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To Russia With Allon

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By KEVIN WALKER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 3, 2008

"Moscow Rules," by Daniel Silva (Putnam, $26.95)
Daniel Silva has been credited for giving new life to international thrillers. This is a case where credit has been given where credit is definitely due.

Silva, who will be at Inkwood Books this Saturday for a book signing, has just released his 11th book. Once again, it features Israeli secret service agent Gabriel Allon combating the bad guys - in this case, Russians and Muslims.

Silva again combines tight storytelling skills with a gift for turning a phrase and insight into the global tensions that currently ensnare the world. Suffice it to say that those who believe we need, as a nation, to take the war against terror very seriously will enjoy this tale.

In the course of this gripping novel, Silva creates a world where Russians have access to arms and a willingness to profit from them, Muslim terrorists will go to any length to strike against America and Israel, and most everyone else is anti-American.

Allon, once again, is the picture of cool and charm. As the novel opens, he and his new wife, Chiara, are honeymooning at a secluded village in Italy. Allon, a skilled painter, is working on restoring a painting for the Vatican - "Martyrdom of St. Erasmus," by Nicolas Poussin. They're content. Of course it won't last.

Allon gets called in by his Israeli bosses to meet with a Russian journalist currently in Rome. The journalist claims to have information that he needs to pass on to agents in the West, but he will only meet with Allon.

Allon reluctantly agrees and sets up a meeting in a very public place: St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. But even with a secure set up, the journalist is killed, apparently by a man who barely touched him as he crossed the square.

Allon had hoped to return to his honeymoon, but that is no longer an option. With the journalist's death, he is sent on a serpentine trail that will involve the Russian, French and American secret service, as well as the art world and the wealthy lives of Russian oligarchs.

Like all good spy novels, the locations are numerous and exotic. The story travels from the Vatican to Moscow to London to Saint Tropez and back to Italy again.

Throughout the story, Silva displays an American patriotism and support of Israel that likely has done nothing to hurt his popularity. His characters also show disdain for those who do not think the threat of terrorism is a real danger.

At one point, a CIA agent says: "It's become popular in Washington these days to think that the threat of terrorism had receded - or that we can somehow live with the occasional loss of national monuments and American life. But when the next attack comes - and I do mean when, Gabriel - those same freethinkers will be the first to fault the agency for failing to stop it."

But it is the Israelis who are often called upon to take action, which is why Allon is referred to as the "secret servant" (a title of a previous Silva book about Allon). As the CIA tells Allon: "You're the one who does the jobs we're unwilling, or unable, to do for ourselves."

How well does that reflect the real world? Hard to say. Silva includes a hilarious section on the French - well, hilarious if you are not French - and also has characters take plenty of shots at Americans. At one point, a British character says, "The only thing worse than an American is an Israeli."

He also shows nice descriptive flourishes, such as describing one man this way: "His sandpaper skin smelled of coconut butter and another woman."

Those touches are fun, but what sets Silva apart from his contemporaries is his attention to operational details. The story unfolds in a realistic fashion, as Allon and his British and American allies slowly zero in on Ivan Kharvov, a Russian arms dealer who might be working on selling weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.

Silva once again has provided a gripping read that will please both longtime fans and newcomers, especially those who enjoy the twists and turns of a spy novel.
BOOK SIGNING
WHAT: Daniel Silva book signing
WHERE: Inkwood Books, 216 S. Armenia Ave., Tampa

WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday

COST: Free; (813) 253-2638

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