Изповедникът

Gabriel Allon #3

by Daniel Silva, Даниъл Силва

В Мюнхен е убит известният еврейски учен Щерн, а от кабинета му изчезват всички материали по книгата, която пише. Във Венеция агентът на Мосад Габриел Алон, работещ под прикритието на художник реставратор, получава известието за смъртта му и нареждане да открие извършителя. А във Ватикана новоизбраният папа се заклева да разкрие истината за ролята на Църквата в холокоста. Но плановете на властния кардинал Бриндизи са други. Наетият от него убиец ще направи и невъзможното, за да попречи на Габриел да се добере до доказателства за отдавна погребани тайни…

Грях се опрощава.

Въпросът е – кой е изповедникът…

Въпросът е – кой се разкайва?

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Espionage, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2003

About the author

Daniel Silva was born in Michigan in 1960 and raised in California where he received his BA from Fresno State. Silva began his writing career as a journalist for United Press International (UPI), traveling in the Middle East and covering the Iran-Iraq war, terrorism and political conflicts. From UPI he moved to CNN, where he eventually became executive producer of its Washington-based public policy programming. In 1994 he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, a surprise best seller that won critical acclaim. He turned to writing full time in 1997 and all of his books have been New York Times/national best sellers, translated into 25 languages and published across Europe and the world. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Series:
* Michael Osbourne
* Gabriel Allon

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He wanted to be a statesman when what the world needed most was a priest."

I tore thru this novel. Read it in a day or so. This is the third novel in Mr. Silva's Gabriel Allon series, and the best of the three so far. Don't get me wrong, this is not great literature. However, it is decently written, has a great premise that has some basis in historical fact, and brings together facets of the Jewish state, the Holocaust, and the Vatican. There is a lot of hay to be made from those ingredients.
When it comes to thriller's Mr Silva is one of the best I have come across for pacing. I found this text less eye roll inducing than its predecessor, although it is just as formulaic as the first two. But if the formula works for its intended purpose is there a need to redo it? A Jewish spy has to save the Pope from those within the Church who would hurt him. Come on...that's fun.
I will continue to read through the series. I guess that says enough.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Silva's The Confessor, #3 in the Gabriel Allon series, is another better than average spy thriller. Mixing fact with fiction, Silva researches, questions, imagines and finally creates a story that stimulates and entertains. And I think that's why I like this series as much as I do. I was going to call it my guilty pleasure, but hell, i don't feel guilty.
Gabriel Allon, renowned art restorer and reluctant agent for Israeli intelligence is called in to investigate the murder of Benjamin Stern, a Jewish history professor and friend of Gabriels. He learns that Stern had been commissioned to write a book, a very revelatory one, that if finished and published could shine a new light on the Holocaust, creating a shit storm in its wake.
Intricately plotted, with a multitude of characters, from spies, assassins and journalists to nuns, cardinals and the supreme pontiff himself, the story crisscrosses Europe and ventures into the very heart of the Vatican.
Educational, enlightening, entertaining, I look forward to more Gabriel Allon
3.75 stars

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally go for thriller spycraft fiction, but I confess I am totally addicted to Silva's spy novels about an Israeli assassin/spy and part-time art restorer named Gabriel Allon. The first book was written in 2000 and the latest in 2012 and in that time span, Silva draws a geopolitical arc starting with Nazi wartime crimes and the complicity of the Vatican and the Swiss in Nazi wartime looting. Then to the Palestinian conflict, Black September and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. And after that, the end of the Cold War and the emergence of the Russian oligarchs. After that, 9/11, the war on terror, and the Arab Spring. Even the IRA had some chapters devoted to it. Probably the only incendiary current event not touched is North Korea, but that's because Gabriel Allon is a Europhile at heart.

I read all 12 books completely out of sequence but it wasn't a problem as each stood on its own. In fact, by reading the books completely out of order, I had the added pleasure of discovering the genesis of relationships between various characters after bonds were formed later on in the series.

Gabriel Allon is way sexier than James Bond.

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Intellectual Intrigue - 4

Gabriel Allon is not the typical spy and assassin. I have enjoyed the intelligent tone of these books and the complex political, social and racial matters the stories discuss. The third installment of the series continues in this vein.

I enjoyed this nearly as much as the last book in the series but the subplot and resolution of the story was far too similar to the previous installment. Because of this, the book lost a star in my rating. Additionally, there has become a pattern in the stories of new love interests with each subsequent book. After a while this will become tiresome. Here's to hoping that does not happen.

Early in the book we learn that underlying intrigue in the story will focus on secrets in the Vatican. Ever since the Da Vinci Code, everybody and their dog has written a story dealing with the catholic church and their lies/cover ups and secrets. For what its worth, this book was published one year before the Dan Brown novel. That said, the involvement of the Catholic Church in the story is much different that the recent novels and deal with real, historical issues between the Jews and the Catholic Church. Here is an excellent

[Karl Marberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very terrific! This series does well with the exploration of wounds of people through history and the deception and violence used to keep the past buried. As a Catholic, I felt particular empathy with this particular case of Allon’s. My view of the Holy See has always been one of benevolence, and although I always knew that it had some skeletons in its closet, it was never something I went out of my way to read up on. Although this was fiction, it was in a way pretty eye-opening and introduced me to a newer perspective on the Church. A magnificent series!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 in Gabriel Allon series.

An interesting tale concerning the Holy Roman Catholic Church’s involvement, or lack there of, in the treatment of the Jewish people during the 2nd World War.

After a period of some 50 years after the wars ending the, now, newly appointed Pope has decided to make available all the highly secret and highly damaging files pertaining to the Church’s involvement in the Jewish solution during WW2.
This decision does not go down well with the far right of the church who now feels that this threat to the good name of the church must be removed and are prepared to go to great lengths to achieve this aim.

People start dying; not least of them is a highly regarded Jewish academic. The Israeli intelligence agency wants to know why and to that end Gabriel Allon is summonsed from his art restoration work in Venice to get to the bottom of it.

What unfolds is a story of supreme corruption from within the Vatican. Death is in the air for the Jewish academic is not the only casualty there is also two dead priests and a dead nun.

As Gabriel Allon closes in on the cancer with the Vatican, a hired assassin is closing in on Gabriel, which makes for thrilling reading.

In an ironic twist the Israeli Intelligence Agency now finds itself desperately trying to protect the life of the Pope.

A really entertaining spy type thriller and I gave it a 4 star recommendation.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admire Mr. Silva's writing more with every novel he pins that feature Gabriel Allon. I realize I have not appreciated them all the same, but that's because some are better than others. 9 of 10 stars

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an almost perfectly plotted spy thriller. I enjoyed the incorporation of art and Vatican history. The characters get more depth with each subsequent book in the series.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Thriller

A fast paced story of Vatican intrigue, with the Pope and other lives hanging in the balance.

Great characters that are easy to relate with. Accurate in Roman Catholic detail.

This is the best of the series thus far.

[kartik narayanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another excellent entry in the Gabriel Allon series. As always, there is a holocaust-nazi connection but this time the Vatican is also involved in it. I was getting the Day of the Jackal vibes when I was reading it.

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

an outstanding Gabriel Allon story from 2003 ... worth re-reading ... as always, Silva addresses real issues in his fiction, in this case, the actions of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust and their continued refusal to open their archives to disclose what Pope Pius XII ready did and said. Both Pius' behavior and the closing of the archives are a disgrace according to Silva, and I concur.

ps ... This is also the story where Gabriel meets Chiara.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel Silva's third novel in his Gabriel Allon series takes place mainly in Rome, where a new (fictional) Pope has plans to reveal the complicity between the Catholic Church and the Nazis during WWII as regards the Final Solution. It is a gripping and well-written thriller.

I am enjoying this series because it gives me insight into the Jewish point of view, at least as regards the Israeli secret service. Truthfully, as I have learned in the many spy thrillers I have read, the secret service of any nation at any time is about as reliable as the governments of the countries served. Dirty deeds and assassinations, carried out in the interests of power and domination, not always based on completely accurate intelligence or good foresight, make for moral ambiguity by the bucketload.

As it turns out, a controversy has been raging for years in real life between the Catholic Church and Israel as to the role of the Vatican in forwarding the aims of Hitler's Third Reich. The official line of the Church, to this day, is a denial of any complicity in the Holocaust while certain Israeli officials work to expose it.

Naturally, Daniel Silva has told the Israeli side of the story. Given that the persecution of Jews has gone on for centuries, I am inclined to believe his version. Read it and decide for yourself if you are interested.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thousands of Jews were saved from the Holocaust by Catholic priests, nuns, and laypeople who, out of the goodness of their hearts, offered safe harbor and protection at the risk of being caught and killed by roving gangs of Nazis. These were people simply following their hearts. Imagine, however, the dramatic turn in history if the Catholic Church, as led by the Vatican, had issued an official decree to all Catholic parishes to open their doors to Jewish refugees. Imagine if the opposite had happened: the Vatican decreed that Jews must be turned away or, worse, reported to the nearest Nazi authorities.

The truth is, in some ways, far worse. The Catholic Church made no official decrees either way. The Vatican essentially did nothing, favoring a policy of closing their eyes and ears to the Holocaust in the hopes that it would all just go away.

But what if this policy of inaction had been a calculated effort, choreographed by colluding Vatican higher-ups and high-ranking Nazi officials? And what if the Catholic Church had been sitting on evidence of this collusion for sixty years?

This is the premise of Daniel Silva’s 2003 novel “The Confessor”, the fourth book in his series featuring his extremely human hero, Gabriel Allon, a former Israeli spy now turned art restorer who is reluctantly called back on occasion to do jobs that no other operative is willing or able to do.

The plot: When a Jewish college professor named Stern is murdered in his home in Munich, Allon is sent in undercover to investigate. Stern was, like Allon, an Israeli agent, so Allon immediately doubts the veracity of the official police report. The crime scene was made to look like a hate crime perpetrated by Nazi skinheads, but Allon suspects something more.

His investigation eventually leads him to an old church in the countryside that may have played a vital role in the war. Allon discovers links to both Germany and Vatican City, a conspiracy that, if discovered, would have ramifications for both Catholics and Jews around the world. Standing in his way are assassins that are part of a secret society within the Catholic Church, one that is so secret it is considered a myth.

If you think this sounds familiar, it’s because it has eerily similar earmarks to Dan Brown’s novels, “Angels & Demons” and “The Da Vinci Code”, both of which were published prior to Silva’s novel (2000 and 2003, respectively).

Apparently, Brown opened the door for a whole slew of books that were highly critical of, and in some cases, downright unfairly vicious towards, the Catholic Church. Arguably, some would say the church deserved the criticism.

In the case of Silva’s novel, the criticism is valid. Although it is fictionalized, the issues the book raises are issues that the church are still dealing with---the “neutrality” of the church during World War II, the actions (or inactions) of then-Pope Pius XII, the heroic actions of thousands of Catholics but the equally horrific Anti-Semitic and Nazi-sympathetic actions of many other Catholics. Silva is not trying to cruelly excoriate the church. He is merely pointing out an inconvenient truth that many Catholics within the Vatican hierarchy would like to see swept under the rug.

As always, Silva’s book is suspenseful, action-packed, and thought-provoking.

[Filipe Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terceiro Allon

Livro número três da saga de Daniel Silva, utilizando os predicados do seu antecessor, focado naquilo a que se propõe, sem divagações excessivas.

Recorre-se de um enclave extremamente explorado, quiçá ao quase ponto de exaustão, mas de alguma forma afasta-se dos lugares comuns. Talvez por isso, para mim, tenha resultado numa leitura agradável com (esporádicas) passagens surpreendentes.

Não será certamente o melhor livro de Gabriel Allon, nem tão pouco o seu pior. Cumpre.


Apenas um homem destroçado poderá ser um verdadeiro restaurador (de arte).

Nota: 3.5/5.0

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Silva

Interesting and very informative; a current day Israeli agent tracks the killer of a close friend and colleague, uncovering the sins of The Vatican during WWII. A fictional story with factual history. The story is not so much an indictment of the Vatican, but a revelation of how any religion can put politics and greed above the church's (any faith's) mandate.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another really good entry in the Gabriel Allon series. This starts with the murder of one of Gabriel’s friends and The Office’s desire to find out why. It ends up revolving around the Catholic Church and it’s “involvement” with Nazi Germany during WWII. A very interesting story. I will have to do some research about the subject. We also meet Gabriel’s future wife Chiarra. A really well written book. I will continue this series.

[ANKO · Rating 3 out of 5]

เรื่องย่อ ตัวเอกของเรื่องคือ เกเบรียล อัลลอน สายลับอิสราเอลที่มีอาชีพนักบูรณะงานศิลปะบังหน้า
อยู่มาวันหนึ่งเบนจามิน สเติร์น เพื่อนของเกเบรียล อัลลอน ถูกฆ่าตาย เนื่องจากกำลังเขียนหนังสือเล่มหนึ่ง
เกเบรียล เลยต้องสืบว่าเกิดอะไรขึ้นกับเพื่อนของเขา เพื่อนของเขากำลังเขียนหนังสือเกี่ยวกับอะไร และใครที่เป็นคนฆ่าเพื่อนของเขากันแน่

มีช่วงหนึ่งที่เราได้ฟัง Readery Podcast ตอนที่คุณทราย เจริญปุระ มาเป็นแขกรับเชิญ และแนะนำหนังสือชุด เกเบรียล อัลลอน เลยรู้สึกอยากลองอ่าน แล้วบังเอิญเจอหนังสือ บาปนักบุญ ซึ่งเป็นเล่ม 3 ของชุดนี้ที่ห้องสมุดใกล้บ้าน เลยลองยืมมาอ่าน

ตอนแรกก็กังวลว่าจะอ่านเข้าใจไหม เพราะไม่ได้เริ่มอ่านตั้งแต่เล่มแรก พอได้ลองอ่านก็ตามคาดตัวละครค่อนข้างมีเยอะ แล้วแต่ละบทก็จะมีการสลับประเทศไปมา
แต่พออ่านไปเรื่อย ๆ ก็เริ่มเข้าใจ สำหรับเราในช่วงแรก ๆ รู้สึกว่าเรื่องดำเนินค่อนข้างช้า แต่พออ่านผ่านไปสักประมาณ 60 เปอร์เซ็นต์ก็รู้สึกว่าสนุกขึ้น เริ่มดำเนินเรื่องเร็วขึ้น คิดว่าถ้ามีความรู้เกี่ยวกับเรื่องชาวยิว น่าจะอ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้ได้ถึงฟีลมากขึ้น

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Con­fes­sor” by Daniel Silva is the third install­ment in the fic­tional adven­tures of the reluc­tant Israeli agent Gabriel Allon.

Work­ing as art restorer Mario Delvec­chio, Allon is called one more time into ser­vice to inves­ti­gate the mys­te­ri­ous mur­der of his friend Ben­jamin Stern. As the inves­ti­ga­tion pro­gresses, Allon dis­cov­ers that Stern has been work­ing on a book, that once pub­lished would cause a scan­dal in the Vat­i­can and do great harm to the Roman Catholic Church. How­ever a new era has arrived in the Vat­i­can, a new Pope has been cho­sen who has set his sights to “clean house” and set­ting the Church’s WWII record clean by open­ing the Vat­i­can Secret Archives.

As you can imag­ine, the pow­er­ful forces, espe­cially the secret soci­ety known as the Crux Vera, within the Roman Catholic Church are none too happy about the Pope’s ini­tia­tive and are will­ing to go to great extremes in order to stop it. Allon is pulled into the inter­nal strug­gle through his inves­ti­ga­tion which takes him around Europe, dis­cov­er­ing well hid­den secrets of the shame­ful past.

As I have come to expect from Daniel Silva, this book is well writ­ten, well plot­ted and the char­ac­ters are fan­tas­tic. Each book occurs in the Silva uni­verse with recur­ring char­ac­ters (from other series) , have sev­eral lay­ers of intri­ca­cies and thoughts, as well as smaller sto­ries which the reader has to keep track of in the fast pace which the book is told.

This novel is also thought pro­vok­ing – what was the church’s role dur­ing the holo­caust?
We know that no action was taken and the Vat­i­can did open its archives sev­eral yeas back to six schol­ars who found the lack of doc­u­men­ta­tion avail­able astound­ing (the Vat­i­can vil­i­fied the three Jew­ish schol­ars with­out men­tion of the three Catholic schol­ars – all of whom came to the same con­clu­sions). There are a few pages in the end where Mr. Silva touches upon this sub­ject which are well worth read­ing and an excel­lent addi­tion to the book.

“The Con­fes­sor” had me gripped from begin­ning to end, a fan­tas­tic story. The whole plot around the Crux Vera didn’t bog down the book and Silva did well by stay­ing away from con­spir­acy theories.

For more book reviews and bookish thoughts please visit http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Kitty Red-Eye · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it's interesting how each book treats one subject important to the world's (or Europe's) Jews and/or modern-day Israel. The last one was about the Swiss banks' role in and after the Holocaust and its plundering of Europe's Jews (along with the Nazis' physical elimination of them), this one about the Vatican and Pope Pius XII. I also liked the general plot of this one, although there are some parts I find a bit hard to believe in. They're details, but still annoying. Like, towards the end, when the two assassins get away on a motorcycle. Hard to believe they'd waste time on changing the driver only in order to have "less important character" ride on the back so that she could be killed instead of "more important character", who was made to drive the bike... of course, it serves the plot, but it makes no sense.

And again, not enough detail in the final chapter, when "most important assassin" gets his due. How did Gabriel find him? Did I miss something? I want to know. Spy novels should be like good caper movies: lots of details, no unsolved "how did they do that" questions, they don't need to be realistic, but I need to believe in the story within its own fictional universe. Sometimes, Silva fails in the latter. Shame, because with a bit more working-out, making his novels perhaps 50 pages longer, he'd earn an extra star from me.

It's still decent entertainment, and the characters are enjoyable, although the "yet another beautiful girl falls in love with Gabriel Allon" theme is getting a bit old now. He's not James Bond. I want to see HIM fall in love with a girl who doesn't want him. Or something. Just give me something I can't guess on first sight.

[Carol Mothersill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always enjoy this author for the page turning story (I read 1/2 of it today). It's not going to win literary awards but I enjoy learning more about the character Gabriel Allon and his cover as an art restorer. Interesting story focusing on the involvement of the Catholic Church in WWII and the persecution of the Jewish population in Italy. I have read the latest books in this series and now return to the beginning. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

[Arantxa Rufo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me confieso fan absoluta de esta saga protagonizada por Gabriel Allon.
La mezcla entre el espionaje, el thriller, los hechos históricos reales y la parte ficcionada crea una novela difícil de abandonar, más aún si todo esto lo aderezamos con un protagonista carismático, tan duro como inteligente y herido, con su pasado, sus traumas y ese otro trabajo como restaurador de arte que termina de darle el toque distintivo.
Muy fan.

[Jeff P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep, I had read this book previously, I knew for sure when Gabriel met Chiara in Vienna. I didn't remember how it ended, so maybe it didn't make a big impression, but I still enjoyed it.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Confessor" was run-of-the-mill. Daniel Silva's art restorer/Israeli hit man, Gabriel Allon, went through all compulsories but didn't do enough to distinguish himself to get a perfect 10. And I'm not even the Russian judge. An Israeli historian gets hold of a summary of a meeting that took place in 1942 with clergy from the Vatican and a German group of bigwigs led by Adolf Eichmann. In this meeting an agreement was struck that would allow the Germans to administer the Final Solution - with the Vatican's unspoken acquiescence. A key sticking point is that Pope Pius remain neutral read, silent, and the Vatican won't come to any harm. A summary like this would be devastating to the Vatican even some 60 years later. An ultra right-wing Catholic religious group takes matters into its collective hands and does everything it can to get that document. Even if it means breaking the Sixth Commandment. Which I had to double-check thinking the Sixth Commandment had to do with adultery. Shows where my head's at.
Needless to say the power of the right wing Catholic group reaches to the Vatican and the evil Cardinal who happens to be the Pope's right hand man. And of course the Pope and the Cardinal do not see eye-to-eye and...come on, you've read books like this before by guys like Dan Brown, right? Car chases ending in bloodshed, motorcycle chases in St Peter's Square, shootouts in churches and at the Vatican. I think this was actually written by ChatGPT. I'm not sorry I read "The Confessor". My reading list was developing a soundtrack curated by The Ramones. I Wanna Be Sedated! But I still feel kind of gypped. I must confess, this book didn't rev up my reading list like I hoped it would.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eu tenho sempre um problema com este género de livros e com estes autores a quem eu, carinhosamente, apelido de "Dan Browns" (apenas porque o código foi dos primeiros livros que li deste género). Isto porque são livros que muito dificilmente fogem dos mesmos lugares comuns. Ou seja, depois de se lerem dois ou três do género, acaba por ir tudo parar um pouco ao mesmo.

Mais uma vez com a igreja católica como "vilã", este foi o primeiro livro que li de Daniel Silva e, infelizmente, não terei sido feliz na escolha, penso eu. A história inicialmente torna-se um pouco confusa e mesmo enfadonha porque o autor "cospe" umas personagens atras das outras sem grande exploração das mesmas nem fio condutor. Ao longo do livro a história vai tornando-se mais interessante, até porque o tema (o apoio da igreja à Alemanha Nazi no extermínio dos Judeus) é por si também bastante polêmico.

Gostei de conhecer Gabriel Allon, um anti-herói assassino, um pouco diferente de outras personagens principais deste tipo de livros, mas com parecenças a James Bond e Jason Bourne. A sua história não está muito desenvolvida neste livro, até porque é o terceiro da saga com esta personagem, mas provavelmente terei curiosidade de o conhecer melhor em outros livros.

Provavelmente darei outra oportunidade a Silva.

Gostei, não adorei, nem me tirou o sono (ao contrário do que diz a crítica do washingtonian)

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one in which Gabriel meets Chiara.

I love the personal story more than the actual spy business.

This is also the one in which Silva goes hard on the Catholic Church. Perhaps deserved. Actually not even perhaps. Wholly deserved. However, the people make the church and I will testify there are some of the most beautiful souls that practice Catholicism. So can we please not throw the baby out with the bath water?

[Ric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read November 2021.
In the light of impressions I gleaned from the author's more recent books, which I hope would open new avenues for appreciating the works, I decided to re-read the earlier books in the series. In The Confessor, the back story is that of a conspiracy by certain members of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) during the Second World War to actively support the Nazis in their pogrom against the Jews. In the earlier read, I thought the author spent quite a bit of prose on delineating this conspiracy before even the character of Gabriel Allon enters the scene. But now understanding the political leaning and agenda, whether intentional or subliminal, of the writing, it is clear that conspiracy was the main point, hence, the numerous references and ostensible evidence included in the novel demonstrate the veracity, perhaps verisimilitude. So now, I could dissociate from those portions of the narrative and focus on the Allon scenes. As noted in the earlier review below, the raw Allon is front and center here. His artistic side elevates his character as a sophisticate with a passion for the romantic arts. His violent side is deep and dark, a brooding presence that leaps out in punishment or retribution, utterly lacking in compassion. There is no pretense, just an unyielding conviction in his beliefs. This makes for an interesting study in contrasts that propel the narrative. As long as the focus is on Allon, the book works.
On the other hand, the conspiracy portions are shrill and one-dimensional. Although I do have a new appreciation for the overall presentation and structure of the novel, the balance is still net zero. Am keeping the original rating.
--------

Reading the Gabriel Allon backlist in reverse order, I note that the author, Daniel Silva, improved as he progressed. For clearly this early (#3 in publication sequence) Allon is a developmental piece where Silva is still working on the style that would later enliven such work as The Fallen Angel. In The Confessor, Silva aims high and broad, in the all-encompassing scope and audacity of The Da Vinci Code, and in the wish-fulfilling formulation of the invincible, impervious and unerringly-accurate character of Allon, and his absurdly single-minded protagonist, the Leopard. In his later books, Silva painstakingly develops the situational framework and the key protagonists from strong formative foundations, such as the survivor of the Holocaust in The Rembrandt Affair, hopefully taking a cue from writers such as John LeCarre. But in this early work, he plucks out of thin air, conjuring assassins and conspiracies from marginally established fiction. Somehow, this grandiose approach to the essentially solitary nature of ultimate spies reduces the gravity of the book, fills it with a frivolity that is hard to shake off even as Silva tries to turn serious towards the end of the narrative.

I also remark that Silva's prose here is not as spare as his later work, sprinkled with inconsequential details and distracting asides. He spends a bit more time on his soapbox, touting the toughness of the Jews who must face enemies on all sides, a theme that Silva maintains in his future books albeit much subdued.

This is the 6th Allon book I have read, and the earliest in publication sequence, and am perhaps all Allon-ed out. At the least, it's time to take a break from the singular worldview and see what else is going on with the rest of mankind.

[Deanna]

DNF at about halfway. I’m working way too hard to connect with this series. I’ve moved on to English Assassin which promises to be one of his best. That will be three for me, charmed or not.

[Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Renowned Art Restorer and sometimes Israeli Agent and Assassin is in Venice restoring a Benini Altarpiece when word comes to him that his friend and fellow Office Agent has been murdered in Munich, Germany. Beni is also the son of Gabriel Allon's boss, Ari Shamron. His mission is to sanitize Stern's apartment and find his killer. The killer is The Leopard - a man with no face, a mercenary for hire, a myth to most countries' Intelligence Services. He works for a super secret group within the Catholic Church - the Crux Vera - who is more powerful than the Pope, and their mission is to protect the universal Church from all of its enemies within and with out the Church, even the Pope himself. A few religious have already disappeared - 2 elderly priests and an elderly woman who left a cloistered Order after WWII. Something happened at that convent in Brenzone on the shores of Lake Garda, Italy that could destroy the Church. The Pope is going to Jewish Synagogue in Rome in a few days to announce that the Vatican Records of Pope Pius XII will be made open to scholars and to a Commission that will include high ranking Catholic and Jewish Prelates that will report to the world and Pope Paul VII its findings. Crux Vera can't let that happen, even if they have to sacrifice the newly elected Pope Paul VII. Allon must race all over Italy with a few side trips to France, London, and Munich to stop The Leopard and silence Crux Vera which one reporter has dubbed the KGB of the Vatican. But will he after he learns the Church's dark and shameful secret?

For decades the controversy of Pope Pius II silence on the Holocaust during WWII has raged on these 70 years. Besides the 6 Million Jews whom were killed by the Nazis, 3 Million Catholics were also executed - including both priests and nuns. Pius XII silence is quite deafening to say the least, and unfortunately there were Antisemitic Catholics living in Germany and Nazi occupied countries at that time in history. I've read books both supporting and denouncing Pope Pius XII. May be that is why he has not been Canonized and probably will never be in my life time. As both a Statesman and leader of a religion that has billions all over the in its flock, I can understand the Pontiff wanting to stay silent, but the morality of that silence is against the vary teachings of the Church. I don't know what to believe about this controversy like the historians who have researched this subject. Probably the truth died with Pius XII and only he and God know the truth. But it does make a good political conspiracy novel. Job well done Daniel Silva.

[Maria João Fernandes · Rating 2 out of 5]

O terceiro livro da série do charmoso Grabriel Allon, tal como os anteriores, leva-nos numa viagem pelo mundo. Desde Veneza até Roma, de Munique até um palacete de luxo na Suíça, de um convento ao pé do lago até Londres e França, o livro tem um ritmo extraordinário e a leitura decorre com naturalidade. E pronto, aqui terminam as minhas observações positivas.

Em relação às personagens, Daniel Silva não as apresenta com sucesso. Limita-se a bombardear o leitor com nomes e cargos profissionais e afins, com descrições superficiais e desprovidas de conteúdo interessante, tornando difícil sentir empatia por quem quer que seja, tendo me sido indiferente a linha de ação de cada uma delas. Afinal de contas, não as conhecia de lado nenhum!

O Gabriel Allon é bastante atraente e sedutor, já percebemos que é hábil com o sexo oposto, seria desnecessário, na minha modesta opinião, ter uma nova mulher em cada nova missão. Afinal de conta, a sua esposa encontra-se internada e mesmo não se lembrando dele acho que aos seus casos amorosos se chama "traição". De qualquer forma, Daniel Silva poupa-nos a descrições exageradas de cenas de sexo. Quem diria! Mais um aspeto positivo (estava camuflado este!).

Todas as personagens já mataram e vão voltar a matar se for preciso. Estão bem uns para os outros, é só o que tenho a dizer. O que os difere são os motivos que os movem e no final do livro chegamos à conclusão que nenhum deles é verdadeiramente puro e bom. Só o Papa. A sério, o livro guia-nos mesmo até à bondade sem segunda intenções do Papa.

Quanto ao enredo, a história é bastante simples, sem grandes surpresas ou credibilidade. Gabriel Allon é novamente arrastado por Ari Shamron do seu trabalho como cidadão comum - pintor. Mais uma vez, contra a sua vontade, o talentoso pintor e espião (um homem muito dotado!) envolve-se numa missão de vingança. Outro dos agentes de Shamron, e o seu antigo colega foi assassinado, enquanto investigava a colaboração do Vaticano com os Nazis.

Muito drama, muito exagero e as conclusões são as seguintes: os judeus são uns coitadinhos, pobrezinhos e sempre o serão e a igreja é, fundamentalmente, má, apesar de toda a gente pensar que é boazinha e que ajuda toda a gente, só pensam no poder e nos benefícios que ele lhes trás.

Um livro que começou por ser interessante, agradável e misterioso e que se revelou, aos poucos, muito repetitivo em relação aos primeiros dois livros da série. As acusações à igreja não me incomodaram, o surrealismo em volta dos assassinos também não, mas já tive a minha dose de Gabriel Allon.

[Kathleen Hagen]

The Confessor, by Daniel Silva, b-plus, narrated by John Lee, produced by Books on Tape, downloaded from audible.com.

This is the third in the Gabriel Allum series. In this one, he learns that he is to go to Munich because a Jewish historian, has been murdered. Again we have a thriller with Gabriel, now partnered with another beautiful woman, another Israeli spy, and the two of them are not only supposed to find out who killed the historian, but why. After Gabriel visits a journalist who was known to have visited with the historian, the journalist is also murdered. Each of these books seems to deal with betrayal of the Jews by one source or another, mostly connected with WW II. This time, the betrayal is by the Vatican, who did not condemn the Nazis for their actions. Now there is a new pope, a much more liberal one, who wants the record set straight, including apologizing to the Jews. A portion of the Vatican does not want to see that happen, and a few people involve themselves in a plan to kill the Pope. So Gabriel finds himself saving the Pope as well. Even more implausible than the other books so far in this series. I’ve had enough of
these thrillers for a while.