Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

Enjoy high maximum transfers into more than 120 currencies while saving up to 90% over local banks! The cheap, fast way to send money abroad. Free transfer up to 500 USD!

Very Good first half. Renowned Israeli spy master Gabriel Allon is recently retired and living in Venice with his family. On Chiara’s orders, he is enjoying an intermezzo from work, both from the spycraft and the restoration business he is an employee of now. Unfortunately, the rest is short-lived. Julian Isherwood has sold a painting to an American investor that has questionable origins, if a French woman, who contacted him upon knowing of the painting’s sale, is to be believed. If the painting is exposed as a forgery, Julian will be ruined personally and professionally. However, the fallout won’t stop there, for the art world is small and intricate. Julian asks Gabriel Allon to investigate who is behind the painting’s resurgence, who stands to profit, and who has gone to such lengths to stage a car accident to remove an unwanted witness from raising valid questions. Portrait of an Unknown Woman turned out to be a mixed bag. The first half was laugh-out-loud funny and a breeze to read. Silva has found a turn of phrase that I love, with well constructed literary images lacking in his earlier novels. I thought up to that point that it was a return to top form by the author after the last two duds. Silva kept the usual padding to a minimum, and the pace was on par with the action. However, the second half of the book was extremely dense, as it delved into the intricacies of a Ponzi scheme hedge fund that used forged paintings as collaterals to secure massive loans with which it paid dividends to its investors. It wasn’t the same level of boring as the financial discussion turned out in The Cellist, but it was dense enough. I guessed the culprit since his first appearance, though, fortunately, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of this novel. I’m starting to wonder if this franchise has run its course. Since Silva found new political leanings, he avoids the kind of foreign policy criticism and sure fire commentaries about American administrations that made this series wildly successful. I used to look forward to reading each new installment, waiting for Silva to anticipate world events and make his incisive analyses of the implications for countries the world over, and the Middle East in particular, but that is no longer the case. The world has turned vastly unpredictable, and Silva quite the opposite. Gabriel Allon used to be formidable, now he has been reduced to playing a standard detective with great connections in the criminal and the spy world alike, at least that has been the case in the last three installments. I’m not sure that Allon being retired is good for this franchise; let’s hope I’m wrong and Silva finds his footing once more. Overall, Portrait of an Unknown Woman has some pluses and minuses in its ledger. The first half is extremely good, while the second half becomes increasingly dense.

Great read. Good read from start to finish.

Just in it for the money. His last book was a awful piece of woke; no reason to even try him again.

Wonderfu! Book!. If it’s mid-July it’s time for another Daniel Silva thriller featuring Gabriel Allon, and this one is a beaut! Allon, the former Director of Israeli Intelligence, is retired in Venice with his wife and two children. His friend, London art dealer Julian Isherwood, has a meeting scheduled with a woman who has raised concerns about the provenance of a piece of art Julian’s gallery has sold. In short order, the woman is murdered by unknown assailants, Julian is accosted, and his hotel room is searched. Who would he reach out to investigate but his old friend Gabriel Alone - master spy, artist, and art restorer extraordinaire. As often happens in Mr. Silva’s stories, a string is pulled that unravels the whole garment. What starts as an investigation of one painting ends up leading the protagonists all over the world to uncover an operation of enormous proportions. It’s a thrilling ride, to say the least! For longtime Gabriel Allon fans, it’s nice to see him starting to decompress after so many years of bearing the weight of his country’s security on his shoulders. He’s enjoying life, but slightly bored. When he’s asked for help by Isherwood he’s back in his element in a flash. This is the Gabriel we’re used to! I have a feeling his future will include some intriguing clandestine operations, interspersed with happy family times - a great combination and a fitting “retirement” for our favorite spy. I’m admittedly a great fan of Mr. Silva’s writing and this series, and so look forward to these books being released each year! They’re literary crack - I finished the book at 1:30 am as I couldn’t put it down. I received a complimentary advance copy of the book from the publisher in the hope that I would write a truthful review, and here it is. I loved the book, and have purchased an additional copy to donate to my library, and a Kindle version to be read again on my e-reader. If you like international thrillers, I highly recommend Portrait of an Unknown Woman!

We’re not ready to retire. While Allon is enjoying his retirement, it’s not as satisfying for the reader. The novel was missing most of what originally drew me to the series. I’d suggest moving on to a new main character so we can get back to the tradecraft that made the earlier novels so enjoyable.

The Gabriel we all fell in love with. Thank you Mr. Silva for restoring Gabriel to us as the artist and restorer we first fell in love with in The Kill Artist. It was wonderful to once again be engrossed in the art world and to have our horizons broadened. Really enjoyed, one of the best Allon books IMO.

Gabriel Allon: Portrait of an Unknown Woman. Another winner by Daniel Silva. I recommend.

This one is a fake.. It can’t have been written by Silva. It’s mostly full of words about how stylish clothing, cars and places. There’s very little story here. You were once a great author. What happened??? That’s the real mystery.

Portrait of an Unknown Woman. Meh . . . Not as bad as the last two books, but doesn’t hang together very well, plot-wise. I miss the old Silva’s cutting edge, but time passes.

Appropriate. Not one of Mr. Silva’s best. I found the plot to be difficult to follow, especially the first half of the book.

Israel, for the future. This book was entertaining for a while. It became weighted down by all of the details of the art world. Gabriel Allon is better when he is working with his old team from Israel racing around the Globe.

Portrait of an Unknown Woman. A dedicated reader of Daniel Silva, I found this read to be lacking in grabbing my attention until the very end. So it was a difficult read for me. I wanted to put It down several times, and move on to something more interesting.

What happened?. Losing his touch and done reading this once great series because he has gotten too political in his last 2/3 books…bye bye Allon

I gave up. I have read a lot of Daniel Silva’s books I enjoyed many of them. This was not one of those. It just wasn’t engaging.

Nice change of pace. Definitely one of my favorite Allon books. Love that it was different than most of the others.

Lost his way. Time to find a new series, Daniel what the heck the preachy political tone and watering down of the elements that made this character successful has run its course. No one wants to read your about your political views in a fiction book. Wake up! Oh wait you are woke.

Captivating. If nothing else, an excellent expose of the fraudulent practices of some in ponzi practices prevalent in many ‘investment’ schemes. At best, a wonderful read, full of colorful characters, rich with the embroidery of a startlingly good teller of tales.

Another year gone by.. Another years wait is over, but already another one begins. A true page turner as one would expect from Daniel. Well done, sir, and thank you. The only down side was several pages of gratuitous drivel towards the end of chapter six.

Portrait Of An Unknown Woman. Boring story. This is the third terrible novel in a row for Daniel Silva. The first was a weak attempt to exonerate the Jews for the killing of Jesus, which is in conflict with The Bible. The next was a political story, designed to shred President Trump and is a poor excuse for a novel. The most recent one is an attempt to start a new series of a changed life for Allon and is not worth reading. It’s too bad because his earlier novels were outstanding. I won’t delve into his future stories.

Portrait of an unknown woman. Less bloody than other Gabriel Allon novels, more into the art scene, which I really liked

Wonderful. This is a wonderful story. Can’t wait for the next book.

Fake paintings, fake suspense.. The Gabriel Allon book a year schedule has run its course. This one gets bogged down with the names of too many obscure artists, forged paintings, and a dull storyline. Author Silva definitely has a thing against women, and this strained effort keeps the negativity going. Most of his female characters are always in jeopardy and are often pawns in a scheme or are outright murdered. Wait until the book is on sale or for the paperback if you prefer physical books. This novel lacks excitement. How often do we have to read about the nasty goat or the old lady and her spells? Perhaps it’s time to send Christopher and Sarah on their own adventure. They’re the only characters with any mystery and energy.

Portrait. Allon is all about art after retirement. A fascinating look into art as a trading commodity and a good mystery to boot! It’s not his usual fare but Mr. Silva has concocted a great yarn nonetheless!

Back to form. After the massively disappointing previous novel, The Cellist, Daniel Silva returns to form with an excellent mystery and self contained story. Honestly, this was needed as my love for the series wained with the last novel plus I grew tired of “save the world” or “save the country” style stories. Thankfully, the author kept most of his political opinions out of the novel (not completely) and you can just enjoy the story and characters.

Slow at first but good at end. Silva’s main character is getting old, so are his books. This book is flawed by too many characters who are hard to follow. However, the book avoids most of Silva’s usual Jewish propaganda and is a pretty good read — especially at the end.

I have a bone to pick with the author. I was happily reading two other books when I was notified my pre-order of “An Unknown Woman” was available for download. I have read all of the Gabriel Allon novels, and could not resist opening this one. Now I can’t put it down because the story, the characters, and the atmosphere of the book are preventing me from doing so; they are just too good and too absorbing. I am 71 and I am encouraged to believe that there will be more books in this series, since Mr. Silva is a good deal younger than I, and his imagination seems inexhaustible. I don’t want to think about a time when I might not have a Daniel Silva novel at hand.

Jeff Zucker “Good Friend” - Not Surprised With Political Slants. As others have written in the reviews, the author’s left leaning politics really were unnecessary. Although upon completing the book and seeing Jeff Zucker (Former CNN President) listed as the first name in the friends acknowledgment section, one can hardly be surprised given the circles the author runs in.

Portrait of an unknown woman. This series has run its course. There is no more room for the Gabriel Allen character to run. I’ve read each book in the series with the last two becoming worse and worse.

One of the Best in the Allon Series. So glad Gabriel has retired and can now take on mysterious adventures in the world of art. Perhaps we can see more of Magdalena? Loved this book and each one of its characters.

Superb. As are all of these Gabriel Allon books, this one didn’t disappoint. Wow. Wow. Wow. Meticulously researched, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the wonderful visits to many cities I have lived in. Silvia’s books are a joy to read. This series is just awesome.

portrait of an unknown woman. another brilliant story by Daniel Silva. thanks for giving us a great read. Bill

Excellent, as always. Loved it! It was refreshing to revisit old characters and places from prior novels in the series. The storyline was excellent, I couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait for the next book.

Portrait of an unknown woman. Tired of political lecturing … want a a good story like your first ones in the series

Decent read. The author has extended his Allon franchise into the character’s retirement with a pretty implausible plot line . Nevertheless it was a decent beach type read. I am still exasperated by the way the author lards up the word count in every book by repeating verbatim long descriptions of characters and events from previous novels. It’s lazy and disrespectful to the readers. Mr Silva must have a software program that fills in half the book before he even starts!

Disappointed. Never thought I would find a Silva book boring, but this one was. His last 2 have been disappointing. All words and no heart. What happened?

Fascinating!. Silva is back in original form.

No forgery; A Masterpiece. Silva takes us on a journey of master forgeries and a greedy leader of a Ponzi scheme with Gabriel Allon on their tail. Allon produces many twists and turns in this story. He introduces readers to the underworld of art theft, forged art works suddenly appearing attributed to old world masters, and the Ponzi scheme. Allon and his protégé’s spring traps to bring down the leader of the Ponzi scheme and serve as a lesson to investors and the art world that, in the long run, master artworks are not good investments.

Mind Lab Pro boosts work performance and productivity with nootropics for focus, multitasking under stress, creative problem-solving and more. Buy Now!

Discover how specific cryptocurrencies work — and get a bit of each crypto to try out for yourself. Coinbase is the easiest place to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Sign up and get started today.