The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva

I can never wait to put the new Daniel Silva on the library shelf - I have to snatch it out of the box and read it myself rght away. I am also not a great series reader, for the most part. I get bored with the same characters and formula after two or three by the same author. But with Silva's Gabriel Allon character, I am never bored. Mr. Allon never disappoints because he is always smart, always secretive, always exotic, and always on the run from someone. A winning combo for a spy if ever there was one.

But Allon is a reluctant spy in The Fallen Angel. He really doesn't want to look at the body of the girl who jumped from great heights in St. Peter's Basilica. He really doesn't want to find out that her death may be tied to underground art theft. He doesn't really want to know that those thefts could really be finanacing terrorist activity in Rome and his homeland of Israel. He is retired after all. All he really wants is to restore paintings and drink wine with his beautiful wife.

So, can his buddies in the Office, Israel's secret service, bring him out of retirement yet again to help with these little problems? Hmmmm. . . You'll have to read to find out. But if you know Gabriel Allon at all, you already know the answer.