A 2007 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

He has been called his generation’s finest writer of international intrigue, one of America’s most gifted spy novelists ever, and the successor to Graham Greene and John le Carré. But with his follow-up to the 2006 electrifying number one bestseller The Messenger, Daniel Silva has written his most compelling and entertaining novel to date.

When last we encountered Gabriel Allon, the master art restorer and sometime officer of Israeli intelligence, he had just prevailed in his blood-soaked duel with Saudi terrorist financier Zizi al-Bakari. Now Gabriel is summoned once more by his masters to undertake what appears to be a routine assignment: travel to Amsterdam to purge the archives of a murdered Dutch terrorism analyst who also happened to be an asset of Israeli intelligence. But once in Amsterdam, Gabriel soon discovers a conspiracy of terror festering in the city’s Islamic underground, a plot that is about to explode on the other side of the English Channel, in the middle of London.

The target of this plot is Elizabeth Halton, the daughter of the American ambassador to the Court of St. James’s, who is to be brutally kidnapped. Gabriel arrives seconds too late to save her. And by revealing his face to the plot’s masterminds, his fate is sealed as well.

Drawn once more into the service of American intelligence, Gabriel hurls himself into a desperate search for the missing woman as the clock ticks steadily toward the hour of her execution. It will take him from Amsterdam to Germany to the very end of Denmark. It will thrust him into an unlikely alliance with a man who has lost everything because of his devotion to Islam. It will cause him to question the morality of the tactics of his trade. And it might very well cost him his life.

Filled with breathtaking double and triple turns of plot, and a final mind-bending sequence that will leave readers breathless, The Secret Servant is not only a work of supreme entertainment, but also an exploration of some of the most daunting issues of our times: the war on terrorism, the weapons the West uses to wage it, and the time bomb now ticking in the heart of Western Europe.

“Allon is Israel’s Jack Bauer. In true Bauer fashion, shootouts, kidnappings and international terror plots follow him wherever he goes.”

--USA Today

“The action moves quickly, the subject matter feels impressively current, and Silva’s multidimensional characters instantly seem like old friends.”

--The Washington Post

“…newsy sensibility and frightening possibilities: It reads like a prediction of continuing terrorism in Europe”

--The Wall Street Journal

“In [Gabriel] Allon and his cadre of fellow Israeli agents, Silva has created an authentic band of brothers.…there is a kind of melodrama in the way the novel unfolds, moving from London and various European locations, to Tel Aviv and back again, with time ticking away in each chapter in the manner of Frederick Forsyth’s classic, “Day of the Jackal.”…Silva’s growing mastery of psychology and narrative suspense and the integration of serious research into the forward motion of the story is…quite evident.”

--Alan Cheuse,
All Things Considered/NPR,
also ran in the Dallas Morning News

“Daniel Silva’s The Secret Servant is a textured espionage novel in the tradition of John le Carré…”

--GQ Online,
Men.Style.com

“A former foreign correspondent who has reported from Cairo and the Persian Gulf, Silva knows the deadly terrain and has thought deeply about the issues and choices confronting Israel and the West. His fictional treatment of those issues has always been sobering and timely. His latest is that and more: the summer's best thriller and perhaps most important novel.”

--Military.com

“Bestseller Silva’s superlative seventh novel to feature Gabriel Allon…puts Silva squarely atop the spy thriller heap.”

--Publishers Weekly

“[The Secret Servant] is extremely exciting, suspenseful, and complex…the exploits of Allon and his team make for great entertainment and a thought-provoking cautionary tale. Highly recommended.”

--Library Journal

“Daniel Silva has done it again!…[The Secret Servant] is filled with suspense, measuring up fully to the high standard set by Silva in his previous novels. Anyone interested in spy thrillers, current events, and international intrigue will thoroughly enjoy Silva’s latest effort. It is a spirited tale that greatly enhances Silva’s well-deserved reputation and makes us look forward eagerly to the next Gabriel Allon adventure.”

--Jewish Journal

“Daniel Silva gets better with each new exploit of Gabriel Allon. Highly recommended…”

--Association of Jewish Libraries

“[The Secret Servant has] all the elements for a great summer read – a cool Israeli agent, beautiful women, evil enemies, Middle East intrigue and terrorism, all wrapped up in a fast-paced story.”

--Chicago Jewish Star Magazine

"brings new life to the international thriller"

--Newsday

"a rare combination of fine characters, compelling writing and suspenseful plotting"

--Detroit Free Press

"Silva is an adept craftsman and chronicler ... Very fast-paced ... compulsive reading."

--Booklist