The English Spy is a thriller written by the prolific Daniel Silva and features his best-known character, Israeli spy Gabriel Allon. It was published first in 2015 and definitely not the first in the series. It is the first novel by Silva that I have read, so I am missing a lot of background knowledge about Mr. Allon.

Gabriel Allon is a spy and sometimes assassin for some unspecified Israeli agency, which he is about to take command of in this installment. Allon is also an accomplished art restorer, which brings a compelling irony to his fictional credentials. He can act with brutal efficiency against an enemy of his nation or bring back profound beauty to various damaged works of art. After perusing some of the blurbs about some of the other novels, it seems his work as an art restorer often leads him into more ominous endeavors. Allon is a typical deadly gentleman with a conscience and deep loyalty to his beloved nation of Israel. He also apparently works as a freelancer for England as he does in this novel.

In this particular book, Allon is on the trail of an Irish mercenary and bomb maker after a former member of British royalty is killed. Allon works with a British assassin named Christopher Keller, who apparently has been featured in other entries in the series, and they proceed to travel to some pretty exotic locations to find the elusive, ruthless Eamon Quinn.

I have not read any of the earlier novels, however this was still pretty enjoyable. Silva does reference events from earlier in the series, but he does not provide much detail, which is actually fine with me. I may very well take the time and fill in those gaps myself. The research that Silva puts in is laudable, but he does sometimes let the exposition slow down the pacing.

Allon has an interesting domestic situation going on while he is engaged in this pursuit. He has remarried, and his wife is on the verge of birthing twins. An attack has forced Allon to remain separated from his wife during a very crucial time. He is about to take a director’s seat over the agency where he has worked for many years. It’s not the most convenient of times for Gabriel Allon to be chasing bomb makers all over the place. It is convenient for the readers to get drawn into a pretty suspenseful story, so I am sure they’re fine with it.

Gabriel Allon himself doesn’t really stand out from other fictional protagonists in this genre, other than his side work as an art restorer, however Silva’s popularity is still well-earned. Silva is a very entertaining storyteller, and he also seems to be an enthusiastic researcher. He has a pretty courteous tradition writing an author’s note which specifies the imaginative locales in the various settings visited by Allon and Keller. This really does showcase Silva’s perspective and wit.

Overall, I enjoyed being introduced to Silva’s writing even though this doesn’t really introduce Gabriel Allon. It’s obviously not Silva’s fault I don’t always start reading series at the beginning. Spies, murder, and global pursuits generally thrive in the literary universe, and Silva’s contributions to this genre of literature are worthy of attention and not difficult to enjoy. The nuggets of knowledge concerning art restoration and various locations have some value. Gabriel Allon may not be the most fascinating of characters, but he is interesting enough for me to be willing to return to this series.

It probably will not be too long before I revisit the writings of Daniel Silva, but I will next be reading the first novel in a new series written by Andrew Klavan. Christmas has passed yet again, but I am revisiting the holiday through the lens of Klavan’s When Christmas Comes.