A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva

A Death in Cornwall is Silva's 24th Gabriel Allon novel and was his 2024 publication. It is one of my favorite series of books and I look forward to a new novel every July. Unfortunately, I am usually 1 July behind. 

Allon, the former head of Israeli intelligence,  has now, in retirement, transitioned to being a full time art restorer working for his wife Chiara in Venice, Italy. They have twins and many times he is responsible for being the parent in charge. However, he still dabbles in international intrigue when it involves something to do with art theft, restoration or forgery. 

Allon has lived in Cornwall off and on during his days as a spy when he wanted to become incognito. It was because of this and his connection to a young detective, Timothy Peel,  that he became involved in the case of a murdered art historian, Charlotte Blake. She had been researching the whereabouts of a Picasso painting at the same time the "Chopper" serial killer was operating in the same area. Was she his/her victim or was there another murderer on the loose?  

The Picasso had belonged to a Jewish family and was confiscated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In tracing its provenance, he discovers that it is being held in the Geneva Freeport. The reader always learns something in Silva's novels. As it is owned by a shell company, one of the many created by the corrupt law firm of Harris Weber, the machinations expose the length and depth the owners will go to protect the painting and its worth, influence the selection of a new English Prime Minister, and discredit an upstanding journalist. 

As is the case in all of Silva's novels, the plot twists and turns as he reintroduces characters from the past - Christopher Keller, Rene Montjean, Sarah Bancroft, Ana Rolfe, and Ingrid Johanson. It is more of a page turner than some of the Allon novels and still lets the reader travel to many European locations. The descriptions of the group in Monaco were especially interesting. 

The 2025 Allon, An Inside Job, arrived today so I must finish book club books before embarking on that one.  
 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

In between book club books gives a good time to try to catch up on the TBR shelf. This always leads me back to whatever Daniel Silva books are there. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman  is a bit of departure from Silva's general M.O. There are no political stances, no threats of destroying world peace or any of the major nations, nor any international spy missions. What it is is a intriguing look into the world of art dealers, forgery, and some Ponzi schemes. 

Gabriel Allon, former head of Israeli intelligence has retired to Venice with his wife Chiara and his twin children. She has taken a job as the head of the Tiepolo Restoration Company and Gabriel has become the stay at home father while he recovers from the bullet wound that nearly killed him in The Cellist. Of course, if he remained in retirement, there would be no novel. Having received a call from his friend and London art gallery owner, Julian Isherwood, he sets off on the trail of a major art forgery ring that is operating from Berlin to Spain to the United States. After Isherwood receives a letter saying that a painting that he recently sold was a forgery and the woman who sent the letter was killed, there is only one person whom Isherwood would call. 

As the novel intertwines art history, forgery, and danger, Allon sets out a trap by creating forgeries of Grand Masters. Through a complicated series of events, especially sting operations involving Sarah, her husband Chris and some old arch-enemies of Gabriel, the investigation of the murder reaches a climax on the tarmac of a Long Island airport. 

Silva creates intense drama in his books without feeling the necessity of long-winded descriptions. It is interesting that he has shifted the focus of the novel to more of an art perspective and take Allon away from his intelligence job at The Office. This was a fascinating narrative into the real world of Gabriel Allon. It will be interesting to see how his character further evolves in the next novel, The Collector. 
 

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

Ever since its publication in the fall 0f 2022, The Marriage Portrait has been at the top of my "free read" list, those books that can be read between books for book club and Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures. I absolutely adored O"Farrell's Hamnet  and was excited to delve into her take of Renaissance Italy. The novel is the very fictionalized story of Lucrezia de Medici, who at the age of 15 is married to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. 

The premise for the novel is attributed to Robert Browning's poem, My Last Duchess. as the Duke of Ferrara contemplates a portrait of his late wife and how her portrait is painted. The poem further intimates that the wife was poisoned, and more than likely by himself. 

Lucrezia is a bit of a hellion, full of spirit and independent beyond what was every expected of a woman of her time. This is attributed to the manor in which she is conceived, according to her mother, Eleanora, who had been inattentive the night her daughter was conceived. As a young girl, Lucrezia was fascinated with her father's menagerie, including a tiger that absolutely fascinates Lucrezia. 

The intended bride for the Duke was actually Maria, Lucrezia's older sister. However, when she dies, the honor is passed to the younger Medici. After their marriage the Duke whisks his new bride away to a villa where he intends to bide some time while he manages affairs of others in his family. The marriage is finally consummated in a scene that shows his lack of tenderness and power that he wields over his wife. She, being so young, has no idea of what to expect. O'Farrell is a master of steamy sex (reminiscent of the Apple shed in Hamnet), without going into details of the act. The style of writing by going back and forth in time is another hallmark of her writing. The reader sees the fear of Lucrezia as she suspects that she will be murdered and then back in time to witness how she got to that point. 

With the desire to have a portrait of his wife completed, the novel brings in 2 painters, Jacopo and Il Bastianino. They spend more time with her than Alfonso and Jacopo plays a very special role in her life. After years with out producing an heir, Alfonso takes her to Stellata, a fortress, without any of the servants. It is there that Lucrezia feels that Alfonso means to murder her. But considering that Alfonso has not produce even a bastard child, it would seem that the lack of an heir falls fully on his shoulders. 

O'Farrell had taken many liberties in writing this novel with it not being as historically accurate as it could have been. Her writing, tho, makes up for some of that. She is a master of the metaphor and descriptive passages. She endows Lucrezia with the power for women to be themselves and maintain power over their lives as she defies Alfonso's authority in the way she paints and her moves to outwit him. The novel was not as captivating as Hamnet, but it was a joy to appreciate O'Farrell's style of writing.  

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey

 

Chosen by the Gables Book Club for our April 2021 discussion was the historical fiction novel Oil and Marble.  It is a recounting of the rivalry between Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo in the first years of the 16th century. Each was working on a piece of art that would eventually define them through the centuries. Most of the members liked, but did not love the book. 

The novel is told in alternating chapters focusing on each of the artists. Michelangelo returned to Florence from Rome where his emotional sculpture, The Pieta, had recently been unveiled. It was not a triumphant return to his family, which was not enamored of his work as an artist. At the same time Leonardo had been commissioned to work on a mural, The Battle of Anghiari in Florence, while working on a dam and way to prevent the flooding of the Arno from washing out the city. The rivalry between the two artists started over the commission of a piece of stone, destined to eventually be sculpted into a piece of art. Leonardo lost that battle when Michelangelo created drawings that more impressed the city and church leaders. At the same time Leonardo meets Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a silk merchant. He is smitten with her and desires to paint her, a proposition he makes to her husband. 

Throughout the novel the reader is  privy to the hardships and struggles of both men to complete their projects. The physical pain and suffering of Michelangelo as he carves and polishes David, is intense and can almost be felt by the reader. The emotional battles of Leonardo as he falls in love with his Mona Lisa are almost as painful. As a backdrop to their hardships is the flooding of Florence, the burning of the Michelangelo home, and the conflicts of the Medicis, Borgias and the influence of Machiavelli. 

In her notes, Storey describes the liberties that she took in retelling this historical account. It was that liberty that many of the book club could not fully condone. However, for this reader, with that understanding, it was not unacceptable. Oil and Marble is an interesting read about the two men whose art is so important and well known over 500 years from its creation. The history of Florence as a city state is quite interesting and gives a perspective of life in that time frame. At the conclusion of the novel, Michelangelo meets a budding artist and encourages him. It is a direct tie-in to Storey's next novel, Raphael, which I will put on my "to be read list" for future considerations.

 

Hill Towns by Anne Rivers Siddons

What a cast of characters Siddons has created in this novel. Although they are few, they are remarkable and polarizing as to whether you like them or despise them.

Cat Compton lost her parents when she was a five year old girl and was raised by her grandparents in a small college hill town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She finishes, college, marries a professor, Joe Gaillard,  at the college and has a daughter, who is born blind. The trauma of the death of her parents and the uncertainty of the "outside" world contributes to her agoraphobia. She has such a difficult time coming down from the mountain, that she undergoes a very rigorous course of psychotherapy. When one of Joe's former students announces that he will be married in Italy, it is a chance for Cat to muster up some courage and accompany her husband to Rome for the wedding. 

Joe, like so many of us, arrives at his destination without luggage. He scrambles for some clothing before he and Cat are off to a pre-wedding party at the palatial home of Ada and Sam Forrest. There are the young couple Colin and Maria and the wild Yolanda, a TV personality. Sam is a famous painter and Ada will do whatever she needs to do to push his career, including pushing him to begin painting Cat. 

After a couple of medical emergencies as they traverse Italy from Rome to Venice to Tuscany, energies, emotions, and hormones become unleashed. Is all that happens attributed to the change in Cat, the machinations of Ada, the vulnerability of Joe, the licentious actions of Sam, or the unrestrained influence of Yolanda? When they reach Sienna, the plot thickens as the portrait of Cat is unveiled. 

I really wanted to like this book. It was very favorably reviewed. It was well written, a wonderful travelogue through Italy. However, I did find the characters, although well developed, a bit unappealing. I wanted to shake them and say what are you doing? The novel is a quick read and perfect for a diversion from the spy, mystery books I usually like. Siddons attempts to fill her characters with all that is part of human nature and, as Yolanda succinctly puts it, "Americans behave badly in Italy."

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

My Brilliant Friend is the first of the Neapolitan novels by Ferrante. Set in Naples in the 1950s it is the account of two friends growing up in a poor Italian neighborhood outside of the seaside town. It was recommended to me by a college friend and I took the bait and requested it from the library, both in hard copy and eBook versions. It is quite a popular book and it took a few weeks before a copy was available. 

The novel opens with a troubling phone call from Rino, Lila's brother, to Elena questioning whether she has seen or heard from her friend. Elena sees this as another one of Lila's idiosyncrasies and doesn't seem too worried. From this opening chapter, the narrator remembers her days as a child growing up. She recounts their friendship from age eight to about sixteen in a world that is filled with turmoil, violence and the love and hate of family. As close as the two friends are, they are at times polar opposites. Lila is the beauty who is bright and intelligent. Elena is plain, pimply, and  always worried about her body image, bookish and a hard working student. At a time it was unusual for girls to go to school, Elena, with the help of Maestra Oliverio, convinces her parents that it is in her best interest to continue to attend beyond the primary grades. 

As the story unfolds, the girls develop different interests amid the backdrop of often times brutal fits of anger, temper, and even murder. It does not seem to be an anomaly, but rather a way of life that is expected and customary. My Brilliant Friend builds to the culmination of the story as Lila prepares for her wedding day. But the reader is left wondering whether that marriage will be one of joy or troubled as so many were in that small village. 

I have had an ambivalent reaction to the book. There were times as I was reading it that I really got into the book and story and then at other times I just couldn't wait until I finished it. I will probably pick up the 2nd in the series at sometime, but at this point I am not longing to read it.

The Heist by Daniel Silva

With a lull in book club book reading, it was time to turn to one of my favorite authors, Daniel Silva. I look forward each year to his new spy, mystery, and art history novel. The Heist was 2014's addition to his collection and was, as usual, a good and entertaining read.

Gabriel Allon is in Venice restoring a painting and awaiting the birth of his twin children with wife Chiara. It is not a surprise to his faithful followers that this work is interrupted by a crime committed for which his help is needed to solve. A notorious vendor of stolen art thief is found dead and according to General Ferrari, the Italian chief of police for art theft, all leads point to Allon's friend, Julian Isherwood. The murder leads to the question that the very famous  Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence by Caravaggio has been stolen. In his quest to find this,  Allon uncovers another series of murders directly connected to the art world. In his typical fashion, he finds that the murders and art thefts were connected to the Middle East and the ongoing crises there. In this novel, the reader is transported to Syria and the war it has waged with Israel. 

In a cleverly designed guise, Allon enlists the aid of a young woman, Jihan Nawaz, who works for a Syrian banker, but who witnessed the 1982 Hama massacre in which her parents were murdered. Allon plays on her hatred to aid him in recovering money stolen by the Syrian government. Jihan figures to be a new player in the Gabriel Allon novels and is one that the reader hopes will resurface in another book. 

As Gabriel is preparing to take control of the intelligence office in Israel, familiar characters make their appearance to support his scheme. One of the most poignant scenes is when Gabriel visits his first wife, Leah, who is in an institution as a result of the trauma she experienced in the auto accident that killed their son. Her comments hearken back to that time and elicit sympathy and empathy for their lives.  Uzi Navot is enlisted as well as his wife Bella, who feels that Uzi is being pushed out of his job. Allon also calls on Yaakov Rossman to bring his talents to the case. The twists, turns, and suspenseful action keep the reader turning the pages. 

One surprise in the book is when Silva mentions The Sybille of Cleves by Lucas Cranach. Cranach is my 12th great grandfather and a well known artist in the medieval world. 

Already announced for the summer of 2015 is Silva's new book, The English Spy. Here's hoping the English Girl will make another appearance. Can't wait.

The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian

Alternating between 1943 and 1955, Bohjalian crafts a mystery, historical fiction and psychological thriller in his book, The Light in the Ruins. Interspersed with those chapters is a narrator's viewpoint on the murders he has committed and is about to commit. 

Outside of Florence, there is, what once was a bucolic Tuscan villa - Villa Chimera. Owned by the Marchese and Marchesa Rosati, it is a sanctuary for their family from the horrific brutality of the war. Living with Antonio and Beatrice is their daughter, Christina, and daughter-in-law Francesca and her two children Their son, Vittore works in Florence at the Uffizi and their other son, Marco, Francesca's husband is serving in the Italian army. Life in the villa changes drastically one day when Nazi soldiers arrive wanting to see the caves of earlier Etruscan burial grounds. The soldiers subsequently occupy the villa for an outpost and Christina becomes romantically involved with one

In 1955 Serafina Bettini is working as a homicide detective in Florence when she is called to investigate the chilling murder of Francesca Rosati. The body is discovered in her apartment with her heart cut out. As the investigation continues, the reader begins to learn more about Serafina and her involvement in the war. She has suffered brutal wounds that have left her scarred and without a portion of her ear. 

As the narrative moves back and forth between the time periods and through flashbacks in the minds of the main characters, the connections between the characters begin to be elucidated. The serial killer's narration reveals that his/her revenge will be taken on the Rosatis, one by one.

The Light in the Ruins is another example of the masterful and powerful storytelling of Chris Bohjalian. It is gruesome, to be sure, but is also a gripping chronicle of the war in Italy. The struggle between citizens, the Partisans, and the Nazis shows the multi-faceted effects of a conflict. How does one balance doing what is right when it comes to saving one's family? Its strength lies in historical and political analysis. The revelation of the serial killer is a bit of a shock with so many possibilities - a man, woman, Italian, Nazi, an acquaintance or one who needs to exact revenge on the rich landholders?  The meaning behind the title of the book is illuminated at the end, much as the dock light in Gatsby does for that novel.  Bohjalian needs to be on the list of "must read" authors.

Inferno by Dan Brown

A master of illusion, Dan Brown hits the mark again with Inferno.  All the erudite critics aside, this was a fun and gripping read. I probably could have read it much faster if I didn't sit with a copy of Dante's Inferno, an art history book, and the Citymaps2go app by my side. Call me obsessive, but I need to visualize referenced quotes, paintings, and travels through a city, especially ones that I have visited and loved.

Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital in Florence, Italy, with a gunshot wound to the head and a very bad case of amnesia. He has no idea of how or why he is there. Befriended by Dr. Sienna Brooks, he and she escape the hospital as those in pursuit murder an attending physician. Discovering a small projector that shows Brooks and Langdon an image of the Mappa dell' Inferno, and point to what is a macabre scene. That begins a frantic 24 hours as the two scramble to escape those who are in pursuit and to prevent a catastrophic event from happening. But are they the good guys or the bad guys following them? Running through Florence Italy, the two find secret passage ways and routes through the Pitti Palace,  Uffizi Gallery, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo, and of course the Baptistery of San Giovanni with Ghiberti's incredible bronze doors.   All the while the reader is treated to the history of the city and its marvelous collection of art works. Following a set of clues derived from Dante's Inferno, his death mask, and the painting.

Florence from the Duomo's Bell Dome

The Pitti Palace

Ponte Vecchio and the Arno

The Duomo and Brunelleschi's Dome

Of course, it's not always that simple and Brooks and Langdon are joined by a Dr. Ferris who seems to be in contact with higher powers. He is afflicted with a horrible rash and seems to be suffering breathing difficulties. Could what the are pursuing a type  of plague.

Ghiberti's Doors

San Marco, Venice

 Realizing that they are looking in the wrong place for answer, they are off to Venice before stumbling on the solution to the problem and the resolution of the novel.

It was a whirlwind of a novel that, except for looking at maps, and art would have taken no time to read. Dan Brown may not be the most literate of authors, but he can concoct a tale that maintains the interest of the reader. His books are scripted for films, but that doesn't mean the story is any less exciting. In Inferno the ending is believable and satisfying, more so than the far-fetched stunts at the end of Angels and Demons or The Lost Symbol. They are easy to read and engage the reader in the story. I see nothing wrong with a bit of pure entertainment once in a while.

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva

If it is July, it must be time for a new Daniel Silva book. And July, 2012 was no different. I finally have had a break in my "required" reading schedule to sink my teeth into The Fallen Angel, which has been teasing me from my to-read shelf for 7 months. Silva manages in his books a synthesis of plot twists, travel books, and art history. This book is no exception.

Gabriel Allon, the renowned art restorer and Israeli intelligence operative, is restoring a Caravaggio for the Vatican when he is summoned to St. Peter's Basilica. A woman's, Claudia Andreotti,  body has been discovered on the floor. Is it suicide or murder?  True to the spirit of Silva's novels, the incident is merely the tip of the iceberg and calls, once again, Allon out of retirement. He and his wife, Chiara, are thrust into the investigation that leads them to an operation that stretches from the Vatican to the Middle East, a side trip to San Moritz, from antiquities dealers to Hezbollah. There are infinite twists and plot thickeners that keep the reader nearly breathless as the pages turn.

In order to get to the root of the matter, that of course means the money trail, Allon summons the familiar cast to the safe rooms of King Saul Boulevard. They are Ari Shamron, Uzi Navot, and the erudite archaeologist, Eli Lavon. As the Pope makes an historic visit to Jerusalem on Good Friday, what is going on underground becomes even more earth-shattering, literally. The climax and denouement provide a guided tour of Temple Mount and perhaps the discovery of the first Temple of Jerusalem. What follows is shocking, heart-rendering, and pure Silva.

Daniel Silva remains one of my favorite authors to read. He never disappoints in his plot machinations. descriptive passages, or character development. He also seems to be clairvoyant in his political story lines. The involvement in The Fallen Angel of the Vatican bank and antiquities curation, seems to have foretold the scandal marking the end of Pope Benedict's reign. Silva is a master of research and attention to detail to which I am drawn. For this book, however, I really wished I would have had a map of the city of Jerusalem and its landmarks to help guide me along as I followed Allon and Lavon in their attempt to disarm the ticking time bomb. The book ends with a shocking conclusion that will make us wait until July 16, 2013 in The English Girl to unravel.

Mapping the Edge by Sarah Dunant

Sarah Dunant is a masterful storyteller. She knows how to immediately hook the reader and then play with the mind. Her Birth of Venus was spellbinding with its description of Renaissance Italy. In Mapping the Edge she returns to Florence to set part of the novel.

Anna Franklin is a freelance journalist based in London who packs her bags and journeys to Italy. When she doesn't return as scheduled her family becomes alarmed. She leaves behind her daughter Lily and housemate Paul along with Paul's boyfriend, Michael. As the novel begins Estella, Anna's confidante and best friend is alerted to Anna's disappearance. Estella immediately travels to London from Amsterdam to be a support to Lily and Paul as well as to garner any clues as to Anna's whereabouts.

While Estella narrates most of the novel, the reader enters into another narrative of parallel stories. There are two possible explanations for Anna's departure: she has been kidnapped or she has run away to meet a lover. Told with heightening suspense, each narrative moves toward a thrilling end as the reader ponders which story is, in fact, the true one. At the same time, Estella's narrative grounds us in how either prospect weighs on those who have been left in London. 

Dunant is superb in her command of setting and character. She allows us to develop such a mind picture because of her descriptions that there is no doubt as to where are characters are and what constitutes their surroundings. While in Florence a few years a go, we stayed a hotel on the Via Guelfa. Anna walks that street and Dunant's description brought me back to the same place that I had stayed. Likewise, she has created her cast with pasts that weigh in on present actions and allows them to react to situations as the individuals that they are. 

Definitely a page turning read from a novelist that you don't want to miss.