The Black Widow

Starred review from July 4, 2016
Bestseller Silva's riveting 16th novel featuring the legendary Israeli art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon (after 2015's The English Spy) finds Gabriel on the trail of a secret ISIS terrorist known as Saladin after a vicious attack in Paris kills Gabriel's longtime friend Hannah Weinberg, the leader of the Isaac Weinberg Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism in France. One of the escaped Paris terrorists, Safia Bourihane, has been dubbed the black widow, but far more interesting is another black widow, this one created by Gabriel himself. Natalie Mizrahi, a doctor in Jerusalem, is recruited, trained, and inserted into a massive operation to locate Saladin so Gabriel can kill him. Gabriel's process of turning a civilian into a spy and the meticulous maneuvering of his team are fascinating, suspenseful, and bated-breath exciting. The satisfying open ending promises more to come in the Saladin saga. Silva proves once again that he can rework familiar genre material and bring it to new life. Nine-city author tour.

The audio brotherhood of narrator George Guidall and Silva's spy Gabriel Allon is hard to beat. Sixteen episodes of the exploits of this international assassin, spy, and art restorer have not dulled the tension and originality of this thriller, which seems ripped from the headlines. In fact, Silva's foreword notes that the recent Paris bombings seemed hideously similar to the events that challenge Allon. Listeners follow Allon as he slingshots between the Middle East, Paris, and Washington, DC, gathering information on an ISIS mastermind. George Guidall's skilled storytelling and his ease with accents and pace are just two specific elements that can be pinpointed in the success of this audiobook. Beyond these, a subtle combination of astute skill and experience creates the best possible listening. R.F.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine