And lo and behold, even then you understand that he's already had his share of life, and death. I felt compelled to go to the beginning, The Kill Artist, which is the first book in the series and where we first meet Gabriel Allon. It's a mark of a great series when a book stands on its own, acknolwedging that a lot of water is under the bridge but you neither feel left out or beat over the head with recaps from prior books (the Sookie Stackhouse novels are for people who enjoy that kind of pain). And then I found out it was the eleventh in the series. He had a rich background and I slipped very easily into the story, enjoying every moment. I expect spies to have a lot of personal baggage - why else would they gravitate to a profession that requires isolation, deception, moral ambiguity and high ideals (whether it's for a country, a religious belief, or personal gain). I read the 'Rembrandt Affair' a year ago and really enjoyed Gabriel Allon, the Israeli spy and assassin who just can't quit his job. Set these colorful and varied characters against a brilliant background of political intrigue and vengeance at the highest levels and a manhunt that covers three continents, and the result is a smart and electrically exciting global thriller.
The story features a vivid and fascinating supporting cast, including the magus-like Ari Shamron, a beautiful French Jewish model who is seeking retribution for her family's death in the Holocaust, and a marvelously comic down-at-the-heels London art dealer. The architect of this plot, a Palestinian zealot named Tariq, is a lethal part of Gabriel's past, so as the two begin an intercontinental game of hide-and-seek, with life and death as the prizes, the motives are as personal as they are political.
Now Ari Shamron, the head of Israeli intelligence, needs Gabriel's particular kind of experience to thwart a Palestinian plot to destroy the peace negotiations in the Middle East. But when his wife and son fell victim to the danger that accompanied him everywhere, Gabriel quit and devoted himself to the work of art restoration, an occupation that had previously been a cover for his secret assignments. Gabriel Allon had a simple but brutal job: he tracked down and eliminated Israel's terrorist enemies.
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