoulos, was blessed to know the Elder personally. His intimate knowledge of the Elder’s life together with his literary talent make the story on these pages come alive.

God has not left us without Saints in our age of falsehood and agnosticism. Saint Iakovos intercedes for us today, now glorified among the Saints in heaven. From the vivid, lively stories in The Garden of the Holy Spirit (2018), may we be moved to glorify God and ask Saint Iakovos to intercede for us!

The Garden of the Holy Spirit is originally translated from the Greek by Dr Dimitri Kagaris. Its revised translation is carried out by Anthony Hatzidakis. Translation of the miracle accounts in the introduction and conclusion is carried out by Fr Emmanuel Hatzidakis.

The book is also available as a Kindle book, and as an audio book.

About the author: Professor Stylianos Papadopoulos is a Professor of Patrology at the School of Theology of the National and Cappodistrian University of Athens.

Definition: Zenosyne

The Beijing Conspiracy by Shamini Flint

Hardback: One man is caught up in a lethal global conspiracy in this explosive spy thriller, The Beijing Conspiracy (2019), by former corporate lawyer Shamini Flint.

"I need your support. There is no one else I can trust. Please help her. Please help our daughter."

When ex-Delta Force operator Jack Ford receives a letter containing news of a daughter he never knew he had, he feels compelled to return to China, a country he has not visited since 1989 when, as a young American spy, he fell in love with a beautiful student activist and found himself caught up in the horrors of the Tiananmen Square massacre. But why has Xia got in touch now, after a thirty-year silence?

On arrival in Beijing, Jack finds himself accidentally in possession of an explosive piece of information both the Chinese and American governments are desperate to get their hands on. Alone in a strange city, suspected of being a traitor by his own side, not knowing whom to trust, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma: should he save his new-found daughter or prevent a new world war from breaking out?

About the author: Shamini Flint was born and brought up in Malaysia. Having studied law at Cambridge University, she travelled extensively throughout Asia for her work as a corporate lawyer, before giving it up to become a writer, part-time lecturer and environmental activist. Shamini now lives in Singapore with her husband and two children. She is the author of the highly acclaimed Inspector Singh mystery series.

Rating: 5/5

I Write Fiction

Involuntary Witness (Guido Guerrieri Series) by Gianrico Carofiglio

Paperback: A nine-year-old boy is found murdered at the bottom of a well near a popular beach resort in southern Italy. In what looks like a hopeless case for Guido Guerrieri, counsel for the defence, a Senegalese peddler is accused of the crime. Faced with small-town racism fuelled by the recent immigration from Africa, Guido attempts to exploit the esoteric workings of the Italian courts.

More than a perfectly paced legal thriller, this relentless suspense novel transcends the genre. A powerful attack on racism, and a fascinating insight into the Italian judicial process, it is also an affectionate portrait of a deeply humane hero.

Involuntary Witness was published in 2002 and translated into English in 2005 by Patrick Creagh and has been adapted as the basis for a popular television series in Italy.

About the author: Gianrico Carofiglio, born in 1961, was an anti-Mafia prosecutor in the southern Italy city of Bari, Puglia, for many years. He has been responsible for some of the most important indictments in the region involving organized crime, corruption and the traffic in human beings. He is now a member of the Italian Senate. He has sold over 2.5 million books and Involuntary Witness, his debut novel and the first in a series with defence lawyer Guido Guerrieri, is in its 49th edition in Italy. It won numerous literary prizes and has been translated into eleven languages.

About the translator: Patrick Creagh (1930-2012) was a British poet, academic and translator.

Rating: 5/5

The Path From Slavery To Freedom

A Book Says A Lot About A Person

The Most Solid Advice I Can Give To A Writer Is This

All They Have To Do Is READ

Clive James (1939-2019), Australian Critic, Broadcaster and Writer

Every Day At Home