An Inside Job

An Inside Job is Dan Silva's 25th Gabriel Allon spy thriller. The hero, Allon, is a retired Israeli spy who now works as an art restorer in Venice. This installment of the series is an art theft thriller. Allon, however, uses associates from his spy career to solve the mystery.

The publisher's summary: 

Sometimes the only way to recover a stolen masterpiece is to steal it back . . .

Gabriel Allon has been awarded a commission to restore one of the most important paintings in Venice. But when he discovers the body of a mysterious woman floating in the waters of the Venetian Lagoon, he finds himself in a desperate race to recover a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

The painting, a portrait of a beautiful young girl, has been gathering dust in a storeroom at the Vatican Museums for more than a century, misattributed and hidden beneath a worthless picture by an unknown artist. Because no one knows that the Leonardo is there, no one notices when it disappears one night during a suspicious power outage. No one but the ruthless mobsters and moneymen behind the theft -- and the mysterious woman whom Gabriel found in a watery grave in Venice. A woman without a name. A woman without a face.

The action moves at breakneck speed from the galleries and auction houses of London to an enclave of unimaginable wealth on the French Riviera -- and, finally, to a shocking climax in St. Peter's Square, where the life of a pope hangs in the balance. An elegant and stylish journey through the dark side of the art world and the Vatican's murky finances, An Inside Job proves once again that Daniel Silva is the reigning master of international intrigue and suspense.

Silva writes intense suspense stories and An Inside Job is one of his finest. It is impossible to take a break from reading the book as each chapter ends with suspense. Silva thoroughly researched the politics of the countries involved in the story, historical facts, the art of the old masters, as well as the restoration of oil paintings before beginning to write. I learned alot about the art world from reading the book. The information about the restoration of paintings went over my head because Silva was quite technical in the description of the materials that his character Allon used.

This installment of the series had the most character development. With the spy business put aside, Allon could concentrate on his relationships with his wife and kids. It was cute to see the brash Gabriel Allon playing with his kids and even attempting to cook. He is not domestic but is growing in that regard. Wife Chiara is seen as the main breadwinner which I thought was about time. Chiara manages the art restoration business for Gabriel. 

The pace is fast from the first page but it speeds up during the final third of the book. Resolving the mystery surrounding the stolen artwork seemed similar to Allon's spy escapades. He used his connections from that part of his life to find and return the art.

An Inside Job is a fun and fast read read. Mystery lovers are going to want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.