Gabriel Allon, art restorer and spy, is about to face the greatest challenge of his life. An al-Qaeda suspect is killed in London, and photographs are found on his computer - photographs that lead Israeli intelligence to suspect that al-Qaeda is planning one of its most audacious attacks ever, straight at the heart of the Vatican. Allon warns the Pope's private secretary, his old friend Monsignor Luigi Donati, and rushes to Rome to assist in the security. But what neither he nor Donati knows is that the Vatican has been thoroughly penetrated. An extraordinary enemy walks among them ... and he's just getting started. In the days and weeks to come, Allon and his colleagues will find themselves in a deadly duel of wits against one of the most dangerous men in the world - a hunt that will take them across Europe to the Caribbean and back again. But for them, there may simply not be enough of anything: enough time, enough facts, enough luck. All Allon can do is set his trap - and hope that he himself is not the one caught in it. Filled with remarkable characters and breathtaking double and triple turns of plot, The Messenger confirms Silva's reputation as his generation's finest writer of international thrillers.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Recording the audio version of an exciting, well-crafted thriller must be one of the entertainment world's hardest and least appreciated jobs. In the case of Silva, who creates explosive stories where violence and terrorism share space with the history of art and the secrets of a spy whose day job is to restore old classic paintings, the task is definitely fraught with its own kinds of danger. Luckily, Lane has all the right equipment for the job: a voice that can be strong as well as sensitive (sometimes both at the same time) for Gabriel Allon, Silva's shrewdly conceived lead character—a man who can shift from paint and varnish to guns and bombs without losing credibility on either side. Lane also has the depth of talent to bring to instant life a gallery of Vatican insiders, art types, and terrorists of every stripe and inclination. For listeners who like to mix richer ingredients into their crime fiction choices, Silva's latest gets the topnotch audio treatment they—and he—deserve.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

The five previous spy thrillers featuring Gabriel Allon addressed topics including the Munich Olympics massacre, Yasir Arafat, and the Vatican. The Messenger , about global terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, resounded just as loudly with critics. Fortunately, Daniel Silva has also written an ingenious, thrilling, and entertaining book with complex characters and settings, from London and Jerusalem to Rome, that serve the plot well. While one critic cited Silva's bias toward Israel, the majority felt that the author created characters with different perspectives and left readers to form their own opinions. In the end, they agreed that "Gabriel Allon remains one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series" ( Philadelphia Inquirer ).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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From AudioFile

Gabriel Allon, master art restorer and master spy, is recalled to action by his masters in the Israeli intelligence establishment. They have uncovered a plot by al-Queda to assassinate the Pope, and that's only for starters. Christopher Lane keeps all the balls in the air in this labyrinthine plot involving infiltration of the Swiss Guards, the American President, truckloads of evil Saudis, every known intelligence agency in the Western world, and security agencies galore. All the ingredients are stirred vigorously and frequently, and Lane handles it all beautifully. He offers several languages and many varieties of accented English with admirable clarity. And his pacing serves to keep listeners in continual suspense. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Daniel Silva is the bestselling author of The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Price of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant,Moscow Rules and The Defector. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, NBC News Today correspondent Jamie Gangel, and their two children, Lily and Nicholas. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Starred Review A terrorist bombing in St. Peter's Square leaves hundreds dead, the Pope injured, and the Basilica a ghastly, smoking pile. This tragedy confirms what began in London weeks before when a traffic accident killed a talent scout for al-Qaeda, leaving his briefcase, filled with surveillance photos of the Vatican, in the hands of Israeli agents. Silva's series hero, Gabriel Allon, is at the center of this fast-paced, completely absorbing international spy thriller. Allon is an art restorer and sometime spy. While restoring Old Masters is Allon's passion (and a wonderful source of intriguing details about the art world), he is called back into service from time to time. Allon's double life began in the aftermath of the Olympic massacre in 1972, when he was recruited to hunt down the Israeli athletes' killers. His sense of urgency in thwarting terrorism was brought into play by the deaths of his wife and infant son in a car bombing 13 years before. What makes this series fascinating is the interplay between standard spy-thriller fare of glamorous locales (here, the action breaks in Rome, Venice, Jerusalem, Paris, and D.C.), double and triple crosses, and justified paranoia with the passionate, tragic figure of Allon himself. An engrossing and beautifully written contemporary spy thriller. Connie Fletcher
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