The New Girl: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 19) Paperback – February 25, 2020

As with most spy thrillers, it is very hard to give a review without spoilers. I’ve tried to avoid any direct spoilers, but there are aspects that might be given away by what I say. So be warned.The worst part about a Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon novel is that it comes to an end. The New Girl is just as fun, exciting, moving, and thought-provoking as the previous 18. It’s hard to top the early novels, but this is up there.I do so wish Gabriel Allon (GA) was real. Maybe there are people like him and they are so good at what they do, we don’t hear about them and the problems they prevent. But it’s also a bit like hoping Batman was real. No one person is capable of this – and even if they were it is probably not a good idea to have them doing these things in the way they are done in the stories. It works in Batman and GA because we know, because they are the protagonists of the story, that they are good guys. In real life, without an omniscient narrator, we cannot know that.The best part about The New Girl was the relationship that develops between GA and Khalid. They are, understandably, skeptical and weary of each other at first, but through the events of the story they seem to learn to trust each other and develop what seems like it could be a deep and long friendship – though the way the story unfolds that may not turn out to be the case.At this point, 19 books in, we don’t get a lot of character development from the main cast. And there is very little of that. Keller, Mihkail, Seymour, Gabriel are who they are. So you need the new characters to drive that aspect. Silva always does a great job at this, both with new protagonists and the antagonists. Sarah’s story arc is interesting – not so much specifically for the plot of The New Girl, but across the several books she has been in. I think there are some exciting things Silva could (and will) do with this character in future novels (which is part of why she was in The New Girl – as set up for the future).Silva also usually does a great job of humanizing his antagonists. They are rarely mindless fanatics: they have motivations that might have started out reasonable enough, but have gone deeply astray. Part of what he does well with this is that it is not a matter of some hackneyed, lazy moral grayness, where the good guys are a little bad, and the bad guys are a bit good. It’s more that Silva shows us these are human beings that have a complex history and that they have made (often bad) choices that have brought them to this point. We don’t sympathize with them, but we understand them. They are not merely monsters. However, some of the main antagonists in the New Girl come off a bit shallow. They are either just the tools of some mostly off-stage actor directing them (I’m trying not to spoil things) or they are motivated in fairly basic ways (sex and/or power). Nevertheless, I suppose there is some truth in that—but it does take away slightly from the drama.There are several surprising elements to this story—I can’t discuss them without spoiling them, but I will say Silva allows the story to unfold without introducing any dues ex machinas. I sort of expected a few or at least Silva to pull back. So I’m glad he had the storytelling integrity to go forward with it.There were several moments in the story related specifically to Israel that, although they are not essential to plot, I found quite moving; even got choked up a bit.I enjoy how Silva weaves in current real world events – though I do have to be careful not to confuse Silva’s world for the real one!I am not sure what I think of the ending. It’ll take some time to process it. Partly, I’m not sure what precisely happened. Time will tell.

You would think that after 19 books this set of characters would get old and tired. This story is lifted right from current events and weaves a tale that is entirely believable and plausible. The world needs heroes and Allon is a perfect hero. He is not super human, not infallible and not indestructible. He is who we all hope is out there looking after our best interests - we all hope there are people like this who have our backs. And we all hope there are no villains out there as described in this story. If you have read previous books in the series (I have read them all) you will feel like you are home, among old friends - characters so well developed that you are sure they exist. If you have never read a Gabriel Allon novel I recommend that you go to the beginning of the series and work your way down - you won't regret it. If you insist on starting with this 19th Allon book, you won't be disappointed as there are several paragraphs devoted to readers who need some background to follow the plot and the characters. Most Allon books start going down a path and then somewhere along the way throw you into a different direction - this is no exception. It is hard to predict where the plot is going and you never know if the "good guys," all of the good guys, will prevail in the end. Silva's books give you rich descriptions of places, a lesson in the world of art and character development that turns fictional people into living, breathing entities.

My only real complaint about Book 19 is Mr. Silva writes about 200 pages of new material and 200 pages of cut and paste material. If some idiot picks this book up so very far out of order, #19, and then reads #1, I pity them. Mr. Silva insists to tell us in each and every book that:1. Gabriel Allon has a nose like carved from wood2. Premature gray hair at his temples3. Gabriel killed most of the Munich Olympic terrorist that caused the gray hair4. That Ari stole Gabriel's young life and career to turn him into an assassin.5. How Gabriel's son was killed.6. How "Vienna is so beautiful when it snows"7. Gabriel's angst about marrying Chaira.8. How Ari smokes vile Turkish cigarettes.9. How much Gabriel wants Ari to quit smoking10. How great a cook Chaira is.11.How Eli can disappear while shaking your hand.12. Why Uzi has a problem with Gabriel taking over the Office, but doesn't really have a problem????Finally, this is Mr. Silva's first book in the series to not tell us what species of pine tree is near, hahaTruthfully, this is another great story just like the other 18 are. I know I can always trust Mr. Silva to provide a timely story of the Middle East's interaction with the rest of the world. There is a constant in Mr. Silva's opinions of the Tsar and his dirty deeds. It is a stretch that the Tsar isn't capable of killing Gabriel however, but if he was capable then our new hero would be Irene.Thank you Mr. Silva and Godspeed

I find it amazing how Mr Siva can combine art restoration and violent death into such readable books, in this story we learn more about Israel and it’s relationships with it’s neighbours, as well gaining knowledge of the Old Testament and how it has shaped the geography of the Middle East. This book once I had started it was difficult to put down as I wanted to learn more and see if my insights would prove correct, needless to say Mr Silva produced more twist and turns for me to ponder. An excellent book to add to my library.

Sempre scorrevole e Witty. Dopo aver letto tanti libri della serie, sembra di conoscere personalmente i personaggi. Ma sempre la narrazione sa rapire

After having read 19 Gabriel Allon books, I just wanted to buy numbr 20 asap. What a pity I had to read that, in the description, Daniel Silva is straying into forbidden territory, publishing number 20, which seems to be something that is denying the authority of Scripture. What a shame he just couldn't keep it objective, respecting all those readers who actually respect Scripture, and don't want to read fiction putting into question the authenticity of the Scripture. This will be the first I'm not going to buy, and probably not any more. What pity, I was so much enjoying it. Daniel 'must you'?

Excelente libro, desde que lo inicié no lo solté. Como siempre la genialidad y narrativa De Silva es fuera de serie. Como todos los libros escritos por Silva.

The author has crafted a mini masterpiece out of our reality. The story is loosely based on the current scenario in the middle east and Israel regions. The book has a great start, a bit slow in the middle and picks up pace at the end.If u haven't read the author's work, you can surely pick this for a start