Since Gabriel Allon’s retirement from ‘The Office’ there has been no shortage of public debate, speculative fan theories, and well thought out arguments online regarding the direction Daniel Silva may take his iconic series. After twenty five novels, his beloved characters have come to feel more like family than fictional characters, which is the source of his fans' passion and opinions. If Ransom is the blueprint for future novels; the possibilities are glorious, and more importantly, endless. Fans, new and old, are going to devour this one.
When Alice Winter, one of Britain’s most influential social media starlets, disappears while on vacation, her billionaire husband Edward Knight seeks out Gabriel Allon to find her and bring her home safely. Reluctantly Gabriel agrees and as he patiently weighs the moves and countermoves necessary to secure her return, the veneer of the couple’s perfect life begins to fade and dark secrets come to light. Secrets that force Allon to dip his toes back into the life he thought he left behind.
In my opinion, Ransom is the finest addition in the ‘new era’ of the Gabriel Allon series. I define the ‘new era’ as his post-Office life based in Venice. We now have the pleasure of watching Gabriel (and Silva) wrestle with modern scenarios in an ever changing world that many thought unimaginable only a decade ago. New rules, new technologies, and new takes on historical political philosophies has opened a floodgate of potential storylines.
The move towards Gabriel handpicking his adventures centered around the pursuit of his own personal understanding of justice, rather than the safety of a nation, is as monumental as it is exciting. While we never know how long Mr. Silva will grace us with his works, he has given himself (and fans) a whole new array of dangers and mysteries to choose from. I, for one, cannot wait to see where he leads us.
*Bonus thoughts on Daniel Silva’s writing process - This may have been obvious to everyone else, but it just hit me. You can ask the rest of the Best Thriller Books team and they’ll tell you I’m a little slow to catch on to things. But I digress…
Without fail, whatever book I am reading I find myself analyzing the writer’s style and structure. I actively seek out the means and methods that an author employs to hook me and keep me reading for hours on end. It has taken me twenty six of the Gabriel Allon books (and several hundreds of other works) to finally put my finger on why Daniel Silva is in a class of his own and is my favorite author of any genre of any era.
Silva doesn’t simply craft a single novel, he weaves a spattering of emotional and dramatic related short stories with high level plotlines that moves readers across time and distance, magically placing us in each scenario through a highly relatable and/or recognizable character until the full story comes to its final conclusion.
Oftentimes these throw away characters are some of my favorite moments in the story and I treat them as little Easter Eggs to be found and relished. It is brilliant in its simplicity and devastating in its effectiveness. This is a simple enough tactic to describe, but requires an incredible artist to achieve, and a once in a generation talent to make it a habit year in and year out.
Follow Todd on Twitter or contact him via the site.
Purchase Ransom
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
