ARTFUL READERS CLUB
August 29, 2014
"The Heist" by Daniel Silva
Hi Artful Readers and other friends,
I hope you've been enjoying your last few weeks...my husband and I just celebrated our 50th anniversary with a trip to Africa. What a time we had...more about that in the postings after this one. THIS posting is about READING and ART!! :)
In this, the fourteenth in Daniel Silva's thrillers (THE HEIST) with Gabriel Allon...art restorer extraordinaire and accomplished Israeli spy... we find our hero working on a restoration in Venice, Italy while awaiting the birth of his twins. The head of the Italian Art and Antiquities Police calls him away to hunt for a large alter painting by renown 14th century Italian painter, Caravaggio...one that's been missing for decades. The trail leads to the civil war raging on Israel's northern border and presents Gabriel and his team with the opportunity to relieve the dangerous and powerful Syrian president of his looted assets. The spy craft throughout the book involves intricate, twisted plots that keep you turning pages into the wee small hours of the morning.
I hope you've been enjoying your last few weeks...my husband and I just celebrated our 50th anniversary with a trip to Africa. What a time we had...more about that in the postings after this one. THIS posting is about READING and ART!! :)
In this, the fourteenth in Daniel Silva's thrillers (THE HEIST) with Gabriel Allon...art restorer extraordinaire and accomplished Israeli spy... we find our hero working on a restoration in Venice, Italy while awaiting the birth of his twins. The head of the Italian Art and Antiquities Police calls him away to hunt for a large alter painting by renown 14th century Italian painter, Caravaggio...one that's been missing for decades. The trail leads to the civil war raging on Israel's northern border and presents Gabriel and his team with the opportunity to relieve the dangerous and powerful Syrian president of his looted assets. The spy craft throughout the book involves intricate, twisted plots that keep you turning pages into the wee small hours of the morning.
This book is about the ruling family in Syria... as always, timely... international banking, double crosses, art thefts, art restoration... but it's also about the fact that each year, thousands of paintings and objets d'art go missing from museums, galleries, public institutions and private homes. Art crime is the fourth most lucrative illicit activity in the world... who knew? I certainly enjoyed the art history as well as the fact that the events in the book closely mirror current events...ripped from the headlines, so to speak! I finish reading a Daniel Silva book at the edge of my seat, trying to catch my breath, happy to have had an update on the activities of familiar characters (like family,) who have appeared throughout Silva's previous Gabriel Allon adventures... and knowing more about the world than I did before!!!
Worth reading!!! Thanks for stopping by. Perhaps this is a book you'd enjoy...try it!!!
Big Hugs,
abbyj
